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#92135
Good ones Randy. I was hoping to upload my recent Kaslo vacation birds - Grey Catbirds, American Redstarts, and MacGillivray's Warbler, but you got them all closer to home. Guess I better schedule a trip up to Pitt River/Lake and check it out sometime. But at least I got one bird that hasn't made the list yet - had some cooperative Willow Flycatchers down at Kaslo Bay in the morning light, perching on wild rose bushes and singing away. We can add the Willow Flycatcher now:

ImageWillow Flycatcher by GMcD2008, on Flickr
#92140
GMcD: great shot of the Willow F. Hey, if you have a shot of the Redstart, would love to see it. My attempts have been good for registering the capture, but not terribly good images. If you have one that is a step up, I don't think anyone would mind the double post.
#92141
Here's one of my Redstart photos - I wasn't able to get any shots of it closer, although I had a couple males come pretty close to me and even perched for a second about 3 meters away, but I couldn't get on them fast enough. I watched their territorial display - fly up about 2-3 meters above a tree fluttering and flashing the tail, and back down to sing. Fun.

ImageAmerican Redstart by GMcD2008, on Flickr
#92146
Great work everyone! Love all the adds Pat, GMcD, Randy, and Ian. You've got the list up to 193. Here's the current list:
viewtopic.php?p=92145#p92145

Three birds I've added to this list are the Magpie (from Skopje Park, Carr's Landing (Lake Country):
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I was up Beaver Lake road in Lake Country and (barely) caught this Red-Naped Sapsucker!
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One of the outcomes of last year's giant Kelowna-area fire was an increase in the number of Lewis Woodpeckers. I actually had one in my yard. These photos are from Knox Mountain park ... looks like they are nesting there and across the lake in Bear Creek Provincial Park, too.
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Here's the hole it chose as a nest site ... I guess it's nice.
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Finally, here are a couple of images of male/female to add to the collection. First, a pair of Ospreys from the Rotary Park in Downtown Kelowna.
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Then, from the backyard, a small quail family: mom, dad, and chick.
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And one isolated shot of mom and chick.
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Thanks for continuing to build the list! :mrgreen:
James
#92149
I have been watching a local Gull that hangs out around Steveston Channel and the London's Landing pier, notable due to one badly healed broken leg. It still manages to get around and is in adult plumage. I took a few shots this evening and hey, it's a Western Gull - ticks all the identifying features, including greenish eyes (seen in another photo I took). The Challenge List doesn't't have the Western Gull listed yet, so here we go: I present "Gimpy" the Western Gull:

ImageWestern Gull "Gimpy" by GMcD2008, on Flickr
#92150
An update to my "Western Gull" above - apparently it was pointed out by another more expert birder that this is a Western/Glaucous Winged cross due to the pink eye orbit. Apparently pure Western Gulls have a yellow eye orbit. Given that Gimpy there has all the other classic Western Gull markings - black wingtips with white tips, darker mantle than a Glaucous Winged Gull, heavy yellow beak with the lower bill orange spot, and greenish speckles in the eye, I'm going to go with the opinion that this is more Western Gull than Glaucous winged gull, so I'll leave it to the Challenge List referees to deem whether this is a worthy addition to the Challenge List.
#92151
First off--Randy! Congrats on a lifer ... and a great addition to the list! Great photo, too!
Secondly--GMcD ... Because we are self-referees, I'll go with Western Gull. lol. Nice addition as well.

Finally, I hate to do this ... but I'm going to trust that Ian will get us a better shot (like last year). lol. Here's a Bobolink (Osoyoos Oxbows area ...)
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Here is another equally blurry image of it. haha.
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Enjoy! :mrgreen:
James
(FYI: I'll be out of town for the next 6 weeks ... I'll be back early September ... hopefully in time to get some of the interior birds I failed to get here in the first part of the summer. Please keep going with the list! I'll be interested to see what's added by the time I get back.)
#92154
Nice Willet photo Randy. I had a short visit to Mayne Island earlier this week and the bird life was pretty quiet, the usual soaring Turkey Vultures and Eagles, Ravens discussing Raven stuff high in the fir trees, and shoreline life was limited to a flock of Canada geese and a few raggedy Glaucous Winged gulls. I was hoping to get a photo of a Belted Kingfisher as I know a few locations around the island where they hang out. I was at Dinner Bay and saw one perched out on some rocks and got a few long distance shots (80-90 meters away), so heat shimmer and heavy cropping would be the only way to identify a small blob on a rock out in the bay. I intended to get closer by climbing down to the beach, and managed to get down to within 30 meters of the rock there, but the Kingfisher was on to me and flew off. OK, I have time, I waited patiently for a half hour to see if it would come back to the perch, but alas, no joy. I scrambled back up the steep bank and settled back on a shady bench overlooking the bay. Sure enough, just as I plopped onto the seat, the Kingfisher returned to the rock and taunted me. So all I have is a distant shot, but at least it's clearly a Belted Kingfisher to add to the list:
ImageBelted Kingfisher by GMcD2008, on Flickr
#92155
I was watching the morning Swallows Airshow at London's Landing pier this morning when I saw and heard a bit of a commotion over the channel. A Peregrine Falcon was doing a fly-by and the Crows and Swallows were somewhat concerned about it. I snapped off a couple quick shots to see if they'd turn out, one of them did, sort of. Distant and cropped heavily, but clearly a Peregrine Falcon to add to the List:
ImagePeregrine Falcon by GMcD2008, on Flickr
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After the Monday windstorm and overnight howling w[…]