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#91480
NewWestBirder wrote: Jul 25 3:03 pm James' earlier description of his Black Mountain Park trip (and his picture) was so compelling, I drove out from the coast a few days ago, and had a wonderful time. Not only went to Black Mountain (such a beautiful walk amongst the grasslands and hills) but hit Carney Pond, Robert Lake, and Chichester Bird Sanctuary and Knox Mountain. Loads of birds, many firsts for me, and many great pics. I stayed at the UBC campus, and all the bird sites were 10 to 15 minutes drive from there. It was perfect. Most of my captures already posted earlier, but here are my new contributions.

Virginia Rail: Went to Chichester Park, in middle of residential area. Not much happening, but I decided to walk around, and saw a break in the brush, and walked into a dark area, under a large tree, where I saw some waters edge, reeds, swampy area. And what should appear a minute or so later, but a Sora, and this Rail, foraging together. Even more, my camera noise didn't bother them at all. A real gift from the birding gods. Only challenge was the lighting, as they went from dark shadows to partial lighting. Ended up with high ISO.
Wow, Randy! Great time in Kelowna I see ... haha. I'm jealous of the Sora/Rail and I live here. lol. Thanks for keeping the pictures flowing -- I was out of the country for the last month visiting family. I've got a couple of pictures to add, but am still sorting photos ... If you plan another trip this way, message me (or email [stumblingpiper at hotmail]) and we can hit a few other places.
James
#91481
Last week I was hiking in the Johns Family Nature Conservancy south of Kelowna. A beautiful park with access to some great birds! We saw several Turkey Vultures and Hawks soaring along the rock face ... we heard (and saw) several smaller birds. This one stood out in song and we waited around and were rewarded with a nice show! A Canyon Wren. The only Wren missing from our list now is the Rock Wren (Ian?? :D )
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Here he is singing away! (sorry, I couldn't get a picture and a video Kevin!)
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#91483
We are at 195 birds, so far. I've been a little restricted on my bird-watching (my wife had major surgery and we haven't been able to drive the back roads together) ... I hope to add a few more of my "regulars" in the next month or so ... I hope we can make 250 this year ... we are also missing some of the rarities folks got last year!

Here's a link to the current list!
viewtopic.php?p=91482#p91482
#91493
I've been falling behind with the pictures... sorry :D

I have a bunch and I'll find a few more later from earlier in the year.

Long-eared Owl (this was back in February):
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Long-billed Curlew:
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Baird's Sandpiper:
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Buff-breasted Sandpiper:
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Bank Swallow:
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Black Swift:
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There has been a Black-and-white Warbler around for months now, and despite hours of waiting for it to show itself, this is the best I have managed:
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#91495
Steely wrote: Sep 07 8:10 am Very nice adds to the list! Very busy last couple of months and minimal outings…
Rock Wren… I’ll see what I can do…🤔
Lol ... Thanks, Ian! Any other migratory bird you see passing through would help too. :D
#91496
Nice work keeping the list going, Zach. I was finally able to get out and get the Lewis Woodpecker. He was hanging out at his favorite tree down near Rock Creek, BC. The lighting was bad--that's all I can say! lol.
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He/She had a tongue hanging out in this picture ...
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#91500
I went back through the list and found a couple of birds I'd left off ... we are at 205 right now. Nice work, everyone! As promised, I'm now going to include the "unseen" birds ...

Ian -- I tried to get the Boblink, but I was too late this year. Do you happen to have a picture of it?
Here's the link to the the "2022 Unseen:"
viewtopic.php?p=91499#p91499

Happy Bird Stuff, everyone!
James
#91508
ImageDSC_6892 (2) by Randy Varga, on Flickr

American Avocet (male)

ImageDSC_6945 (2) by Randy Varga, on Flickr

American Avocet (female). I am going out on a limb here..as per my reading one difference between male and female is female has a more bent bill on the end, and looking at all my photos I took today seems to indicate to me that the second bird has that feature. I will humbly stand corrected it someone cares to express a different view.
#91509
ImageDSC_7693 (2) by Randy Varga, on Flickr

Hi folks. Earlier in the year there was a Sharp-shinned vs. Coopers discussion over a posted picture. Its now my turn to seek your guidance on this pic. Merlin names Cooper as first possible bird, but also names Sharp-shinned second, if that makes any difference. Because the tail seems rather straight across, I am thinking this is a Sharp-shinned. Would like to hear your opinion.
#91512
NewWestBirder wrote: Sep 18 8:50 pm ImageDSC_7693 (2) by Randy Varga, on Flickr

Hi folks. Earlier in the year there was a Sharp-shinned vs. Coopers discussion over a posted picture. Its now my turn to seek your guidance on this pic. Merlin names Cooper as first possible bird, but also names Sharp-shinned second, if that makes any difference. Because the tail seems rather straight across, I am thinking this is a Sharp-shinned. Would like to hear your opinion.
Having spent some time reading material on comparisons of the two hawks, and viewing many pictures of both types, I now think that this is a Coopers. My reasons: 1. Coopers have thicker legs than Sharpies, says the literature. All the pictures of Sharpies I have seen show rather spindly legs on the bird. In my shot, these legs are rather robust, i.e., the legs of a Cooper. 2. Sharpies apparently have short, or next to no, necks. In many of the images, the head looks like it is perched on top of the body. Coopers apparently have more of a neck, and I think my shot displays this feature. 3. The white band on the end of the tail is apparently wider and more distinctive on the Coopers, and it is certainly very noticeable in my shot. 4. And this last point is impression only: Sharpies are the size of a jay or dove, Coopers a little bit bigger, like a crow. My impression is that my bird was not a jay or dove size bird, but closer to crow size.
So, with this rationale, I am presenting this bird as a Coopers, which I don't think is on our list yet.
As always, I am happy to hear other opinions, as I can't claim to be dead certain.
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