Saturday 31 March 2012

Nakusp Nature Continues



Sorry but no pictures for this short blog entry but a quick update on ‘all-things-natural-in-Nakusp. Last night I had an opportunity to help Gary Davidson complete an owl survey. The method involved 20 separate stops at pre-determined intervals and then listening for calling owl species. Despite the short listening time interval, the two degree temperature which made concentration difficult at times, the sound of spring melting water rushing, the sound of traffic [including some 4wds that were seriously louder than jets] the survey could only be regarded as an outstanding success! Three species were recorded, including Northern Saw-whet Owl, Great Horned Owl and Barred Owl. The latter was recorded at three separate sites.

Today we went, oddly enough, birding. Nakusp’s beach was the first stop and waterfowl migration has certainly started. Some 500 American Wigeon dominated the ducks. With perseverance a Eurasian Wigeon drake was identified among them. Also there were Mallard, Common Merganser [2], Common Goldeneye, Ring-necked Ducks, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Redhead, Pintail and Canada Goose [Geese?].  I tried unsuccessfully to turn a Horned Grebe into a Western Grebe but Gary would have none of it. There were quite a few Horned Grebes as there have been throughout the winter. Gulls included Ring-billed and the more numerous Herring. There was a gull that suggested California however I’m yet to get definitive views – perhaps next time.

From the boat ramp we added a small flock of coot plus some more Goldeneye and Lesser Scaup. A sub-adult Bald Eagle chased half-heartedly a female goldeneye and perhaps then went on to put the huge Wigeon flock to flight. Ravens and crows – forgive me if I fail to mention them but please understand that they seem to be constant.

The compost heap [aka Spicers] yielded a single House Finch, a single Song Sparrow, some singing Chickadees, and a small flock of Redpoll plus a few Pine Siskin. The latter species is still in attendance at seemingly every feeder in town. Oh yes and we saw Robins but more about them in a moment.

Obviously if we're birding we need to visit the sewerage ponds and it too yielded A Wigeon and Mallard, a female Goldeneye plus a pair of Wood duck [my first for Nakusp]. A couple of Song Sparrows were in the company of a small flock of REdpoll and a few Dark eyed Junco plus the ubiquitous Robins.

The greater Brouse Loop and Crescent Bay Road yielded my first Kildeer for the year. The Kildeer is a small plover and a soon-to-be common breeder. Good views of a feasting Merlin were had as we discussed the identification of a perched raptor which scope views easily proved it to be a sub adult Bald Eagle. Red-tails were seen – perhaps four birds in total. And probably about 500 Robins – covering the damp meadows, utilising every piece of snow-less grass available. A few Varied Thrushes were seen and a few more heard. Canada Geese, American Wigeon, Mallard and even Pintail were also grazing the meadows. [I say even Pintail simply because I have not yet seen them do that…] Quite a few flocks of Dark-eyed Junco were seen around the Brouse loop to add to those seen earlier around the sewerage ponds. These flocks seem to be the advance parties for even more Juncos allegedly ready to invade soon. [Have I said that migration is fun? – if not I should have]. Several flocks of Redpoll were also in attendance and usually adjacent to the Juncos. Two American Tree Sparrows were about the last new day birds.

I’m sure I have missed a few things however that will do for a summary for what Gary introduced as a day with ‘perhaps not much about’……

And we also saw some four white-tailed Deer - two at Crescent Bay road plus two near th eSewage works.

Back in Nakusp

From the ferry
 As I write the rain falls merrily down outside upon the streets of Nakusp and its a good time to play 'catch-up" as it has been a while since I 'put pen to paper';
Millie with the mountains of Washington in the background

Megan - wind-swept and interesting
Matt in southern Victoria
Tuesday 20 March - Victoria, Vancouver Island - BC museum in the morning and in the afternoon a little wet drive to the south west of the island to visit Sooke. Brewer's Blackbirds were a nice addition to the afternoon drive.
Brewer's Blackbird















Wednesday 21 March - Victoria, Vancouver to Vancouver - In the morning we went to the coast - Clover's Point etc and then to Swan Lake nature park - again a place that I remembered fondly from the 2009 tour.
Swan Lake

