A taste of the Arctic

We made a short but enjoyable trip to the Northwest Territories – arriving in Inuvik around noon on Friday and departing around noon on Sunday.  This was my first time above the Arctic Circle and the weather was great – much nicer than in Calgary! 

Inuvik is situated where the boreal forest meets the Arctic tundra.  Many bird species here are at the northern limit of their range.  As one would expect, the trees (spruce, dwarf birch and poplar) are not very tall.  Many other species nest in the tundra beyond Inuvik.  We were hopeful that we would find some new and interesting birds.

Boreal forest near Inuvik

Inuvik is also on the edge of the traditional territories of the Inuvialuit and the Gwich’in people.  The Inuvialuit life and culture has strong ties to the land and sea – seals, belugas, caribou, fish, birds and berries.  The Gwich’n, originally a nomadic people, have strong ties to the migratory caribou herds.

We hadn’t made any prior arrangements for this portion of the trip so the first order of business was to rent a vehicle.  I’m sure there are more expensive rentals in the world but I don’t know where!  We were soon headed to town and checked in at the Nova Hotel.  After getting settled in our comfortable rooms, we did some in-town exploration.  We found 24 species that first afternoon – nothing new but a good selection of ducks, warblers and sparrows.  Of course, we checked out the sewage lagoons and the dump for rare gulls of which we found none.

Our next order of business was to make arrangements for Saturday.  We decided to fly to Tuktoyatuk and have a local guide take us around.  Tuk is located about 100 km north of Inuvik and is reachable by ice road in the winter, water transportation in the summer but only by air at this time of year.  To add a little spice to the day, we planned to take a crack at the Northwest Territories big day record of 64.

Saturday
We had a leisurely start to our big day, finishing breakfast at 6:30 (missing out on the first 6 ½ hours of daylight!).  Our day started in the hotel parking lot with a Belted Kingfisher flying over Ray’s head.  Just below the parking lot was a bushy gully with a small pond which turned out to be quite birdy.

Parking lot birds #1-10: Belted Kingfisher, Common Raven, Northern Waterthrush, Yellow Warbler, American Robin, Swainson’s Thrush, White-crowned Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Orange-crowned Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler

We then headed south and made a couple of stops between town and the airport.

Birds #11-26:  Savannah Sparrow, Lesser Scaup, Northern Pintail, Gray Jay, Spotted Sandpiper, Hermit Thrush, Wilson’s Warbler, Mallard, White-winged Scoter, American Wigeon, Greater Scaup, Common Redpoll, Tree Swallow, Northern Shoveler, Red-breasted Merganser, Wilson’s Snipe

White-winged Scoters

We drove down the Dempster Highway just a few kilometers beyond the airport and we stopped at a roadside pond.

Birds #27-30: Yellow-rumped Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Pacific Loon, Blackpoll Warbler

Pacific Loon

Having recorded 30 species, we were at the airport at 0830 for our 0930 flight which departed at 1000.  The half hour flight flew over hundreds of lakes and ponds just to the east of the Mackenzie River. 

View from air of ice road (melting), tundra and lakes

Airport birds #31-37: Sandhill Crane, Tundra Swan, Red-necked Phalarope, Long-tailed Duck, Glaucous Gull, Green-winged Teal, Least Sandpiper

At the Tuktoyaktuk airport, we were greeted by Chuck Gruben, a local Inuvialuit guide.  Chuck started by giving us a town tour though we often had him stop so we could view the local bird life.  We enjoyed close up views of Long-tailed Ducks and displaying Lapland Longspurs. 

Long-tailed Duck

All visitors have to dip their toes in the Arctic Ocean and we were no exception.

Phil and Brian at the edge of the Arctic Ocean

One of the town highlights for us was the community freezer.  This freezer is a series of compartments in the permafrost about 10 m below the surface.  We viewed the frozen shaft but none of us wanted to venture down into the darkness. 

Tuktoyaktuk is an Inuvialuit settlement and has a population of just under a 1000.  All of the houses in Tuk are built above ground including the fuel, water and sewage tanks.

