June Peace Report

[Chris]

This will be my last Peace report as a resident as I am moving back to the Eastern Fraser Valley at the end of the month so there will be a lot more local reports from me! At some point, I will do a recap of the time I spent up here. I will be back to visit the Peace area but mostly it will be to visit friends and only a few birding excursions.

Towards the end of May, I picked up a few new warbler species including a Canada Warbler, one of my favorites. I added a new species to my Peace list, Marbled Godwit. At the beginning of the month, I saw two Whimbrels and there were a few White-rumped Sandpipers hanging out at the sewage ponds.

Early in the month, I tried a big day. I always wanted to try one. I woke up just after 4 with the intention of seeing 100 or more species. The first stop was Beatton Park where I lucked out and had two Bay-breasted Warblers. I had two Arctic Terns near Chetwynd which was a highlight. One location in Chetwynd is good for Pacific Wren and within thirty seconds of getting out of my car I heard one singing. On the other hand, Connecticut Warbler was the opposite. Last year I had one close to the road but this time I had to walk about 30 minutes to finally get one! I ended the day with 103 species. I stopped around 6 pm.

Bay-breasted Warbler



Canada Warbler



I finally was able to bird Brassey Creek Rd south of Dawson. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s one of the best areas for songbirds in the Peace. I was hoping to get Yellow-bellied Flycatcher here and more importantly explore a new area. I drove about 12km up the gravel road getting a few good species of songbirds but no Yellow-bellied. When I got back to the start of the road, I pulled over to finish my eBird checklist and heard a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. Funny how that works at times.

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher



I visited Watson Slough one evening and picked up Nelson’s Sparrow and Virginia Rail. The rail is not very common up here.

A few other photos

Mourning Warbler, always seems to be in the dark brush.



Wilson's Phalarope



Northern Waterthrush



Yellow-headed Blackbird



Year list. I doubt I add any more in the next few days.

Snow Goose
Greater White-fronted Goose
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Trumpeter Swan
Tundra Swan
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Barrow's Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Ruffed Grouse
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Eared Grebe
Western Grebe
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Common Nighthawk
Virginia Rail
Sora
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
American Avocet
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Whimbrel
Marbled Godwit
Dunlin
Baird's Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Snipe
Wilson's Phalarope
Red-necked Phalarope
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Bonaparte's Gull
Franklin's Gull
Mew Gull
Ring-billed Gull
California Gull
Herring Gull
Black Tern
Arctic Tern
Common Loon
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Northern Goshawk
Bald Eagle
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Snowy Owl
Northern Hawk Owl
Barred Owl
Great Gray Owl
Short-eared Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
American Three-toed Woodpecker
Black-backed Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Merlin
Gyrfalcon
Peregrine Falcon
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Western Wood-Pewee
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Hammond's Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Say's Phoebe
Eastern Kingbird
Blue-headed Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Northern Shrike
Canada Jay
Steller's Jay
Blue Jay
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
House Wren
Pacific Wren
Winter Wren
Marsh Wren
American Dipper
European Starling
Varied Thrush
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Bohemian Waxwing
Cedar Waxwing
House Sparrow
American Pipit
Evening Grosbeak
Pine Grosbeak
Purple Finch
Common Redpoll
Hoary Redpoll
White-winged Crossbill
Pine Siskin
Lapland Longspur
Snow Bunting
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
American Tree Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
LeConte's Sparrow
Nelson's Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Rusty Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Common Grackle
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Black-and-white Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Connecticut Warbler
Mourning Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Magnolia Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Canada Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Western Tanager
Rose-breasted Grosbeak

[birder1942]

An Awesome list Chris, and some great photos. The only one that I still don't have for my Canada list is the Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher! John Vooys, Abbotsford

[butterfly]

Amazing list, great photos! We'll look forward to seeing you around the trails in the future. A few lifers for us on that list!

[ed]

Nice report Chris

[Randy]

Great report! Very much looking forward to having you back in our area!