First day in Nakusp

Went birding. Scouting for the annual CBC. Christmas Bird Count for non North Americans. The actual CBC is tomorrow but alas I’m expected to be educating and it is bad form to have a sickie on one’s first day of new employ. But today, for the morning at least, I can bird. So we went to Lake side, several of the town’s best gardens for bird feeding and, as a special highlight, the Nakusp Sewerage works.

Lake side delivered a few unexpected species, both species of Goldeneye plus a distant pair of Red necked Grebes plus the strange sight of an American Dipper swimming and dipping in the lake’s shallows.  

The brave Wilson's Warbler

A nearby organic garden produced a special bird – an overwintering Wilson’s Warbler. Most warblers have the sense to migrate south, away from the cool of Canada. However this bird has stayed, tempted by the heat and food produced by a very large fruit and vegetable compost bin. Its bright yellow stands out strongly from the several Song Sparrows whose company he keeps.

The sewerage ponds were frozen over. This is not a place where you want to skate on thin ice! So water birds – save a few Mallard – were not the targets. Stray passerines were. And we found, especially for me, a beauty. American Tree Sparrow. A handsome little guy and a lifer!

Steller’s Jays, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Chestnut backed and Black capped Chickadees, Varied Thrush and a Junco adorned Gary Davidson’s front yard. And I scored a Brown Creeper on the walk home.

Birds seen.

Red necked Grebe

Gary Davidson proudly parades on his poo patch.

Canada Goose

Mallard

Common Goldeneye

Barrow’s Goldeneye

Bufflehead

Goosander

Herring Gull

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Feral Pigeon [Rock Pigeon]

Northern Flicker

Steller’s Jay

Northwestern Crow

Raven

Black-capped Chickadee

Chestnut backed Chickadee

Red breasted Nuthatch

Brown Creeper

American Dipper

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Varied Thrush

European Starling

Wilson’s Warbler

Song Sparrow

American Tree Sparrow ***

Dark-eyed Junco

Pine Siskin

American Goldfinch

House Finch