Tuktoyaktuk

At the edge of town, we came across a tidal area that had a few shorebirds.  The birds seemed oblivious to us and we were able to walk within a couple of metres of them.

Stilt Sandpiper

Tuktoyaktuk birds #38-44: American Pipit, Lapland Longspur, Stilt Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, American Tree Sparrow, Rough-legged Hawk

We then switched from Chuck’s truck to quads – Ray and I had our own to ride while Phil rode with Chuck. Phil and I had not ridden a quad before and didn’t know what to expect.  After 30 seconds of instruction we were on our way.  I was a little tentative at first but soon got the hang of it.  We started off on a gravel road and then turned on to a quad track through the tundra.  The quads were amazing in their ability to go through the hummocks and ditches.  After about 15 minutes, we rejoined the road and stopped periodically to check out the birds.

Ray on a quad

Our destination was an old gravel pit where Chuck had recently seen jaegers.  We arrived there about 1510 but found no jaegers.  We had a plane to catch at 1600 and were 20 km out of town so went back as quickly as we dared go.  Along the way, Phil and I switched to give him at turn at driving.  We got to the airport in time but needn’t have worried as the plane was about an hour late. 

Quad birds #45-55: Red-throated Loon, Herring Gull, Surf Scoter, Greater White-fronted Goose, Peregrine Falcon, Northern Harrier, Whimbrel, Bank Swallow, Canada Goose, Semipalmated Plover, Arctic Tern

On the way back to Inuvik from the airport, we picked up birds #56-57: Osprey, Bald Eagle

Back in town, we had some dinner and decided that we would stay in town for the rest of our big day.  We were sitting at 57 species and, without any prior scouting, didn’t think that driving 50 km out of town would result in enough new species to warrant the effort (it turns out we were wrong!).  We stayed in town and quickly picked up birds #58-59 – Mew Gull, Harlequin Duck

We decided we’d be happy with 60 species but, after an hour of unsuccessful searching, we headed back to the hotel.  Near the hotel, Phil spotted species #60: Merlin 

Sunday
We had about 4 hours to bird before flying home so we drove 50 km out of town and then worked our way slowly back.  We were surprised to see a Sharp-tailed Grouse zooming over us and stopped when we saw another one.  A few Bohemian Waxwings perched nearby for another new Northwest Territories (NT) bird.  We found some swampy land and added a few more birds for our NT list: Solitary Sandpiper, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Northern Flicker.  In all, we saw 9 birds that we didn’t see the previous day.

Bohemian Waxwing

Our time in the western Arctic was very brief but served as a memorable introduction to the land, its people and its birds.  We didn’t add any new team birds and saw one possibly new mammal (see below for discussion) but we thoroughly enjoyed the adventure.  Birding highlights were numerous Pacific Loons in breeding plumage, some very good views of shorebirds, and the displaying Lapland Longspurs.

Semipalmated Plover

We had 70 species for the Northwest Territories and our Canada team total is now 427 – 375 birds and 52 mammals.

Arctic or Snowshoe Hare?
We saw a few hares in the Inuvik area but haven’t yet identified the species.  Snowshoe and Arctic Hares are very similar and one of my books indicates that Snowshoe Hare is the one found near Inuvik while the other says it is Arctic Hare.  Points in favour of Arctic Hare: it appeared a bit bigger that the Snowshoe Hares we have seen elsewhere and it had white legs (a characteristic of summer plumaged Arctic Hares); in favour of Snowshoe Hare: both books suggest that northerly Arctic Hares remain white all year long (but neither defines northerly).  Anyone help us?

Hare near Inuvik

Top-of-the-World to Kluane NP

Phil has already covered the wonders of Tombstone Territorial Park and its rich wildlife offerings, but all things must come to an end and on Tuesday morning we were up, “breakfasted” and on our way back down the Dempster Highway by 7:30 in the morning. Not bad for amateur motorhome users! The trip down to the Klondike highway was relatively uneventful aside from a nice view of a large Black Bear and a couple of new trip birds including an Olive-sided Flycatcher. We had hoped  to spot a Lynx reported a day earlier at KM 10 but we did not.

