Yellow-breasted Chat in Langley

[birderbert]

Rare of course and definitely worth a visit


Yellow-breasted Chat M5s by BirderBert, on Flickr

[butterfly]

Nice work Bert! Bruce and Joanne

[Randy]

Wow where in Langley was it?

[birder1942]

Great Photo!!
Yellow-breasted Chat is still in Langley as of this a.m. I heard it as soon as I got out of my car this morning about 7:35. It did not take long to find it as it was constantly singing and chattering and showed really well.
It is at Bell Park in Brookswood area of Langley. If you head south on 208 street, right on 40 avenue then left on 205A or 205B for parking. Park at Bell Park and walk south across the open field to the brushy areas where the Chat hangs out--also Willow Flycatchers. See bcvanbird blog for more details. Good birding, John Vooys

[birderbert]

bcbirdalert.blogspot.ca/p/vancouver-and-fraser-valley.html

[birderbert]

Yellow-breasted Chat M11s by BirderBert, on Flickr

[Gord]

Nice photo and a very nice bird to find out that way. Would be neat if he manages to find a passing female.

[nickinthegarden]

Great photos Bert. It seems to be the must see bird right now as there are many photos being posted online. It surprised me to see so many comments from people suggesting it was rare and endangered, BC is considered the extreme edge of its breeding territory but in its normal breeding area it is considered almost common. Perhaps what makes it so rare is the fact that this bird is very good at hiding in the bushes. We could get dozens flying through and never know it unless it decides to rest and starts calling. It certainly has been a spring of showy warblers, I wonder what changed to make them more visible here this year?
Once again excellent photos Bert!

[Wetlander]

Beautiful photos, Bert!

[birderbert]

Nick! The Yellow-breasted Chat is Red Listed as a species at risk in BC. With estimates of between 50 & 150 pairs in all of BC this makes it a RARE bird even in its native breeding range!!


www.speciesatriskbc.ca/node/7800

[nickinthegarden]

Sorry Bert but while BC does have a small population of birds in the Okanagan and nearby areas there are no indications that population was ever province wide. I had a long conversation with a Biologist and her team last year who specialize in this bird in the Okanagan where there are a number of breeding birds. She indicated that the numbers they were counting there were as expected being north of their normal breeding area. This is a bird that is very difficult to track due to its habit of staying undercover and is found all over most of the US and parts of southern Canada. While it may be Red Listed in BC it is not further south where it is listed by the IUCN as Least Concern, defined as

"Justification:
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern."

The Red Listed concern on a very small population in a small area and for the long term life of the bird is of minor importance to the long term health of the bird as a whole.

Having said all of that I understand why people are concerned about it and I am glad that there are actual studies being done by qualified people, no one likes to see any of our birding population to dwindle. The people screaming about its local Red-listed status are providing only part of the information and are doing a disservice to those of us who are part of the birding community. Most birders and bird photographers are responsible individuals who know enough not to endanger the lives of their subjects. Unfortunately some of the most vocal tend to be those who see no value in the photographic efforts of persons like yourself and others who are informing people about the amazing birds we have in our area. You are educating others to what is out there.
Occasionally I have seen bird photographers who do something they should not when trying to get their photo. By the same token I have seen a very well known vocal birder pulling down branches so they could look into a bird's nest, much to the distress of the Mama bird.
There are good and bad birders and bird photographers out there. They are not educated by providing partial information.
The proper caution should have been something like, "The Yellow-breasted Chat is not of concern in it's breeding range in North America but the population in BC is of concern as most of it's known breeding area is in the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys. It has been red listed due to the small amount of known breeding pairs.

With very small numbers of knowledgeable birders and scientists in BC the true numbers of any bird are almost impossible to state accurately. The practice of counting a number in an area and making a projection for the province is just real bad science. BC is a very large province with a great deal of area away from the public eye, what flies through there at any given time is totally unknown. There are just not enough knowledgeable eyes watching to truly know.

Sorry Bert no disrespect or insult intended I know you to be an excellent bird photographer and you were just sharing your concerns about this bird.

[birderbert]

Finally .. a closer encounter from today Friday June 2-2017

Yellow-breasted Chat 13sn by BirderBert, on Flickr