It did not disappoint.
Dark-eyed Junco
 Immediately we saw Anna's Hummingbirds - Megan's first views of these American gems. Overhead were raptors; Bald Eagles, Red-tailed Hawks and another 2009 first; Turkey Vulture. By the days end I had seen at least 5 birds. Swan Lake also held Bushtit, Song, Fox and Golden crowned  Sparrows, Towhees, nesting Bewick's Wrens plus singing Marsh Wrens, Chestnut backed Chickadees,  and both species of Kinglet. In the water were mallards, Canada Geese, Wigeon and some Ring necks and Scaup. A cracking bird was the first Yellow-rumped Warbler.
Golden crowned Sparrow
On the return ferry ride we had good views of Longh-tailed ducks, RB Mergansers, two Cormorants, M Murrelet, Common Murres, Pigeon Guillemots, Rhino Auklets plus Bald Eagles plus GW Gulls.
Fox Sparrow
The return trip into [and out of Vancouver] involved some drama and our first Canadian verbal! It proved difficult to find the right hotel under the cover of darkness... And finally i got us there - to the wrong hotel! Who knew that there were two Super 8 hotels in the one town!? But all's well that ends well to coin a phrase.

Thursday 22 March - Vancouver  to Vancouver - raining! We navigated from east of Vancouver Days Inn [Metro]. A really nice hotel quite well situated 'near' downtown.

Whistler picnic spot
Friday 23 March - A day drive to Whistler where my kids first experienced snow [and all it stands for]. Apparently it stands for non lethal violence. As  i write I can honestly say that the kid's fascination with throwing snow and ice at each other has not yet totally subsided. The drive from 'sea to sky' is excellent and should not be missed. We finished the day with a quick visit to the Lynn Canyon suspension bridge. The walk was good and the kids enjoyed the rock-hopping.

Saturday 24 March - Some quick shoe shopping was followed by some tobogganning at Mt Seymour. Excellent fun despite the quite high temperatures which caused some of the ice and snow to be quite - well wet.












Lake reflections enroute to Kamloops
More Lake Reflections
Sunday 25 March - Return drive to Kamloops from Vancouver via Hope and then route 5A from Merritt. Had a quick lunch at Coquahalla Canyon however the tunnels were closed due to the chance of falling rocks. Here dippers were calling and flying around as they were in 2009. The drive to Kamloops revealed more signs of Spring; an active family of Least Chipmunks by a lake side, some Mountain Bluebirds. It also boasted a sign of winter; a cracking view of a Snowy Owl perched on a fence post on the last big hill before descending into the valley of Kamloops.


















Monday 26 March - Drive to Nakusp via Vernon.

Wednesday - wet drive to Nelson from Nakusp
Experiencing some winter between Kaslo and New Denver
Thursday - wet drive return to Nakusp via Kaslo.


The boys at Nelson



White -tailed Deer

Tuesday 20 March 2012

To Victoria



Today, Monday, we made our way south of Vancouver  to Tsawwassen to catch a ferry across to Victoria, BC’s capitol city, located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. In 2009 we made the crossing in brilliant sunshine, but today was more wintery. Cold. Overcast. A strong wind blowing. One cannot turn March into May I’m afraid. The scenery was still impressive but the overcast conditions kept cameras away and the wind insisted on viewing behind glass.

But there were still birds. New spp for 2012 included quite poor views of Pacific Loon, Marbled Murrelet, Pigeon Guillemot, Bonaparte’s Gull. G winged, Mew and Ring-billed made up the other gulls. Bald Eagles were quite common. Long talied Ducks were about again as were Pelagic and DC Cormorant. A large bank of Common Seals were sighted as well.