The next three days were more about sight-seeing than birding but they were interesting days and not without their highlights. We devoted Tuesday to a drive out to the Alaska border along the so-called Top of the World Highway.  We first checked into the Gold Rush RV Park in Dawson City and after enjoying a moment  or two of internet and telephone connectivity we set off for that Alaska border. This route begins immediately with a brief ferry crossing of the Yukon River aboard the M/V George Black.


Ferry Across the Yukon River

The scenery along the very aptly named Top-of-the-World Highway was magnificent! Wildlife was scarce but we were delighted to spot a Northern Hawk Owl and Brian succeeded in getting a fine photograph.

Northern Hawk Owl

We reached the border crossing and probably alarmed the officials by walking all around the area with our cameras and telescopes. One of them came out and asked us what we thought we were doing but we didn’t get arrested or anything and after much scanning we had our second highlight of the trip – a Hoary Marmot! This was a new team mammal and one we were very keen to get that day, having failed to find one up the Dempster Highway.

Hoary Marmot

The Yukon/Alaska border coincides with longitude 141 degrees west of Greenwich. This is Canada’s western most point which is one of the reasons we wanted to come here.  Brian pointed out that were we to follow this meridian south we would pass about 1000 km west of Vancouver and if we kept on going we would eventually run into Tahiti! This was tempting from a purely climatic perspective but instead we retraced our steps back to Dawson City. Back at the RV Park we delighted in the availability of real showers. Our first for a few days!

Dawson City is a place full of history of course thanks to the Klondike Gold Rush in the late 1890's. We would love to have had more time to explore this place and indeed many other spots we visited on this Yukon trip! Tourism is now an important part of Dawson City's wellbeing and we saw several bus loads of visitors in the area. 

Dawson City

 We began Wednesday on a real high note! The very first bird we heard upon exiting our motorhome was a Boreal Owl! We had all but given up on this elusive owl and yet there it was, calling continuously from the conifer-clad hillside right above our campground!  When we set off south from Dawson City we spent some time driving up Dome Mountain hoping to get a view of this owl but in the end we had to settle for just its song. We did add Townsend’s Warbler to our trip list mind you.

It was a long day’s drive to Whitehorse. Along the route we added some trip birds – Greater Yellowlegs, Common Goldeneye and Boreal Chickadee and then a Least Chipmunk which was a catch-up mammal for Ray.  In Whitehorse we visited M’Clintock Bay and scored another major victory for the trip – a Canada Goose. OK! Not very exciting but still a trip bird! We checked in to Pioneer RV Park and in a very short time we were enjoying another of Phil’s fine meals, this time in concert with a nice bottle of red wine to celebrate five very enjoyable days with the RV, an experiment that worked very well in the end.

Our 25 foot Motorhome

Thursday began with all the chores involved with returning a rented RV – some more pleasant than others! We must have returned it in fine form however because we were on our way again in short order, this time in a rental car we picked up just for a day. Our destination was a must for all Canadians who like the Great Outdoors – Kluane National Park.  None of us had been there before which is why this destination had to be on our Yukon itinerary and despite the rather rainy weather, it was well worth it.

First stop was at Hayne’s Junction where we discovered “The Village Bakery”. What a great spot and right by the Visitor Centre where we were able to get info on where to go next. We drove another 70 km or so along the Alaska Highway to another Visitor Centre at Sheep Mountain picking up Lesser Yellowlegs along the way - a new trip bird. The target however was of course Dall’s sheep quite commonly visible from the centre.  Not today, we were told upon arrival! We persevered however and drove a little further down the road to see what might be on the other side, so to speak. There, up in the low hanging cloud cover, Phil spotted a sheep. And suddenly there were six of them, three ewes and three lambs way up in the swirling mist of the cloud base! We had distant views of Dall’s sheep in Tombstone Territorial Park but this time, despite the cloud, we had more satisfying views.

