DARE TO BIRD

Since I was going down to do some Washington birding (including to twitch the Caracara), I figured I would extend my time down there to see as much as possible in two days. It's a fantastic state to bird in with so many great birds that we don't regularly get in BC with their varied climates. Here is some of the highlights I was able to see in two days: Two loggerhead shrikes (one in Gingko State Park and one in Odessa) Two Ferruginous hawks (who recently had 3 nestlings in Odessa). Common Poorwills (Yakima) Townsend's Solitaires and Red Crossbills (Cascade Mtns) Lazuli Buntings, Pewees and House Wrens (Potholes State Park) Northern-Rough winged swallow colony and bank swallow colony (in Othello) Two Burrowing Owls (in Othello) Says Phoebe's and Magpies everywhere in Central and Eastern WA Western Kingbirds everywhere TRI-COLORED BLACKBIRDS (we were thrilled to get 3 at McCain pond's near Othello!) American White Pelican (1 at McCain pon...

The Manning Park Youth Birding Trip with ten kids went off without a hitch today ! We had gorgeous weather. We dipped on seeing any grouse but that was probably because I was driving a military tank transporting the kids ;) which scared any possible bird away! All in all we did pretty well and even saw a bear and missed a cow moose and two calves by ten mins! The Colombian ground squirrels and 11 Barrow's Goldeneye ducklings seem to made up for it though. Our "highlights" from today were: Nashville warbler (Rare for the park!) American Three-toed woodpeckers (male in close range!) (3) Pacific wren Sooty grouse (heard only) Gray Jays Raven Clark's Nutcrackers Townsend's warblers Rufous Hummers Swainson's thrushes Evening Grosbeaks Eastern Kingbird Mtn chickadees Hermit thrushes Red-naped sapsuckers(4) Red-breasted sapsucker Black swift (2) Dark eyed junco Barn swallows Spotted Sandpipers Belted Kingfisher Pileated woodpeck...

So I went out on a boat today at Lac Le Jeune and I came away with a very special experience! It was a day I will never forget. The loons were feeding their babies dragonfly nymphs. We saw 8 loons and 8 babies! Two loons were riding with 2 babies on their backs! It was completely adorable!  The loons were also calling their mystical/haunting call and hearing it so up close and personal was a really moving experience! We are so blessed to share a planet with these beautiful birds! Here are some photos I would like to share from today: Common Loons at Lac Le Jeune with chicks - Photos: Melissa Hafting

I went up to Princeton with young birders Liron and Phoebe. Here we ended up seeing 8 Williamson's Sapsuckers, Lazuli Buntings, 3 Least Flycatchers, Spotted Sandpipers, Cassin's Finches, Swallows, Mountain Bluebirds, Vesper Sparrows, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Mourning Doves, House Wrens, Dusky Flycatchers and White-breasted and Pygmy Nuthatches. We visited August Lake and Swan Lake. Male Lazuli Bunting - Photo: Melissa Hafting Spotted Sandpiper - Photo: Melissa Hafting Male Williamson's Sapsucker - Photo: Liron Gerstman

I just came back from birding with young birder Isaac in Kamloops when I got the text that a Loggerhead Shrike had been found at Hope Airport. This bird was present until saturday and I saw it on the wednesday. I went straight from Merritt and was there as fast as I could. This was a BC bird for me.hile I was there he was eating mice and beetles! These birds impale their prey and are severely declining in North America. I always find it odd that these birds don't occur in BC since they occur in nearby WA regularly. Loggerhead Shrike in Hope, BC - Photo: Melissa Hafting

I drove down to see a gorgeous male breeding plumage BTBW. It was at a private home with lovely owners. This was the 12th state record of this bird in WA! He flew right into the suet in front of me and perched briefly on this tree branch. This photo was published in the new book "The Birds of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest: A Complete Guide" by Richard Cannings, Tom Aversa, and Hal Opperman. You can buy it HERE After this I dipped on the nearby Brambling in Issaquah because I had to rush back to Vancouver, BC for an appointment. Black-throated Blue Warbler in Bothell, WA - Photo: Melissa Hafting

Ilya came up with the idea to do a hike for White-tailed Ptarmigan.We decided to hike up to First Pump Peak at 1407m elevation on Mount Seymour. I started helping him invite people and soon we had 16 people signed up! Brian Stech and Dorothy Copp, George Clulow, John Reynolds, Carlo Giovaella, Jeremiah Kennedy, Ian Thomas, Yousif Attia, Quentin Brown, Rob Lyske, Liron Gertsman, Peter Candido, Daniele Mitchell, Andrew Foxall and Ilya Povalyaev and myself. The more the merrier when you are searching for an all white bird in snow. Ptarmigan do occur on the local North Shore Mountains but sightings are few and far between and there are actually more recorded Rock sightings than White-tailed strangely enough. Danny Tyson had been successful in the past and so had Arman and myself  in winter so we decided to try again. This winter was mild and most of us were able to climb the mountain with hikers without crampons or poles. I was feeling pretty ill that day but dragged myself up the m...

I got to go to Arizona this family long weekend with my sister and got to spend some of my free time birding. One of the first birds I saw when I stepped off the plane was a Gambel's Quail. These beautiful birds were all over Central Arizona .  I had a great success seeing  many owls in Arizona this trip. I got to see an uncommon Whiskered Screech-Owl. I just stumbled on this tiny little owl while hiking in Southeastern Arizona. He was roosting in the daylight in a Sycamore tree. Several people passed by this tree without noticing him but I knew to check out cavities. I was actually looking at a Arizona Woodpecker when I turned around and spotted him in this Sycamore tree. These tiny owls are rarely seen in the daylight and are only found in Southeastern Arizona and Mexico in North America. The same day and a few hours apart I found a Western Screech-Owl, he was also roosting in a Saguaro Cactus. This little owl had his eyes partially open at times but most of th...

Took the ferry over to Victoria to see this female Acorn Woodpecker. The bird was first found by Klaus Emmaneel. Was cool to see this clown face bird. It was the first record for Victoria and 9th for BC. After I  successfully twitched the Cattle Egret that was found by Michael Shepard and saw 8 Skylarks in the bulb fields on Central Sannich Rd. Female Acorn Woodpecker in Victoria, BC - Photo: Melissa Hafting Cattle Egret in Victoria - Photo: Melissa Hafting Eurasian Skylarks in Saanich - Photo: Melissa Hafting

I went one day with the masses of crowds to see the White-wagtail who was found by Mark Wynja in a corn field with 70 American Pipits at the corner of 34 St and 33a St in Delta. When I went it was raining and the bird blended into the mud. Yousif Attia who had a scope let me look through his scope and I had great views of the bird! Here is a distant record shot I was able to get. This was a lifer for me.  This bird breeds in much of Europe and Asia and parts of North Africa. It is found in North America during the summer in Alaska. You can read more about the sighting HERE "Where's Waldo?" - White Wagtail in Ladner - Photo: Melissa Hafting