The birds of the Boreal

It seems that I have been chasing a Boreal Chickadee in Southern BC for a few years now. They are no longer easy to see at Manning Park and few have been photographed and reported there in several years. They used to be seen on the Heather Trail and at Strawberry Flats. Traditional sites to see them in the Okanagan have been Silver Star in Vernon, Big White in Kelowna, Shuttleworth Creek Rd in Okanagan Falls and Apex Mountain in Hedley.  They are normally easier to see in winter (when they come down to lower elevations) than in the summer. They prefer to spend most of their time in the interior of dense spruces making them harder to see. Because they like spruce and balsam fir forests it is harder to  find Boreal Chickadees in the southern BC near the southern limits of their range where the forests are mostly deciduous. They are mostly insectivores but also eat conifer seeds and fruit. In the fall they store their food on the underside of branches in caches that are held in place with their saliva. They do this so that they can easily retrieve them in the winter, when the snow covers the top of the branches.

Boreal Chickadees have several different common names: "Tom-tit", "Chick Chick", "Fillady", "Hudsonian Chickadee", "Acadian Chickadee" and "Brown-capped Chickadee".

Well, after several attempts at all these locations this year and the last, I finally got a Boreal Chickadee at Apex Mountain (actually Beaconsfield Mountain). As I drove along the road to the cross country ski hills, the mountain was alive with Hermit Thrushes (finally got a decent shot of one here), Chipping Sparrows, Short-tailed Weasels, Snowshoe Hare, Deer, Bears, Marmots and the like but not a Chickadee in sight!. Usually, I get tons of Mountain Chickadees up there. I was getting worried and was actually on my way out, when this glorious raspy voice (that sounded different from a Mountain) started calling at Km 17 at an elevation of 2187 m. The Boreal Chickadee was calling all by his lonesome! It was as if he was meant just for me. I celebrated with Common Poorwills and a Flammulated Owl that night.

This has been a good couple of months for me for Boreal birds, as I've also had Boreal, Great Gray and Northern Hawk-Owls.

Out of all of them though, believe it or not, even if I got a poor records shot,  I enjoyed the Chickadee most of all.

There is truly something special about Boreal Birds, it's nice to breathe the same mountain air with them.

*The locations of owls, will not be shared for their protection.

Boreal Chickadee on Apex Mountain - Photo: Melissa Hafting

Hermit Thrush on Apex Mountain - Photo: Melissa Hafting

Northern Hawk-Owl - Photo: Melissa Hafting

Immature Great Gray Owl - Photo: Melissa Hafting







Comments

  1. john teeAugust 22, 2017 at 4:44 AM

    great post mel congrats on getting your boreal chickadee. you sure do well with those boreal birds and owls. great photos of the hawk-owl and Hermit thrush too!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Melissa HaftingAugust 23, 2017 at 10:45 PM

      thanks john was a cool summer with these birds for sure.

      Delete
  2. michael winstonSeptember 5, 2017 at 4:47 AM

    love the hermit thrush shot and hawk-owl mel congrats on the boreal chickadee

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Dowitcher Identification

Image
Birders notoriously find it difficult to tell Short-billed and Long-billed Dowitchers apart. I have got a request to do an identification explanation on them so here goes, I hope it will be helpful. Short-billed Dowitchers and Long-billed look so similar. Using their habitat is helpful but not diagnostic. Short-billed Dowitchers tend to prefer Salt water and brackish water and Long-billed Dowitchers tend to prefer fresh water. However, I have OFTEN seen Short-billeds in freshwater and Long-billeds in brackish and salt water. Therefore, DO NOT rely on habitat. Another feature many people will tell you to rely on is spotting on the side of the flanks of Short-billeds and barring on the side of Long-billeds. Usually this is a mark that you can use but it is not always as distinct as you like. I have seen Short-billeds with a barred appearance to the flanks. It is only at the side of the breast where you have to look for this diagnostic feature for the spots on a Short-billed and t...
Read more

Hawk Identification Tips from every angle (Sharpie vs Cooper and Red-tailed Subspecies)

Image
I get several questions about the difference between accipiters. The most common ones are between Sharp-shinned Hawks and Cooper's Hawks and between Cooper's Hawks vs Northern Goshawks (to a lesser degree). Next, I get many questions dealing with a certain race of buteos the Western Red-tailed Hawk and Harlan's. So I thought I would do a post on these to help answer those questions. I will deal with Cooper's and Sharpies and not Goshawks because they are much more common here and look much more alike. My friend John Reynolds inspired me to write this up. COOPER'S AND SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS EYE COLOUR - YELLOW OR ORANGE? RED? Normally a juvenile Cooper's hawk has a bright yellow eye and a Juvie Sharpie has a orange eye but some cooper's can have a dull yellow eye that looks a bit orangish. Cooper's Hawks usually only transition to the orange eye colour when they are sub adults, so in good light, it's a very very reliable feature. However you ...
Read more

STINT IDENTIFICATION

Image
As per request, here are some tips that I hope will be helpful in identifying and differentiating Red-necked Stint from Little Stint. I will also do a brief intro on Long-toed and Temminck's Stint... if you build it they will come right?😉 Red-necked and Little Stints look very much alike in worn breeding plumage. The amount of Red on the face, throat and breast in Red-necked Stint is vary variable). They look even more alike in non-breeding plumage, that is why it is essential to learn structural differences to separate the two. They are similar to Semipalmated Sandpipers as well as Sanderlings. Both species are often confused for Red-necked Stints. Little Stints rarely get confused with Sanderling because they have a hind toe which helps differentiate it from this species. Sanderlings in breeding or worn breeding are usually confused with Red-necked Stints but they are much larger than Red-necked Stints. Let's first start with Bills in this complicated ID proces...
Read more

*Updated - The most famous Red-tailed Hawk is eating fish on the ground just like a Bald Eagle!

Image
Update - There are plans in the works to make a documentary film on this young Red-tailed Hawk who thinks he's an Eagle. You can read the latest news about that on CBC HERE . Watch this incredible footage of the little Red-tailed Hawk who grew up in a family of three Eaglets and 2 Bald Eagle Parents. He is imprinted now on Bald Eagles. He looks and acts just like one, as you can see here in the video below. He is standing over a large salmon carcass, just like a Bald Eagle would and he's eating the decaying flesh. Red-tailed Hawks like to eat voles and rabbits etc. not fish! Imprinting is usually irreversible according to raptor expert David Bird. However, I hope it's reversible so that he doesn't attempt to mate with a Bald Eagle, as the Eagle would kill him because it would view him as a Hawk. Eagle expert David Hancock said that the bird will likely starve and get killed by an eagle. He said this possibly can be prevented if someone grabs it and takes it to O...
Read more

1 year since I lost my father

Image
My dad and I whom I miss terribly. One year on since I lost him. Today would have been my mother's bday. Her name was Valerie and it is also the first year anniversary of the death of my beloved father, Arne. There is not a day that goes by where I don't think of them. Now for ever more the day of his death will be connected to her birthday, a very sad day but in a way that connection is beautiful to tie them together. My beautiful family before we lost both parents. I put flowers down at their grave to celebrate them both today. I hate that it is one year since I told him I loved him and hugged him. I miss him so very much. I miss his voice, his love and guidance and support. The ground for me feels shakier without his guidance and safety. I hate I will never see him again or talk to him again. Can't believe how quick time passes. This is why it is so important we treasure every single day to the fullest and tell those we love them. I will never forget the day he passed aw...
Read more