Dall's Sheep

On the way back to Hayne’s Junction we scanned the various lakes and ponds and picked up a good diversity of waterfowl including White-winged and Surf Scoters.  Our birdiest stop of the day was a trail we walked in Hayne’s Junction called Dezadeash Trail. We picked up several new trip birds here including Blackpoll Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Warbling Vireo, Western Wood-Peewee, Least Flycatcher and Black-capped Chickadee. Along this trail, Ray noticed after a while, some ominous looking bear tracks, leading shortly thereafter to some fresh bear scat. Brian seemed excited at the prospect of running into a very large bear that he could then photograph. Phil and Ray were wise enough to counsel a speedy retreat however– especially since bear-like sounds could be heard just a short distance ahead! Mercifully we returned safely to our vehicle a short time later and will live to bird another day.

Blackpoll Warbler

Tomorrow it’s off to Inuvik, bright and early in the morning. We’ll be well north of the Arctic Circle and well into 24 hours of daylight. We’re looking forward to it!

Tombstone Territorial Park, Yukon Territory

Our first three days in the Yukon can be summed up in one word – spectacular! The “adventure” component of our Fur and Feathers travels has certainly been kicked up a notch as we are travelling around in a motor home and have just spent two nights in a remote, beautifully-sited campground in Tombstone Territorial Park at about 64 deg latitude. (This by way of an explanation for the late posting of this blog entry.)

Fri June 1 – Brian, Phil and Ray fly on Air Canada to Whitehorse, YT. It is the first time for all of us in the Yukon.  The airport terminal, briefly a hive of activity, is completely empty and silent by the time we have picked up our rental car. The car is just for our short-term needs as tomorrow we’ll pick up our 25 ft. motorhome which will be our living quarters for five nights. Tonight, however, we stay in a hotel on 1^st Avenue in Whitehorse, not, as we soon find out, one of the trendiest streets in the Yukon’s capital city. Within seconds of emerging from the car we are beset by panhandlers. Our room contains three beds, making this one of our cheapest overnight stays of the year. Dinner is taken at our second choice restaurant, and we misguidedly ask to sit in on the rooftop patio, under a canopy bearing the marketing slogan, “Beer Worth Freezin’ For. As the temperature drops in single digits, we understand. Anyway we enjoy the local brews, Yukon Gold (is there a beer more aptly named?) and Yukon Red, if not the overpriced and overcooked bison burgers and caribou sausage.

Beer worth freezin' for

Saturday June 2 – We decide to put in a little birding before breakfast, despite the cool, wet weather. Emerging from the hotel and noting with relief that our car is still there, we walk along the banks of the Yukon River and pick up Arctic Tern as our first new year bird of the trip.

Arctic Tern

Cutting short our chilly walk, we decamp to McDonald’s for a quick bite and drive to McIntyre Creek wetlands, just outside of town. The rain eases off enough for us to enjoy a couple of hours of wonderful birding, with many birds singing and showing well. We had great looks at Solitary Sandpiper, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Waterthrush and a host of other species.

After a quick shower back at the hotel, we went to pick up our motor home. The franchise-owner  showed us an orientation DVD for the vehicle, and explained to us the many penalties which would apply if we returned it in less than tip-top shape. On enquiring why there are so many signs in German around the office, we are informed that 85% of their customers are from Germany.  While Ray and Phil do the grocery shopping, Brian fills the motor home with gas. Some time later, Ray and Phil return with enough food to last six months and we are off on our way.

The 500 km journey north along the Klondike Highway is rather uneventful and we are relieved to conclude our journey at the start of the Dempster Highway, where we overnight in the basic RV camping area next to the Klondike River Lodge, dining in our motorhome. Along the way we sighted one new mammal - an Arctic Ground Squirrel.

