Post by paulos on Oct 4, 2019 9:24:05 GMT -8
September was a nice month of birding in the Creston Valley. By the end of September it got very cold and we had our first snow! That is apparently exceptional.
In September I saw about twenty new Creston birds. One highlight was a Chickadee grand slam on the nearby forest road up Mount Thompson! I had Black-capped, Chestnut-backed, Mountain and two Boreal Chickadees. At one point at least three species mixed. I also found a partial clearcut on the same forest road that provided some excellent hawk watching in mid-September, including Northern Goshawks, a Golden Eagle and an unreal six Broad-winged Hawks. I came across a few more shorebirds, some Longspurs, a Vesper sparrow and other migrants in the long wetland dikes and trails. The valley is an important corridor for Greater White-fronted Geese, and I counted over 350 in one flock.
The biggest highlight, and one of my favourites yet from birding, was from Duck Lake. I was excited about a Horned Lark I had just seen on the dyke (the path between the lake and lagoon reminds my a bit of Harrison--but more bulrushes and algae and less sand and playground equipment). I was watching a couple Bonaparte's Gulls, when a starkly contrasting powerful bird came into view chasing them. It was an adult Parasitic Jaeger! Because it was an adult with obvious Parasitic plumage I didn't have trouble identifying it in spite of my limited experience with Jaegers. I had just bookmarked the Jaeger chapter in Kaufman's guide to advanced birding, thinking it would be useful knowledge for one day. But I didn't read it yet. I would have been woefully unprepared for a juvenile, something I hope to rectify.
The birding is getting quieter with the colder days, but the extra darkness is giving me some good chances to go owling. I'll have more on that in my October report.
Peace!
In September I saw about twenty new Creston birds. One highlight was a Chickadee grand slam on the nearby forest road up Mount Thompson! I had Black-capped, Chestnut-backed, Mountain and two Boreal Chickadees. At one point at least three species mixed. I also found a partial clearcut on the same forest road that provided some excellent hawk watching in mid-September, including Northern Goshawks, a Golden Eagle and an unreal six Broad-winged Hawks. I came across a few more shorebirds, some Longspurs, a Vesper sparrow and other migrants in the long wetland dikes and trails. The valley is an important corridor for Greater White-fronted Geese, and I counted over 350 in one flock.
The biggest highlight, and one of my favourites yet from birding, was from Duck Lake. I was excited about a Horned Lark I had just seen on the dyke (the path between the lake and lagoon reminds my a bit of Harrison--but more bulrushes and algae and less sand and playground equipment). I was watching a couple Bonaparte's Gulls, when a starkly contrasting powerful bird came into view chasing them. It was an adult Parasitic Jaeger! Because it was an adult with obvious Parasitic plumage I didn't have trouble identifying it in spite of my limited experience with Jaegers. I had just bookmarked the Jaeger chapter in Kaufman's guide to advanced birding, thinking it would be useful knowledge for one day. But I didn't read it yet. I would have been woefully unprepared for a juvenile, something I hope to rectify.
The birding is getting quieter with the colder days, but the extra darkness is giving me some good chances to go owling. I'll have more on that in my October report.
Peace!