Harlequin Ducks
Making our way into Victoria we had our first Tim Horton’s lunch which was followed by navigating our way to the Day’s Inn hotel. Co-travellers in 2009 should remember this place and it is quite nice too, being located down town on the inner harbour. Before checking in we went for a quick get-to-know-you drive along the waterfront and, again, did a quick re-visit to some of the waterfront sites remembered fondly from 2009. Alas the clouds covered the mountain vista across the waters at Washington’s Olympic Peninsular, however it is still easy to appreciate the beauty of the area. At Clover’s Point we stopped and the first thing I saw was a River Otter making its way through the surf. I dragged the kids out of the car and into the wind in time to see the animal drag itself onto the rocks for a quick comfort stop. We all got pretty good views. Birds around  the point included Rhinocerous Auklet – one quite distant bird, Harlequin Ducks, Common Merganser, Bufflehead, Barrow’s Goldeneye, DC and Pelagic Cormorants and GW Gulls by the dozen.

We had a good view of a small family of Mule or Black-tailed Deer were seen doing their best to destroy a garden.

At the Hotel a small family of Bushtits were in the garden adjacent to the carpark. Robins and Crows were also about.

Tomorrow’s weather looks like it might force an indoor day; luckily the hotel is a close to the BC Museum…..

125 Pacific Loon
126 Pigeon Guillemot
127 Marbled Murrelet
128 Bonaparte's Gull
129 Rhinocerous Auklet
My children excited to be at the door steps of political decision making in BC
130 Harlequin Ducks

Sunday 18 March 2012

Picking up the Fam and their first few days...

The Fam - in Stanley Park.

The arrival of the family.
Friday the 16 March saw me leave Kelowna, after a Thursday evening arrival, at soon after six am in the morning to drive down to Vancouver. The morning was clear and the views as I travelled west were superb. I recommend pre-dawn drives in the mountains!!
Route number 5, the Coquihalla Highway, south of Merritt, had amber lights flashing signifying severe winter conditions but with the help of Big Country and Blue Rodeo I made it through. It was nice to see winter again and ‘good’ that my wife and children will soon get a chance to experience it as well.
As I headed south towards Vancouver one thing led to another and i ended up in, quite inexplicably in White Rock but a few kilometres north of the border. I had made good time and thus had planned to spend some time birding on the coast but I clearly went too far south… Anyway it was nice to revisit a site from my 2009 trip. All three scoters were seen [although mostly Surf and White – winged; only one female American]. GW and Mew [Common] Gulls, Goldeneye probably Barrows but sadly I already have forgotten, plus Bufflehead. House Finch and Northwestern Crow pretty much rounding out the birds. Plenty of Red tailed Hawks plus Bald Eagles were seen from the car.
I picked up my family at the airport and it was predictably a good reunion. I was pleased to arrive early as their plane landed nearly half an hour early yet the family only arrived after a long and frustrating hour and a half later. At any rate any wait would have been worth it. As I imagined I heard them before I saw them!
First Canadian night enjoyed the ‘luxury’ of a Super 8 Hotel. It was fine though, certainly all we needed. A brief walk before dark around adjacent suburbs yielded GW Gull, crows plus starlings and Dark eyed Juncos, and, more importantly a playground.
An Indian dinner and a silly Jim Carey movie later their first very brief Canadian day ended.
Saturday saw Stanley Park and my first big city driving. Stanley Park also saw sea birds or perhaps birds at sea; Common Loon, RB Merganser, B Goldeneye, Mallard, Surf Scoter, Bufflehead, A Wigeon. Also our first  [and my] Common Seal for the year. 
Lesser Scaup
Around the park were many Robins and Song Sparrows. Eastern Grey Squirrels were the main mammal to delight the kids and to especially remind them that they are overseas!. Heard Northern Flicker I reckon and saw Bald Eagles, although all quite distant.
Amazing hybrid - Northern Pintail plus Mallard = one strange duck!
Aquarium was very good and the kids  I think liked it. We bought a season ticket, taking the bet that we’ll return at least on one occasion. For me the aquarium’s highlights included Beluga, White sided dolphins, Steller’s Sealions, Common Seals, Sea Otters plus some great BC Coastal habitat tanks plus some interesting displays on amazon, frogs. Strolling around the aquarium I heard a few classic quotes.
The first from a young male [let’s call him American out of respect for my Canadian friends] stated [after seeing Hyacinth Macaws in the Amazon exihibit], “That if was going to be a bird he’d be a Pterodactyl”.
The second quote was oft repeated beside a Caiman exhibit. “I seen them gators already in Florida”.
Today Sunday we went to Reiffel Reserve which was [as always] great. Brian Self selflessly agreed to meet us there. Well not that selflessly as he was already going to guide a bird walk there. At any rate it was great to see him again after our great birding day back in late December.  Immediately upon arrival he got me a lifer with some restricted views of a roosting Northern Saw Whet Owl. It was great to see the little fella after last week hearing it near Nakusp.
Mill and Matt and Mallards
Swooping swallows of American Tree and Violet green varieties were seen signalling Spring. [The reserve had hosted their first hummers for the season a few days before but none were seen today. Most of the expected waterfowl were seen plus sparrows, wrens etc. [a complete list will be written below.]
Pleasingly for me the kids seemed to really enjoy the reserve. Feeding the birds was a highlight and all agreed that a return visit is on the cards!! Tom enjoyed taking photos with his ipod touch. Millie liked feeding the ducks and Matty liked seeing squirrels, beaver damaged trees, spotting birds, taking photos and feeding ducks and Chickadees.
Tom and a Red-winged Blackbird
Reiffel Reserve, and this is a fact worth repeating, is a must visit in Vancouver for anyone with an interest in nature.  
After Reiffel we visited Boundary Bay for a repeat of the feast of Snowy Owls; some 18 are still present apparently and we got good views of half a dozen including one in flight. In addition we got a Short Eared Owl and a few great views of Harriers. The cool quickly drove us back to our jeep though and in it we headed further south to White Rock where I scored my second lifer for the day – Long tailed duck – about a dozen of them swimming and flying around the White Rock Pier – with a few other birds. A quick revisit to Blackie Spit, fish and chips and Day 2 ended. 