Arctic Ground Squirrel

Sunday June 3 – Mindful of the fact that birding should always start early, we set off up the Dempster Highway shortly after 6 AM, after a quick breakfast in the RV.  It is of course well after dawn at this latitude. Bird song is limited and cool damp conditions prevail as we make short work of the 71 km drive to the Visitor Centre at Tombstone Territorial Park. As the centre doesn’t open till 9:00 AM, we occupy the time by driving a little further north, picking up along the way the first of several Willow Ptarmigans prominently displaying on a small spruce. Upon returning to the Visitor Centre we are greeted by two female staff members, Alex and Margaret, who provide some helpful information and a very welcome cup of tea brewed up from twigs of some native plants which tasted rather good. They also allow us to sign out a bird book and a canister of bear spray.

Entrance to Tombstone Territorial Park

Willow Ptarmigan

The day remained rather overcast, but doesn’t dampen our spirits as we bird our way along the Dempster . Traversing the Southern and Northern Ogilvie Mountain Ranges, it is a very memorable journey. The highway traverses the arctic tundra, providing a rare opportunity to access this habitat which is the breeding ground for a good variety of birds, most of which we only see in Alberta on migration, if at all. There are many rushing streams and ponds along the route, one of the most notable of which is Two Moose Lake, which contains a variety of waterfowl and other birds nearby. The Dempster is 735 km in length, terminating in Inuvik, NWT.  Our journey takes us only as far as Km 158. Here a well-known Gyrfalcon nest on the cliffs is found to contain a female bird, the head and upper parts being clearly visible to us through the scope. At the same spot we encounter Collared Pika, a cute but not overly-inquisitive mammal.  We eat sandwiches at this wild spot before heading back down the Dempster and returning to the Visitor Centre before checking in at the nearby campground.

Besides the new birds and mammal for our year list, we enjoyed wonderful looks today at birds we often only see fleetingly, or in non-breeding plumage, or at a distance. Gray-cheeked Thrush, Wilson's Warbler, Fox Sparrow, Red-necked Phalarope and Red-throated Loon all put on great displays for us.

Fox Sparrow

After dinner in the campground, where only three of the 25 spots are occupied at this early stage of the brief summer season, we meet up with Cameron Eckert, Yukon’s premier birder, with whom Brian has corresponded prior to the trip. Cameron joins us for a Yukon Gold or two and provides us with much helpful information. He plans to hike the nearby Blueberry Ridge tomorrow, and invites us to join him, but after a careful assessment of our aging backs and joints, we politely decline. The best piece of advice Cameron has to offer is very welcome – no need to get up early for birding in these parts. He leads us on a late evening walk towards a possible Wandering Tattler site, but we have to abandon it because of snow on the trail. Still, back at the campground, Cameron points out a flock of six Dall’s Sheep on a distant ridge. We hope to get closer looks at this fine mammal in a few days’ time. Even more fun is scoping the nearby slopes in a game of “spot the Rock Ptarmigan”. Approximately one-third of the white spots on the hillside turn out to be this desired bird, the other two-thirds are ptarmigan-shaped white rocks.

Monday June 4 – Following Cameron’s advice, we drive back up the Dempster to Surfbird Mountain, a journey of about 25 km. The weather is perfect. Soon after we start the drive we see a magnificent male Grizzly Bear beside the road. Brian is able to get a quick photo before an onrushing truck scares the bear which disappeared into the willows. What luck, hardly any traffic at all on this road, and the worst of timing for a truck to pass by.

On the access road to Surfbird Mountain we get fantastic looks at the beautiful Smith’s Longspur. After parking the motor home at the end of the road we set off up to the ridge. Hiking over the tussocks on the tundra is tiring work, and we are happy to terminate our hike after an hour. As we enjoy some snacks, Brian spots one, then two Long-tailed Jaegers cruising below us. Ray gets onto them, but Phil dips. (It pained me to write that bit!).

Smith's Longspur

We make our way back to the campground, spotting a pair of Wandering Tattlers in a mountain stream still choked with huge blocks of ice. Shortly afterwards we come across two young Caribou, another arctic specialty.

Wandering Tattler

Caribou

A late afternoon rainstorm encourages us to head back to the campground. But soon it clears and we decide to drive back to Two Moose Lake and eat our dinner there. By chance, we meet Cameron at Two Moose Lake and he joins us for dinner. His hike had been very arduous and we are glad we didn’t join him, although he had spotted a single Northern Wheatear which we will likely not get to see.

