Cariboo birding

[paulos]

With some family in the Cariboo I've made frequent visits to the 100 Mile house with lots of time to bird (though the move to Creston adds 5-6 hours to the drive!). I have to say that my only (mild) disappointment in moving to Creston was that we didn't move to the Cariboo. The winters are sparse, but with so many lakes and a gradual transition from the sagebrush canyons around the Fraser and Chilcotin Rivers to the sub-boreal forests and the mountains to the east so much is possible. Spring, summer and fall are fantastic.

This last Christmas I found a few Short-eared Owls at Watson Lake, a new Cariboo bird for me.

We were able to make a visit early this month. The area was hit by some major fires a few years ago, and I stopped at an old burn area past Watson Lake thinking I might find some woodpeckers. I immediately heard some quiet tapping, and found a male Black-backed Woodpecker! I was able to get a recording of its unique call. I heard the drumming from a second individual. This is only my second encounter with the species.

We made a trip up to Williams Lake, stopping first on Mission Road near 150 Mile House, where we found a dozen Bobolinks! Mission road a nice detour through grasslands and riparian areas if you are traveling through. We then went over to Becher's Prairie in Riske Creek in the West Chilcotin. Dozens of lakes dot the gorgeous prairie and woods. I once asked an old birder who traveled the world about his favourite place to bird. After thinking a minute, he said it was Becher's Prairie. The place is really best during shorebird migration, so it was a little quieter, but still nice. I found a Dusky Flycatcher nest in one of the smaller ponds, and a Cassin's Finch was my first for the region. I was surprised by a singing White-throated Sparrow. I found out they apparently do breed in the area.

In the evening we headed to Moon Road and Doc English Bluff along the Fraser River. There are a few nice, dry areas along the Fraser that provide nice habitat for more southern birds, including Western Kingbirds, Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Rock Wrens and the like (Dog Creek and Soda Creek are two favourite stops). This time were after Flammulated Owls and Common Poorwills, and we heard both and saw one Poorwill, eyes shining on the road. I also heard a Dusky Grouse booming, something I don't encounter often up there.

I found a singing Alder Flycatcher at Horse Lake. Only one other time did I find one so far south, and that one at Dog Creek. I was also surprised this trip by large flocks of Black Swifts over Horse Lake, Watson Lake, and 108 Mile Lake. I apparently missed a Forster's Tern at Horse Lake. I drove by that time without stopping to take a look, but with so many lakes a person could go crazy trying not to miss anything. It's nice that one of our local Creston specialties made it up there.

If you ever pass through the area and want some suggestions for good birding stops, I'm happy to share.

My Cariboo bird list is at 207 after this trip:

1 Snow Goose
2 Greater White-fronted Goose
3 Canada Goose
4 Trumpeter Swan
5 Wood Duck
6 Blue-winged Teal
7 Cinnamon Teal
8 Northern Shoveler
9 Gadwall
10 American Wigeon
11 Mallard
12 Northern Pintail
13 Green-winged Teal
14 Canvasback
15 Redhead
16 Ring-necked Duck
17 Greater Scaup
18 Lesser Scaup
19 Surf Scoter
20 White-winged Scoter
21 Black Scoter
22 Long-tailed Duck
23 Bufflehead
24 Common Goldeneye
25 Barrow's Goldeneye
26 Hooded Merganser
27 Common Merganser
28 Red-breasted Merganser
29 Ruddy Duck
30 Ring-necked Pheasant
31 Ruffed Grouse
32 Spruce Grouse
33 Dusky Grouse
34 Pied-billed Grebe
35 Horned Grebe
36 Red-necked Grebe
37 Eared Grebe
38 Western Grebe
39 Rock Pigeon
40 Eurasian Collared-Dove
41 Mourning Dove
42 Common Nighthawk
43 Common Poorwill
44 Black Swift
45 Vaux's Swift
46 White-throated Swift
47 Black-chinned Hummingbird
48 Rufous Hummingbird
49 Calliope Hummingbird
50 Virginia Rail
51 Sora
52 American Coot
53 Sandhill Crane
54 American Avocet
55 Semipalmated Plover
56 Killdeer
57 Long-billed Curlew
58 Stilt Sandpiper
59 Sanderling
60 Baird's Sandpiper
61 Least Sandpiper
62 Pectoral Sandpiper
63 Semipalmated Sandpiper
64 Western Sandpiper
65 Long-billed Dowitcher
66 Wilson's Snipe
67 Wilson's Phalarope
68 Red-necked Phalarope
69 Spotted Sandpiper
70 Solitary Sandpiper
71 Greater Yellowlegs
72 Lesser Yellowlegs
73 Bonaparte's Gull
74 Mew Gull
75 Ring-billed Gull
76 California Gull
77 Herring Gull
78 Common Tern
79 Common Loon
80 Double-crested Cormorant
81 American White Pelican
82 Great Blue Heron
83 Turkey Vulture
84 Osprey
85 Northern Harrier
86 Sharp-shinned Hawk
87 Cooper's Hawk
88 Northern Goshawk
89 Bald Eagle
90 Swainson's Hawk
91 Red-tailed Hawk
92 Rough-legged Hawk
93 Flammulated Owl
94 Great Horned Owl
95 Northern Pygmy-Owl
96 Barred Owl
97 Great Gray Owl
98 Short-eared Owl
99 Northern Saw-whet Owl
100 Belted Kingfisher
101 Red-naped Sapsucker
102 Lewis's Woodpecker
103 American Three-toed Woodpecker
104 Black-backed Woodpecker
105 Downy Woodpecker
106 Hairy Woodpecker
107 Pileated Woodpecker
108 Northern Flicker
109 American Kestrel
110 Merlin
111 Peregrine Falcon
112 Olive-sided Flycatcher
113 Western Wood-Pewee
114 Alder Flycatcher
115 Willow Flycatcher
116 Least Flycatcher
117 Hammond's Flycatcher
118 Dusky Flycatcher
119 Pacific-slope Flycatcher
120 Say's Phoebe
121 Western Kingbird
122 Eastern Kingbird
123 Cassin's Vireo
124 Warbling Vireo
125 Red-eyed Vireo
126 Northern Shrike
127 Canada Jay
128 Steller's Jay
129 Black-billed Magpie
130 American Crow
131 Common Raven
132 Black-capped Chickadee
133 Mountain Chickadee
134 Boreal Chickadee
135 Horned Lark
136 Northern Rough-winged Swallow
137 Tree Swallow
138 Violet-green Swallow
139 Bank Swallow
140 Barn Swallow
141 Cliff Swallow
142 Golden-crowned Kinglet
143 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
144 Red-breasted Nuthatch
145 Brown Creeper
146 Rock Wren
147 Pacific Wren
148 Marsh Wren
149 American Dipper
150 European Starling
151 Gray Catbird
152 Mountain Bluebird
153 Townsend's Solitaire
154 Varied Thrush
155 Veery
156 Swainson's Thrush
157 Hermit Thrush
158 American Robin
159 Bohemian Waxwing
160 Cedar Waxwing
161 House Sparrow
162 American Pipit
163 Evening Grosbeak
164 Pine Grosbeak
165 House Finch
166 Purple Finch
167 Cassin's Finch
168 Common Redpoll
169 Red Crossbill
170 White-winged Crossbill
171 Pine Siskin
172 American Goldfinch
173 Lapland Longspur
174 Snow Bunting
175 Chipping Sparrow
176 Clay-colored Sparrow
177 Fox Sparrow
178 Dark-eyed Junco
179 White-crowned Sparrow
180 Golden-crowned Sparrow
181 White-throated Sparrow
182 Vesper Sparrow
183 Savannah Sparrow
184 Song Sparrow
185 Lincoln's Sparrow
186 Spotted Towhee
187 Yellow-headed Blackbird
188 Bobolink
189 Western Meadowlark
190 Bullock's Oriole
191 Red-winged Blackbird
192 Brown-headed Cowbird
193 Rusty Blackbird
194 Brewer's Blackbird
195 Northern Waterthrush
196 Orange-crowned Warbler
197 Nashville Warbler
198 MacGillivray's Warbler
199 Common Yellowthroat
200 American Redstart
201 Magnolia Warbler
202 Yellow Warbler
203 Yellow-rumped Warbler
204 Townsend's Warbler
205 Wilson's Warbler
206 Western Tanager
207 Lazuli Bunting

[murraybrown]

Boy, that's an impressive list Paulos! Sure got some nice birds there. Can't be much left for you there now.

[imperialbirders]

Hi Paulos
I really enjoyed your post. I hiked in the area over 20 years ago and saw many birds but never made a record. I remember walking over a hill and seeing a flock of Sandhill Cranes. Also, the call of the Yellow headed Blackbird is memorable for its awful sound. I enjoyed clicking on your links. I look forward to your next report.

[paulos]

Thanks Mike and Murray. I'm loving the Yellow-headed Blackbirds around here, in part because they remind me of being in some of those small lakes in the Cariboo or Nicola Valley.

And Murray, it's true I'd need to be strategic to find new birds. There are a few things breeding further north (Tennessee and Blackpoll Warblers), or in the Chilcotin (Arctic Terns), that I'd have to go out of my way to find. But you never know what will show up.

[Chris]

Great list Paul! I love birding the Cariboo. It's peaceful and great bird and habitat diversity.

[paulos]

I was able to make a couple more stops in the Cariboo this summer. On the way back from Alberta I took the Barkerville Highway east of Quesnel to the Wells area, where I was pleased to find some Blackpoll and Tennessee warblers (my first time seeing adult breeding Blackpoll warblers).

After thinking about it for years, I also took a trip out to the Chilcotin to Eagle Lake, where Arctic Terns and Semipalmated Plovers breed. The terns were a first. It was also nice to see some Clark's Nutcrackers by Tatlayoko Lake. On my return I took the road through Farwell Canyon to Gang Ranch, which was nice, but the drive was way longer than I expected.

Exploring some of the burned areas in the Cariboo has been interesting. Unexpected birds included more Black-backed Woodpeckers, a House Wren (rare for the Cariboo), and my first Sharp-tailed Grouse! That was a big surprise. I'm keeping that particular location on the down-low as I see those are a protected species on ebird now.

Another highlight was a Magnolia Warbler at Hathaway Lake, a migrant outside their usual breeding range.

On my way back home my car started steaming from a burst radiator near Lac Des Roches. Thankfully I have family in the area. It made for a longer trip. As soon as the repairs were done, I took a last trip to Soda Lake for some shorebirding, which always brings a good mix.

Good to hear Jon is heading up that way. It's a great time of year to be in the Cariboo.

Peace!