BIRD LIST
A = Stanley Park
B = Reiffel Reserve
C = Boundary Bay
D = White Rock                        [** = LIFER]
Common Loon - AD
Horned Grebe - D
American Tree Swallows - sign of spring!
Double-crested Cormorant -  A
119 - Pelagic Cormorant - A, D
Trumpeter Swan - B
Canada Goose - A,B
[Lesser] Snow Goose *** - C
Wood Duck - B
Gadwall - B
Green-winged Teal - B
Mallard - ABC
Northern Pintail – BC

Pintail / mallard hybrid - B
Northern Shoveler - B

American Wigeon - AB
Eurasian Wigeon  - B
Ring-necked Duck - B

Lesser Scaup -B
Greater Scaup - D
Barrow's Goldeneye - AD
Bufflehead - ABD

Hooded Merganser - B
Common Merganser - B
Red breasted Merganser - A
120 - ** Long-tailed Duck - D
Surf Scoter - D
White winged Scoter - D
American Black Scoter - D
Blue Heron - BCD
Bald Eagle - ABCD
Northern Harrier - BC
Red-tailed Hawk - ABC
American Coot -B

Mew Gull - D
Glaucous-winged Gull - ABCD
Rock Pigeon - A
Eurasian Collared-Dove - C

121 - ** Northern Saw Whet Owl - B
Snowy Owl - C
Short eared Owl - C
Northwestern Crow - ABCD
122 - American Tree Swallow - B
123 - Violet-green Swallow - B
Black-capped Chickadee - B

Bewick's Wren - B
Marsh Wren - B
American Robin -  AB

European Starling - ABCD
Spotted Towhee -B
Fox Sparrow -B
Song Sparrow - ABCD
Golden-crowned Sparrow -  B
Dark-eyed Junco - B
Red-winged Blackbird -  B
124 - Bushtit - B
House Sparrow -B
House Finch - D 

Mammals
Eastern Grey Squirrel - AB
7 - Common Seal - A

Sunday 11 March 2012

Sunday Drive

Today was not snowing so we [Gary and I] went birding in the rain and wind. 

"Wild Turkeys"
Specifically we decided to get up very early [we got up at 5am and left at 5-45 however this was the new time that had been changed the evening before because of daylight saving and therefore because the clocks were moved forward an hour it was thus a 4 am wake up and a 4-45am departure on the old time…..] and then we headed west to the Kootenay Lake valley to visit some spots [as shown on the accompanying map]. Now we were optimistic that spring may have sprung a little earlier a little east but we were wrong.

