DARE TO BIRD

This bird was found today by visiting Washington State birders Andy and Ellen Stepniewski. The bird was at Esquimalt Lagoon in Colwood, BC on Vancouver Island. This bird moved fast and jumped around like a little mouse. He was not easy to photograph during my visit (hence my record shot) but I sure was happy to see him. This bird unfortunately had 2 ticks on the left side of his face which you cannot see in this photo. Many are wondering if this is the same bird seen recently in Neah Bay, WA. This is the second time BC birders got to see BC's second record of a bird after missing the single observer sighting the year before. Recently the same thing happened with a Lucy's Warbler. Field Sparrow in Colwood - Photo: Melissa Hafting You can read more about this sighting at my other blog the BC RBA HERE

Ilya and I went up to Kelowna, BC to twitch the Lucy's Warbler that Michelle Lamberson originally found the September 25th at Sunset Park a few months before. During the 5 hour drive we were getting anxious. It had just been relocated at the same location on November 12th by Chris Charlesworth, Chris Siddle, Ann Gibson and Michael Force. When we got there we got great views of the bird after Mike Toochin heard it calling.  This was the second record for the province. The first record was a single observer sighting in Castlegar a few months before in May. We never thought we would get the chance to see one again so quickly! We also saw a rare for the area Green Heron and a late Least Flycatcher. Later on we travelled to Vernon and twitched Chris Siddle's good looking adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. Female Lucy's Warbler in Kelowna, BC - Photo: Melissa Hafting  You can read more about this sighting at my other blog HERE