It has been a great two days in Tombstone Territorial Park, and we have totted up six new bird species and seven new mammals so far on the trip.

Home Sweet Home

After spending most of May in Ontario and BC, we were looking forward to being home for a few days.  Some TLC might be a refreshing change to the daily interchange of barbs regarding ones eating, sleeping and birding habits!  However, being at home didn’t mean we wouldn’t be birding.  Although our Ontario and BC trips netted most of the bird species regularly seen in Alberta, we still had a few targets.

On Monday, Ray and I ventured to the Water Valley area northwest of Calgary.  Our first stop was along Horse Creek Road and we heard Yellow Rail calling as soon as we got out of the car.  We tapped two stones together to try to entice it into view but the bird didn’t play along.  At this same site, we expected Nelson’s and Le Conte’s Sparrows but did not get either one.

Our next stop was Perrenoud Nature Reserve to look for Connecticut Warbler.  Perrenoud is the best spot around Calgary for this bird but none were singing.  In fact, it was very quiet with only a Hairy Woodpecker, House Wren and Tennessee Warbler making their presence known.  We then drove further along Grand Valley Road to the Winchell Lake area.  It was quiet at both the lake and the slough to the east but, just as we were about to leave, Ray spotted a Solitary Sandpiper.  At the same time, an Alder Flycatcher called from its hiding spot.  We ended up with 3 new team birds but only saw one of them.

Solitary Sandpiper

On Tuesday, I joined Mike and Phil at the Weaselhead area in Calgary.  Our targets were Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Least Chipmunk and Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel (all seen the previous day by Bob Lefebvre and Dan Arndt).  The Least Chipmunk was easy – right where Bob told us it would be.  These animals are quite common and we saw 3 more on our walk.  Next up was the ground squirrel – it has some holes right beside the path.  However, there were lots of people around so the animal either stayed in its hole or was in the bushes.  As for the sapsucker, we heard it call and got brief glimpses but could not determine whether it was a Yellow-bellied or Red-naped (both have been seen in the area).  We had a very enjoyable 10 km morning walk but only one new species.

Least Chipmunk

On Wednesday, Ray, Mike and I headed southeast of Calgary.  At our first stop, just east of Third Lake, we saw a White-faced Ibis which was a catch-up bird for Ray and me.  From there we headed to the SW corner of Namaka Lake where we had seen Upland Sandpipers in the past.  We spent about 10 minutes scanning the fence posts and finally Ray heard the sandpiper calling.  We quickly found the bird on a distant post and had decent scope views.  Our final target for the morning was an American Badger.  My wife’s cousin has them on her farm near Chestermere.  Unfortunately, she wasn’t there to give us more specific directions and we didn’t find one.  Our consolation was a Le Conte’s Sparrow singing near the house.

Our final outing for the week was a repeat of our Monday travels, this time with Phil along as well.  The same stops (but in a different order) yielded a Yellow Rail (heard only) catch-up for Phil, a very distant Nelson’s Sparrow at the same location, catch-up birds Alder Flycatcher and Solitary Sandpiper for Phil and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.  We also had great looks at an American Beaver and Great Gray Owl.

American Beaver

Our four morning trips netted us 7 new birds and 1 new mammal.  We are off to the Yukon shortly so we will still have a few Alberta birds to find when we get back:  Connecticut Warbler in the NW, Lark Bunting, Baird’s Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow and Burrowing Owl in the SE and Dusky Grouse in the SW.  If we have time, we may make a trip NE for Mourning Warbler, Sedge Wren and Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (all are possible on our forthcoming east coast trip).

That’s all for now – next post (if we have internet) from the land of the midnight sun.

BC Wrap-up - May trip

On Saturday, we concluded our May BC trip by driving from Penticton back to Calgary.  We were looking to add a new species or two so we chose to take the Chute Lake Road from Naramata to Kelowna.  We were hoping to encounter a Dusky Grouse on the road but we did not.  However, there is a lovely marsh near Chute Lake and a stop there yielded some new trip birds – Northern Waterthrush, Willow Flycatcher, Lincoln’s Sparrow and Wilson’s Snipe.  When we reached Kelowna, we noticed a "Road Closed" sign ... I guess that's why there was no traffic on this scenic but narrow gravel road (there was no similar sign coming from the Chute Lake direction).