Day trip route [A = Nakusp, B = Lardeau, C = Johnson's Landing, D = Meadow Creek]
Over in the Kootenay Lake area we had both birders and birds as objectives.

First to visit was birder and photographer, Gail Spitler who resides and is retired at an ‘off-the-beaten-track’ farm at Johnsons Landing. Here was a bird that I had long ago eaten but had never seen in the wild; the inaccurately named ‘Wild Turkey’. Gail has hosted a flock of these ridiculous birds for quite a few years – ever since they strolled northwards into her valley, probably from release areas as far south as Idaho, USA. The birds, of course, are authentic native Americans but their spread west seems to have been assisted. Nowadays Turkeys, wherever you find them, are tickable. So this is what I did – ticked them. Lifer, and bird no# 119 for the year 2012!

Also around her farm were Bohemian Waxwings, Siskins, Chickadees, Nuthatch, Song Sparrows and a White throated [singing but not seen], Steller’s Jays, Northern Flickers, Robins, Redpolls, Starlings and the obligatory corvids.

A few black-tailed Deer were wandering in the adjacent Apple Orchid however the advertised Elk were a case of ‘you should have been here yesterday’, an all too familiar phrase for birders and naturalists alike.
Gail very kindly came birding with us and shared some of her knowledge and country. She also advised us that we were mad birding here in the cold and rain and invited us back when it warmed up; an invitation that I’m sure we’ll accept. 

Stopping at a few spots along the lake’s edge in forest first and then adjacent to a small marsh we saw a few familiar faces; Pine Siskins, Buffleheads, Mallards, Dark-eyed Juncos, a Common Loon and a Common Merganser, a cute pair of Hooded Merganser,  Barrow’s Goldeneye, Dipper , two gulls – Herring and Ring-billed and, best of all, good views of a Ruffed Grouse that slowly stepped half way across a road before exploding into flight at my mention of a camera. At the marsh a few Red-winged Blackbirds were holding court at the still dead rushes with their calls begging for spring. The marsh was also home to turtles, information noted by sign rather than direct observation because, sensibly enough, the turtles remained buried under mud, under the water and under the still-iced edges. The marsh also was home to Skunk, a species noted by smell, rather than sight. The smell was quite strong and distinctly ‘skunky’ and both my Canadian friends were in complete agreement as to the odour’s host.

We then visited birder number 2 – Marlene Johnston at Lardeau. She too had her resident birds  in and around her house; Robins, Chickadees, Juncos and the like. Marleen told me about  a small herd of Rocky Mountain goats that reside on the hills above Lardeau – yet another mammal to come back for.

Travelling northward from Lardeau, we stopped on spec and saw a few more waterfowl on small streams and beaver-crafted dams. A single White tailed Deer drinking ran off as we pulled up. Large flocks of Redpolls fed on the roadsides as Siskins are seen elsewhere. Hundreds of birds were seen and we scanned the flocks for a Hoary Redpoll. We, nearly, got lucky. One bird, clearly paler than the rest, stood out even with the naked eye. Sadly it proved a little elusive to get definitive views to turn our 90% sure to a 100% certain. So I have seen a ‘Probable Hoary Redpoll’. A species that I will designate the latin trinomial as Acanthis indistincta prettybloodyannoyingii. Soon after the frustration of the redpoll saga; about a few hundred Canada Goose later in fact, the girls decided that the weather was silly and time was perhaps better spent in doors. We had little in the way of argument so birding was adjourned and lunch called for.

Saturday 10 March 2012

Last week of Solitary Confinement.............

