Peace River Recap

[Chris]

I thought I would do a Peace River recap. I spent over seven years in the Peace Region. While I was typing that I still can’t believe it was that long, time flies! Being just east of the Rockies, the Peace River region of BC is great geographically with a lot of great scenery. A few surprises for me, a lot more grassland than I thought there would be, it rains quite a bit in June and July, and in some areas the mud can be a giant pain. It’s even difficult to walk as the mud continuously sticks to your shoes/boots. I had snow in 11 of the 12 months!

During my time, I tallied 242 species, 37 were lifers. I missed two lifers that breed in the Peace, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and Willow Ptarmigan. I am not too keen on visiting or watching feeders so that’s why I missed the hummer and I only did a few trips in the alpine.

I saw my first Lynx, Grizzly Bear, Mountain Goat, Stone Sheep, Wood Bison, Caribou, and Porcupine. It was really neat frequently seeing deer and Moose.

My peace river favourite five species in no particular order were

Great Gray Owl
Northern Hawk Owl
Canada Warbler
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Magnolia Warbler

My favourite location was Beatton Park. Excellent for warblers and during migration waterfowl, gulls, and even terns. I tallied 145 species there. Honorable mention – North Sewage Lagoons where I had 28 shorebird species.

An under birded location is Boundary Lake. Excellent for songbirds, waterfowl, and at times shorebirds. I had breeding Palm Warbler, a Nelson’s Sparrow, and a lot of LeConte’s Sparrows to name a few.

My favourite photos, in no order.

Wilson’s Phalarope



White-throated Sparrow



Sharp-tailed Grouse



Hawk Owl



Great Gray Owl



Here is my Peace River list if interested

Snow Goose
Greater White-fronted Goose
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Trumpeter Swan
Tundra Swan
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
Eurasian Wigeon
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
Spruce Grouse
Rock Ptarmigan
Dusky Grouse
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Eared Grebe
Western Grebe
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Common Nighthawk
Calliope Hummingbird
Virginia Rail
Sora
American Coot
Yellow Rail
Sandhill Crane
American Avocet
Black-bellied Plover
American Golden-Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Upland Sandpiper
Whimbrel
Long-billed Curlew
Hudsonian Godwit
Marbled Godwit
Stilt Sandpiper
Sanderling
Dunlin
Baird's Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Snipe
Wilson's Phalarope
Red-necked Phalarope
Red Phalarope
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Long-tailed Jaeger
Sabine's Gull
Bonaparte's Gull
Franklin's Gull
Mew Gull
Ring-billed Gull
California Gull
Herring Gull
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Black Tern
Common Tern
Arctic Tern
Red-throated Loon
Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Osprey
Golden Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Northern Goshawk
Bald Eagle
Broad-winged Hawk
Swainson's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Great Horned Owl
Snowy Owl
Northern Hawk Owl
Northern Pygmy-Owl
Barred Owl
Great Gray Owl
Short-eared Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Belted Kingfisher
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
Dusky Flycatcher
Pacific-slope 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
Boreal Chickadee
Horned Lark
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
Sedge Wren
Marsh Wren
American Dipper
European Starling
Gray Catbird
Mountain Bluebird
Townsend's Solitaire
Varied Thrush
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Bohemian Waxwing
Cedar Waxwing
House Sparrow
American Pipit
Evening Grosbeak
Pine Grosbeak
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch
Purple Finch
Common Redpoll
Hoary Redpoll
Red Crossbill
White-winged Crossbill
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
Lapland Longspur
Snow Bunting
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
American Tree Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-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
MacGillivray's Warbler
Mourning Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Cape May Warbler
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
Lazuli Bunting

[Randy]

Awesome report and photos and what a great experience! I'd love to get up there sometime.

I'll miss your Peace reports, however I am glad to have you back in the valley!

[paulos]

Chris, thanks for keeping us updated and thanks for taking me birding when I went up there a few years ago. The whole area is a blast and I'm sure we'll be back again someday soon. Also your WTSP photo is one of my favourites.

[murraybrown]

Those are beautiful pictures Chris. You certainly saw some great birds while up in the Peace Country and I'm sure your time was well spent. There can't be very many regularly occurring species that you didn't find during that time. I only birded the Boundary Lake area for a short time but found some birds that were unexpected and I was excited to see. One thing I remember was how BIG that country is! It rolls on and on for hours and as far as the eye can see. Thanks for all those updates over the years and like you it sure doesn't seem like seven years.