Post by Dave on Aug 21, 2020 16:57:50 GMT -8
Greetings again,
This past month my family and I went camping and drove the northern circuit in a counterclockwise loop. We have done this before and enjoyed it a lot so thought it would be time for another loop.
The drive up north was done in short order without any major birding stops. Roadside sightings included this Fox hunting Ground-squirrels.
Fox2 by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
Fox1 by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
And the first of several roadside Moose.
Moose by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
Our first camping stay was at Moberly Lake Provincial Park. This is a fantastic spot and we really enjoyed the birds, especially the warblers with Magnolia, Black-throated Green, Canada, Tennessee and American Restart all present right in the campground.
BTGW by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
BTGW2 by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
Black-throated Green Warbler taken right from my lawn chair by our picnic table in our campsite.
TennesseeWarbler1 by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
Tennessee Warbler, another campsite picture!
TennesseeWarbler2 by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
After Moberly Lake we headed east into Chris' neck-of-the-woods. We camped at Beatton Provincial Park for several nights with a key goal for me of finding Bay-breasted Warbler since it was a good year for the them.
Bay-breasted Warbler by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
Beatton is a great place if you don't mind mosquito-swatting and fairly easily one can see Ovenbird, Cape May Warbler, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Baltimore Oriole and other eastern birds one usually doesn't picture in British Columbia. But Chris is the expert on this area, so I won't pretend to be
We then headed north to Fort Nelson for the night, one the way seeing more roadside Black Bears. After our circuit, we had tallied 68 bears! It certainly seemed like "the year of the road side bear!"
BBear2 by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
We camped at Summit Lake for a few nights in the pouring rain. Summit Lake campground in Stone Mountain Provincial Park gives easy access to the alpine and although the weather was poor, we still tried some birding and in the ptarmigan category only ended up with White-tailed near the radio towers.
WTPT1 by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
Across the road we had Spruce Grouse
SpruceGrouse by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
and chicks....
SpruceGrouseChick by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
This area is a great area for Stone Sheep and we tallied quite a few including some stately looking males with good-size racks.
StoneSheep2 by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
Further north we encountered the always-present herds of the massive Wood Bison.
WoodBison by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
At Liard HotSprings Provincial Park was great birding again and both trips seemed to have a lot of warblers - including this Magnolia Warbler
MagnoliaWarblerLiardHotSprings by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
Heading south down the Cassiar Highway we saw many more bears, sometimes 3 at a time!
Cassiar Highway Bears by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
BearCubs by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
We camped at Boya Lake Provincial Park, and absolutely gorgeous lake that we enjoyed kayaking in alongside many beavers. The water here is absolutely stunning and worth googling.
Part 2 to follow.
This past month my family and I went camping and drove the northern circuit in a counterclockwise loop. We have done this before and enjoyed it a lot so thought it would be time for another loop.
The drive up north was done in short order without any major birding stops. Roadside sightings included this Fox hunting Ground-squirrels.
Fox2 by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
Fox1 by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
And the first of several roadside Moose.
Moose by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
Our first camping stay was at Moberly Lake Provincial Park. This is a fantastic spot and we really enjoyed the birds, especially the warblers with Magnolia, Black-throated Green, Canada, Tennessee and American Restart all present right in the campground.
BTGW by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
BTGW2 by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
Black-throated Green Warbler taken right from my lawn chair by our picnic table in our campsite.
TennesseeWarbler1 by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
Tennessee Warbler, another campsite picture!
TennesseeWarbler2 by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
After Moberly Lake we headed east into Chris' neck-of-the-woods. We camped at Beatton Provincial Park for several nights with a key goal for me of finding Bay-breasted Warbler since it was a good year for the them.
Bay-breasted Warbler by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
Beatton is a great place if you don't mind mosquito-swatting and fairly easily one can see Ovenbird, Cape May Warbler, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Baltimore Oriole and other eastern birds one usually doesn't picture in British Columbia. But Chris is the expert on this area, so I won't pretend to be
We then headed north to Fort Nelson for the night, one the way seeing more roadside Black Bears. After our circuit, we had tallied 68 bears! It certainly seemed like "the year of the road side bear!"
BBear2 by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
We camped at Summit Lake for a few nights in the pouring rain. Summit Lake campground in Stone Mountain Provincial Park gives easy access to the alpine and although the weather was poor, we still tried some birding and in the ptarmigan category only ended up with White-tailed near the radio towers.
WTPT1 by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
Across the road we had Spruce Grouse
SpruceGrouse by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
and chicks....
SpruceGrouseChick by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
This area is a great area for Stone Sheep and we tallied quite a few including some stately looking males with good-size racks.
StoneSheep2 by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
Further north we encountered the always-present herds of the massive Wood Bison.
WoodBison by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
At Liard HotSprings Provincial Park was great birding again and both trips seemed to have a lot of warblers - including this Magnolia Warbler
MagnoliaWarblerLiardHotSprings by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
Heading south down the Cassiar Highway we saw many more bears, sometimes 3 at a time!
Cassiar Highway Bears by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
BearCubs by Dave Beeke, on Flickr
We camped at Boya Lake Provincial Park, and absolutely gorgeous lake that we enjoyed kayaking in alongside many beavers. The water here is absolutely stunning and worth googling.
Part 2 to follow.