A slow and sleepy Saturday with school work, some emails and a little stroll around town. The stroll produced little save very good views of a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers foraging around the Nakusp Campground plus a dashing Merlin, oh, and a soaring juvenile Bald Eagle.
What else? Well, Senor y senora, Gary y Marie Davidson recently returned from their little four week birding jaunt to Costa Rica a few days ago. And Gary was immediately keen to walk the streets of Nakusp to see the first stages of Spring. I had warned him that the American Robins had arrived and the streets were full of them. They roamed in gangs around the streets, and here and there, were joined by the odd, but still very attractive, Varied Thrush. Red winged Blackbirds were also very obvious through their tuneless songs – although 'song' is a term of some exaggeration. Most of the usual suspects were encountered on our rounds; Chickadees and Siskins, Starlings [some starting to pair up now], Northern Flickers [calling and drumming – again in not-so-quiet anticipation of Spring]. The usual Buffleheads, Common Goldeneyes, Horned Grebes, Mallard and a few Herring Gulls were hanging around the waterfront. Two Dippers were dipping in the green waters of Kuskanax Creek. And we also saw [for me at least] two new additions for my Nakusp list;
Namely
57 Red tailed Hawk    and
58 Spotted Towhee.   Good stuff!    
Well one more working week until the family arrives and I’m very much looking forward to seeing them and ending my long period of bachelor-dom. 

Tuesday 6 March 2012

2012 Mammals - hopefully more to come......

Coyote

Bighorn






White tailed Deer
  1. Coyote
  2. Mule Deer
  3. White tailed Deer
  4. Bighorn Sheep
  5. American Red Sqirrel
  6. Eastern Grey Squirrel
American Red Squirrel
Mule Deer

'Black' Eastern Grey Squirrel






    Sunday 4 March 2012

    2012 Birds - so far

    [Nakusp numbers follow - currently 56 in total]
    1. Common Loon  
    2. Pied-billed Grebe 1
    3. Horned Grebe 2
    4. Red-necked Grebe 3
    5. Eared Grebe
    6. Western Grebe
    7. Double-crested Cormorant
    8. Great Blue Heron 4
    9. Black-crowned Night-heron
    10. Canada Goose 5
    11. Trumpeter Swan 6
    12. Tundra Swan
    13. Mute Swan
    14. Wood Duck
    15. Green-winged Teal
    16. Mallard 7
    17. Northern Pintail
    18. Northern Shoveler
    19. Gadwall
    20. American Wigeon
    21. Eurasian Wigeon
    22. Canvasback
    23. Redhead
    24. Ring-necked Duck
    25. Greater Scaup
    26. Lesser Scaup
    27. Black Scoter
    28. Surf Scoter
    29. White-winged Scoter
    30. Common Goldeneye 8
    31. Barrow's Goldeneye 9
    32. Bufflehead 10
    33. Hooded Merganser 11
    34. Common Merganser 12
    35. Red-breasted Merganser
    36. Bald Eagle 13
    37. Northern Harrier
    38. Sharp-shinned Hawk
    39. Coopers Hawk
    40. Northern Goshawk 14
    41. Red-tailed Hawk
    42. Rough legged Hawk
    43. American Kestrel
    44. Merlin 15
    45. Peregrine Falcon
    46. Ring-necked Pheasant
    47. Ruffed Grouse 16
    48. California Quail
    49. American Coot
    50. Sandhill Crane
    51. Black-bellied Plover
    52. Black Oystercatcher
    53. Black Turnstone
    54. Dunlin
    55. Mew Gull
    56. Ring-billed Gull
    57. Herring Gull 17
    58. Glaucous-winged Gull
    59. Rock Pigeon 18
    60. Collared Dove 19
    61. Mourning Dove
    62. Barn Owl
    63. Snowy Owl
    64. Short-eared Owl
    65. Northern Hawk Owl 20
    66. Anna's Hummingbird
    67. Costa’s Hummingbird
    68. Belted Kingfisher 21
    69. Downy Woodpecker 22
    70. Northern Flicker 23
    71. Pileated Woodpecker 24
    72. Northern  Shrike 25
    73. Gray Jay
    74. Steller's Jay 26
    75. Blue Jay 27
    76. Clark's Nutcracker
    77. Black-billed Magpie
    78. American Crow 28
    79. Northwestern Crow
    80. Common Raven 29
    81. Horned Lark
    82. Black-capped Chickadee 30
    83. Mountain Chickadee
    84. Chestnut-backed Chickadee 31
    85. Red-breasted Nuthatch 32
    86. Brown creeper 33
    87. Bewick's Wren
    88. Pacific Wren 34
    89. Marsh Wren
    90. American Dipper 35
    91. Golden-crowned Kinglet 36
    92. Townsend's Solitaire 37
    93. American Robin 38
    94. Varied Thrush 39
    95. European Starling 40
    96. Bohemian Waxwing 41
    97. Cedar Waxwing 42
    98. Wilson's Warbler 43
    99. Spotted Towhee
    100. American Tree Sparrow 44
    101. Fox Sparrow
    102. Song Sparrow 45
    103. White throated Sparrow 46
    104. Golden-crowned Sparrow
    105. White-crowned Sparrow 47
    106. Dark-eyed Junco 48
    107. Red-winged Blackbird 49
    108. Western Meadowlark
    109. Brewer's Blackbird
    110. Pine Grosbeak 50
    111. Purple Finch
    112. House Finch 51
    113. Red Crossbill 52
    114. Common Redpoll 53
    115. Pine Siskin 54
    116. American Goldfinch 55
    117. Evening Grosbeak 56
    118. House Sparrow

