Up the 97 and across the 20
Sept 6, 2020 14:32:40 GMT -8
oldfulica, imperialbirders, and 3 more like this
Post by Ben on Sept 6, 2020 14:32:40 GMT -8
Here's the report I promised (thanks Paul and Chris for the info on the region).
I went with my (mostly non-birder) family up to Nimpo Lake.
I've linked some of the checklists with [photos] specified after checklists that have some images.
We left Chilliwack at 9am, which was a later start than I'd hoped for, and meant that we'd get to the North end of Venable Valley [poor photos] Road at noon.
Not exactly the best time to bird, but it was fairly decent with species that you don't normally see in the Fraser Valley like Vesper Sparrows,
Lewis's Woodpecker and a White-breasted Nuthatch among others. The next stop was Loon Lake road. Initially it seemed promising, with Gray
Catbirds, Warbling Vireo, and Western Tanagers feeding on berries at the start of the road, but driving down the road didn't produce
much more unfortunately - wrong date or time I suppose...
Next up was the Clinton Sewage Lagoons which had a nice mix of waterfowl and a pair Baird's Sandpipers. Definitely a nice quick stop.
A stop along the highway by Loch Lomond had mostly distant waterfowl (including Redhead). A Red-naped Sapsucker was also present. There wasn't really any good spots to view the lake from (except the highway) it seemed, which wasn't very pleasant with traffic flying by at 100 clicks...
We didn't stop for birds for the rest of the trip to Williams Lake (so unfortunately no trip down Helena Lake Road for the potential Black-backed Woodpeckers
)
No Chukar or Black Terns were seen on the drive. But there was some American White Pelicans and around 30 Common Nighthawks seen from the road.
After spending the night at Williams Lake, I went to Scout Island which was fantastic! Saw 68 species in the morning [photos], and 38 in the afternoon (4 different from the morning).
The following afternoon we stopped at Eagle Lake, which was not that great. Too late for the Arctic Terns apparently, and hot (so not many birds
around...)
At Nimpo Lake, the entire area has pretty much the same habitat, so the birds are spread thin (it seems). Went on a hike to the "Rainbow Range" where
my lifer Rusty Blackbird was waiting for me!
The trail went through a large stretch of burnt forest. Unfortunately there were no [Black-backed] woodpeckers to be seen.
During the stay at Nimpo, my parents had seen some Spruce Grouse, which would've been a lifer for my brother and I, so we went looking multiple times
for the grouse, but they remained hidden. But, within 2 hours of my brother heading home (he left earlier) a pair of the elusive grouse [photos] was spotted - unfortunate for him :/ .
I went on 2 trips [photos] to Anahim Lake which is basically a bunch of water plants in about 1 meter of water. The lake had good amounts of waterfowl, three
species of Blackbird, and various other goodies, like a Redstart and Swamp Sparrow.
The trip back south didn't entail any birding stops. In total I saw 101 species in the Cariboo. Not super numbers, but pretty good for it being casual birding...
I went with my (mostly non-birder) family up to Nimpo Lake.
I've linked some of the checklists with [photos] specified after checklists that have some images.
We left Chilliwack at 9am, which was a later start than I'd hoped for, and meant that we'd get to the North end of Venable Valley [poor photos] Road at noon.
Not exactly the best time to bird, but it was fairly decent with species that you don't normally see in the Fraser Valley like Vesper Sparrows,
Lewis's Woodpecker and a White-breasted Nuthatch among others. The next stop was Loon Lake road. Initially it seemed promising, with Gray
Catbirds, Warbling Vireo, and Western Tanagers feeding on berries at the start of the road, but driving down the road didn't produce
much more unfortunately - wrong date or time I suppose...
Next up was the Clinton Sewage Lagoons which had a nice mix of waterfowl and a pair Baird's Sandpipers. Definitely a nice quick stop.
A stop along the highway by Loch Lomond had mostly distant waterfowl (including Redhead). A Red-naped Sapsucker was also present. There wasn't really any good spots to view the lake from (except the highway) it seemed, which wasn't very pleasant with traffic flying by at 100 clicks...
We didn't stop for birds for the rest of the trip to Williams Lake (so unfortunately no trip down Helena Lake Road for the potential Black-backed Woodpeckers
)No Chukar or Black Terns were seen on the drive. But there was some American White Pelicans and around 30 Common Nighthawks seen from the road.
After spending the night at Williams Lake, I went to Scout Island which was fantastic! Saw 68 species in the morning [photos], and 38 in the afternoon (4 different from the morning).
The following afternoon we stopped at Eagle Lake, which was not that great. Too late for the Arctic Terns apparently, and hot (so not many birds
around...)
At Nimpo Lake, the entire area has pretty much the same habitat, so the birds are spread thin (it seems). Went on a hike to the "Rainbow Range" where
my lifer Rusty Blackbird was waiting for me!
The trail went through a large stretch of burnt forest. Unfortunately there were no [Black-backed] woodpeckers to be seen.During the stay at Nimpo, my parents had seen some Spruce Grouse, which would've been a lifer for my brother and I, so we went looking multiple times
for the grouse, but they remained hidden. But, within 2 hours of my brother heading home (he left earlier) a pair of the elusive grouse [photos] was spotted - unfortunate for him :/ .
I went on 2 trips [photos] to Anahim Lake which is basically a bunch of water plants in about 1 meter of water. The lake had good amounts of waterfowl, three
species of Blackbird, and various other goodies, like a Redstart and Swamp Sparrow.
The trip back south didn't entail any birding stops. In total I saw 101 species in the Cariboo. Not super numbers, but pretty good for it being casual birding...
