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#89179
I was out with my wife mountain biking near Predator Ridge north of Kelowna in Ellison Provincial Park. We saw a couple of Chickadees and decided to call them in ("Psshing" them). We were immediately surrounded by birds -- one of which was this White-breasted Nuthatch. They came in close enough I could snap some photos with my cell phone. This counts! haha.

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#89220
Sorry I couldn't synch up with you, Zach, when I was over in Vancouver.

I was out today and had a good day of birding (even in a little rain). Down in Mission Creek Park in Kelowna I happened upon this little guy!

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Northern Saw-Whet Owl.

I heard what I thought was a chipmunk (or squirrel) and went to find it to show my daughter. Instead, I saw this little fellow being hounded by a small sparrow. He ignored the sparrow until it left and just hung out ... We took a couple of quick photos, admired him for a minute, and then left him to his rest. Really cool ... Lifer for me ... I also saw a Horned Grebe down by the waterfront (we already have that but another Lifer for me). Excellent day overall ... oh, and we saw a Red-necked Grebe as well. Glad I had my camera with me! :mrgreen:

Ian - I was down your way but couldn't stop--long drive on Wednesday to Wenatchee and back. Passed a lot of cars parked at the Vaseux Bird Sanctuary ... tagging Migratory I guess ... seen any other ones on their way south to add to our list??
James
#89221
stumblingpiper wrote: Sep 27 6:49 pm Sorry I couldn't synch up with you, Zach, when I was over in Vancouver.

I was out today and had a good day of birding (even in a little rain). Down in Mission Creek Park in Kelowna I happened upon this little guy!

Northern Saw-Whet Owl.
Ooh nice! We only see those in the cold months here, and I was worried that might not happen before the year’s end.

I think we still need a Pygmy-owl, hopefully an islander can help us with that one.
#89230
We are running out of a lot of birds! lol. Funny thing for me today ... I was out for a ride on the Kettle Valley Rail Trail with my spouse, daughter, and daughter's boyfriend ... it was chilly up there at 1260 meters ... about 3 degrees Celsius! However, we happened upon this little bird on the ride ... fortunately it hung around long enough for me to get with my cellphone ... again. haha.
Check it out!

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Unless I'm mistaken and so is Merlin, this is a Spruce Grouse! Woo hoo. Another Lifer and one for the collection this year!
#89232
Great work, everyone! We are at 260 birds ... wow. I think realistically we might get to 275 ... which would be awesome! :mrgreen:
Just an incredible job all the way around. A couple that I'd still like to have on here are:
1) Rusty Blackbird ... is it still here or has it gone south?
2) Veery ... I thought someone had that?
Running out of ideas though ... so many good birds already ...
James
#89233
I thought it might be interesting to post a bio for each of the folks contributing to this list, so I'll start. My name is James, I live in Kelowna. I've been here since April 2017 ... I'm retired from the US Air Force. I've been a bird-watcher since 1975 ... still have my Golden Field Guide "Birds of North America." I wouldn't classify myself as avid but I do pay attention...haha. My life list currently stands at 1,084 ... this year I've got 133 (approx) in BC and 374 overall. I think birding is a fantastic hobby.

If I had to describe myself, I would say I'm a list-maker first, birder second, and photographer a distant third. haha.

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#89236
Nice to virtually meet you James!

Wow, 1975! I've actually got a photo of myself and my sisters birding that year! :lol:

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I was born in the Cariboo region of B.C. but did some time in the prairies as well (too cold). I came to Vancouver in '93 to study music at UBC, but eventually ended up in the software industry as a programmer/nerd which is what I'm doing now.

I actually 'discovered' birds only a couple of years ago when I was out photographing aircraft near YVR. I still enjoy both and rarely miss a local airshow... especially love the WW2 era planes. But birds are a truly year-round phenomenon and they keep me busy through the winter months!
#89238
zwest wrote: Oct 03 6:45 pm I noticed we were still missing Brandt's Cormorants, which are always hard to get up close. So here is a distant shot from today of a mixture of Brandt's, Double-crested and Pelagic Cormorants, plus a few seals for good measure. Taken at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal.
lol. Great! I've got that same picture but from 2017 ... I'll add them to our list!
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