    To Nelson and back again.......

    Not long ago got back to Nakusp and my little living room. Started the fire. Put Blue Rodeo on the stereo. And now it’s time to reflect on my weekend….
    I’ll start at the end; just had a great drive through the countryside from Nelson back to Nakusp via Kaslo. Most of the Canadian clichés experienced – scenery of lakes, pines, mountains plus plenty of snow and ice and water  to drive through – good fun…. See the route map attached.
    Now – working backwards. What was I doing in Nelson? Well I wrote an email to a local Kootenays email birding group effectively touting for birding opportunities and was very kindly offered a nights accommodation and a Sunday morning of birding by Doug and Gala Sly. Their generous hospitality was gratefully received, as was their breakfast of fruit salad and blueberry pancakes [washed down with excellent coffee]. Doug and Gala are retired school teachers enjoying the good life of cycling, skiing, paddling, birding and gardening around their beautiful lakeside home. And travelling. In fact Tuesday sees them leave Canada for a month in Turkey!
    At any rate the birding started before we left the kitchen with Redpoll, Siskins and Flickers around their feeders. Soon we travelled a little way north to Kokanee Creek Provincial Park. It was a warm and windy day and birds were scarce on the water however we saw some Canadian Geese, Mallard and some swans that were, on the balance of probabilities, Trumpeters. Good views of a dipping Dipper were had near the river mouth.  Little else was seen, save singing Song Sparrows and a few crows.  
    Back in Nelson proper we got a few good birds in the water; Pied billed Grebe, Coot, Mallard, Wigeon [c20], Greater Scaup [5]  Bufflehead, Barrow’s Goldeneye [c12 or so], Canada Geese and a single male Gadwall. A generous flock of Rock Doves and Mallards descended on us as we approached in a scene reminiscent of Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’. A couple of Bald Eagles completed the set.
    The bird of the day - Northern Hawk Owl
    back view
    The bird of the day was a fluke; Northern Hawk Owl perched in the open by an entry road to the highway south. We parked precariously, jumped out snapped a few quick shots and within thirty seconds or so the bird decided he was shy and flew off.
    One last stop by an old bridge south of town yielded some more mallards, wigeon, bufflehead, Trumpeter Swans and, new for the day, some Ring necked Ducks and two Common Merganser.
    Now a few words are needed about the drive straight south to Nelson from Nakusp. ‘Beautiful’ is one. Perhaps, ‘stunning’ is another. It’s best to drive by yourself so you don’t have the conversation interrupted as people just stare at the scenery. One pity though is the best spots seem to be on places where to stop is impossible due to narrow roads and / or avalanche zones. Both Mule and White tailed Deer were seen on the drive down.
    Pileated Positioned on Power Pole


    Okay last but not least; I’ve got back to Saturday morning before leaving for Nelson when I scored species number 55 for Nakusp – Pileated Woodpecker.
    All in all a good weekend. Now for three days strike!