View of Okanagan Lake and Kelowna from the Chute Lake Road

North of Vernon, we stopped at Swan Lake to look for Black Swifts but it was the wrong time of day.  Our last stop was at the Salmon Arm harbour.  Dick Cannings mentioned that there were usually Clark’s Grebes in amongst the large number of Western Grebes.  He was right (not that we doubted you, Dick!) and three of us had great looks at a pair of displaying birds.

Clark's Grebes

Phil was a bit under the weather so he had only a brief look and then went back to the car to rest.  We then drove straight through to Calgary as we wanted to get Phil into the loving care of his wife as soon as possible. Our decision to forgo any subsequent stops was made easier as we determined that there were no likely new team species on the rest of the route.

Looking back, we had another great trip.  Though the weather was a little on the wet side on Vancouver Island, we managed to see most our target species while enjoying the rugged beauty of the coastal landscape. 

View from our Tofino area motel



Totem in Pacific Rim N.P.

The culture of the west coast first nations was much in evidence though we didn’t have sufficient time to fully experience it.  Later this year, we will visit the north coast and I hope to show the other team members the birthplace of my grandmother – Lax Kw’alaams (north of Prince Rupert).

We finally made inroads on our mammal count, mostly with marine mammals and rodents.  The highlight was undoubtedly the Vancouver Island Marmot.  Phil obtained good information about the animal’s location but some knowledgeable people gave us little chance of finding it. 

We did a whale watching trip, enjoying close up views of a Gray Whale and Steller’s Sea Lions.  Viewing the Gray Whale was always in parts – first you’d see the spout (though it was more of a fine mist by the time I got the camera on it), then the barnacle encrusted back would come into view and finally the tail flukes just as it dove.

Phil, Brian and Mike on board whale watching boat

Three sections of a Gray Whale - spout, tail and back

Southwest BC has a number of mammals that cannot be found elsewhere in Canada and we had hoped to see at least a couple of them.  It was disappointing not to be able to get to the habitat of Cascade Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel and Townsend’s Chipmunk because of road closures in Manning Park but we did spot the Douglas’s Squirrel a couple of times.

Douglas's Squirrel

On this trip, the focus shifted from migrant to breeding birds.  On the west coast, the birding was more difficult than we were used to – the trees are so tall making the tree-top birds tough to see, the wet stuff falling from the sky blurred the binoculars and the west coast accents of some species confused us at times.  For instance, Townsend’s Warbler sounds much different than here in Alberta.  Still, we managed to get almost all of our non-pelagic targets.  We thought we might see some near-shore pelagics but the whale watching boat headed south instead of the birdier north.

Thanks to a fortuitous meeting with David Routledge, watching Vaux’s Swifts go to roost in a Cumberland chimney was a real treat.  Though we are not chasing rare birds, it is always nice when one shows up when we are in the area.  We were lucky that an Acorn Woodpecker visiting a feeder near Hope stayed around for a few days.

Acorn Woodpecker

The Okanagan valley is the best place in Canada (and in some cases, the only place) for viewing a number of species such as Gray Flycatcher, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Flammulated Owl, White-throated Swift and Common Poorwill.  Beforehand, we gave Dick Cannings a lengthy wish list and he made things easy for us by finding and identifying the birds, usually before we could even get our binoculars on them. 


Birding along the Okanagan River north of Vaseux Lake

On the BC trip we recorded 187 birds and 23 mammals; more importantly, we had 30 new birds and 11 mammals.  Our year’s total now stands at 405 – 360 birds and 45 mammals.    In the next few weeks, we have trips to the Yukon & Northwest Territories and the east coast as well as some Alberta excursions. We think that we our target of 500 is attainable (but won’t be easy) and will have a better idea of where we stand by mid-July.  Getting a few bat species would greatly improve our chances … anyone know of any bat roosts in Alberta or on the east coast?

