Whistler and Blackcomb Mountain Young Birder Trip!

Well our youth birding trip was a fantastic success. We had such a great time in gorgeous sunshine! We had eight kids and they all got many lifers!

These are some of the highlights we saw today during our 11.9km hike!

450 Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches (both the coastal and interior species!) It was an amazing sight to see such large flocks in swarms like that!
Northern Pygmy-Owl (perched 6 metres away from us!)
1 Hoary marmot
Pikas
Pine Siskins
Evening Grosbeak
Varied thrush
Steller's Jays
Mountain chickadees
Chestnut-backed chickadees
Red breasted Nuthatches
Red-tailed Hawks
3 American Pipits
Golden-crowned Kinglets
8 Sharp-shinned Hawks
4 Clark's Nutcrackers
Eurasian-Collared Dove
1 Townsend's Solitaire
2 Merlins
50 Gray Jays (that loved to feed from our head and hands)

We dipped on a Ptarmigan but we couldn't complain could we?! It was so wonderful seeing our first Rosy finch from the "Peak to Peak" gondola, having lunch by such a beautiful lake hiking in the alpine and seeing all these great birds, plus feeding the Gray Jays with great friends :)! Surely a day we won't ever forget and thanks Bridget for baking the delicious cookies!

Thanks guys for an awesome day and all the joy you have brought me this year! This was a terrific way to end our final field trip of the year!

Hiking Blackcomb Mtn with the kids - Photo: Bridget Spencer
Young Birders at Blackcomb Lake - Photo: Melissa Hafting
Hermit Thrush - Photo: Virginia Spencer
Gray Jay - Photo: Bridget Spencer
Hoary Marmot - Photo: Virginia Spencer
Northern Pygmy-Owl - Photo: Virginia Spencer
Bridget Spencer and Ian Harland feeding Gray Jays
Virginia Spencer with Gray Jay in Whistler - Photo: Melissa Hafting

 If you would like to join the Young Birder Program email me at bcbirdergirl@gmail.com

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