Springtime in the Okanagan

May 24 – Today had a familiar feel as we birded the wine country of the southern Okanagan Valley with Dick Cannings, a reprise of our itinerary in March. But two months on, there was no longer any snow on our route, and spring was in the air. A quick visit to the Vaseux cliffs found us our first Lewis’s Woodpecker and Lazuli Bunting, both very handsome birds, as well as some White-throated Swifts. We also heard the first of several Rock Wrens, but none would show themselves.

Lazuli Bunting

 A pleasant stroll in a riparian area was very productive, with views of a young Long-eared Owl with parents nearby, and a sighting of a Virginia Rail, which we had only heard before.

Virginia Rail

We then spent the rest of the morning working our way up Shuttleworth Creek road, a logging road with many switchbacks affording some dramatic vistas of the valley below. No time to dawdle, however. Dick led us to a Ponderosa Pine forested area with some nice clearings and we saw three new year birds in quick succession: Dusky Flycatcher, Gray Flycatcher and Cassin’s Vireo. Brian announced that the Gray Flycatcher is our 400^th species, fur and feathers combined.

Gray Flycatcher - #400 [Note diagnostic dark tip to lower mandible]

Not pausing for celebration, we headed on up the logging road to kilometer 13, where Dick’s son Russell had seen two Black-backed Woodpeckers a few days earlier. We soon encountered an encouraging tapping sound which turned out to be an American Three-toed Woodpecker, normally an excellent find but today inducing a whiff of disappointment. After a fairly exhaustive search, we had to admit defeat on the Black-backed and hope to catch up with this bird later in the year. As a consolation, we had excellent looks at Red-naped Sapsuckers; however, a glimpse of a Northern Goshawk was not deemed worthy of making our list.

Red-naped Sapsucker

The IGA in Okanagan Falls makes good sandwiches, which we munched in the car park before setting off after the rest of our list of targets. At Three Gates Farm we saw a male Black-chinned Hummingbird which is a regular at the feeders of this beautiful property.

Black-chinned Hummingbird

 A small slough produced three species of rail: American Coot, Sora and a Virginia Rail, which put on a real show for us. Exploring some sagebrush and grasslands we found the truly-homely Brewer’s Sparrow. This was the last of our “new” species for the day, but we picked up several more as we made our way back to Penticton, ending the day with a total of 97 bird species and five mammal species. Displaying Bobolinks were especially noteworthy. We said our goodbyes to Dick, an excellent guide and very congenial birding companion.

 Brian’s mother and stepfather kindly invited us to their home for dinner, which was delicious and made for a relaxing evening appreciated by us all.

 May 25 – We decided to make another attempt at the Black-backed Woodpecker on the Shuttleworth Creek road, but we were thwarted again. Brian needed to go to Kelowna to take care of some personal business, so Ray, Mike and Phil soldiered on for the rest of the day without him. Probably to Brian’s relief, we did not find any new bird or mammal species, but we enjoyed birding in beautiful country, and abundant spring wildflowers.

Ecological Reserve 100 is sage, antelope brush grassland which lies at the base of the high cliffs of the Throne, east of Oliver, providing outstanding views. In March we had seen a pair of Peregrine Falcons here. This morning we enjoyed wonderful looks at Lark Sparrows, Lazuli Buntings and – finally – a Rock Wren, singing its heart out.  After lunch in Osoyoos, we explored the area of Richter Pass, Kilpoola Lake and Kilpoola West. While we were not lucky enough to find a Sage Thrasher, it was a most enjoyable drive affording leisurely looks at a good number of bird species and a family of Yellow-bellied Marmots.

Lark Sparrow

Yellow-bellied Marmot

A final visit to Vaseux Cliffs (still Chukar-less, to Ray and Phil’s dismay) gave us our best look yet at Lewis’s Woodpecker.

Lewis's Woodpecker

Tomorrow we set off home to Calgary, and are hoping to find one or two new species along the way.