Post by b1schmor on Jun 17, 2007 9:34:22 GMT -8
Hello birders,
about once a year I try to bird a loop that starts in Manning and ends in Merritt. With the weather being so lousy in Abbotsord, Carolynn and I decided to do it yesterday. Unfortunately, we only found about 45 minutes of sun.
We started in Manning by stopping at the lodge area. Clark's Nutcrackers and Brown-headed Cowbirds were everywhere. The Beaver Pond had five species of swallows, two Olive-sided Flycatchers, and one MacGillivray's Warbler. We stopped at the eastgate to see if the Northern Waterthrush had returned for the third straight year. I managed to get a brief glimpse of one but that was it. A group doing the Manning Park Bird Blitz was there but unfortunately they didn't get a chance to see the Waterthrush. Also here was a Red-naped Sapsucker.
Our next stop was the Seperation Lakes WMA on Osprey Lake Raod near Princeton. Mountain Bluebirds floated in the wind and Vesper Sparrows were common. Also in the vicinity, were a number of Eastern Kingbirds and one Say's Phoebe. On the lake were many Wilson's Phalaropes, with a number of ducks in brilliant breeding plumage; Ruddy, Shoveler, Cinnamon and GW Teal, RN Ducks, and Mallards. In this area the Purple Lupine was truly unbelievable. We drove up Hembrie Mountain road a found a number of Mule Deer in the forest with a thick carpet of Lupine underneath them; just beautiful.
Highway 5 A to Merritt was fairly unventful. We did see, possibly hundreds, of Common Nighthawks hawking on Kidd Lake. I have only seen this once before, on Stump Lake near Merritt. It is quite a sight. There was a fisherman in his boat getting dive bombed by the birds. They were coming within feet of his head while he fished.
In Merritt we took a quick drive up Lindley Creek Road. Here we found many Nashville Warblers, Western Tanagers, Rufous Hummingbirds, Mountain Bluebirds, YR Warblers, one Cassin's Finch, a few Meadowlarks, two Hermit Thrushes, a couple of Mountain Chickadees, a heronry, with about 20 nests, one Red-naped Sapsucker, and a number of Chipping Sparrows.
At the end of the day we had seen and heard 70 species. Four legged creatures were also out; one black bear, many mule deer and Columbian Ground Squirrels, and one Yellow-bellied Marmot.
Thanks,
Brent Schmor
Abbotsford
about once a year I try to bird a loop that starts in Manning and ends in Merritt. With the weather being so lousy in Abbotsord, Carolynn and I decided to do it yesterday. Unfortunately, we only found about 45 minutes of sun.
We started in Manning by stopping at the lodge area. Clark's Nutcrackers and Brown-headed Cowbirds were everywhere. The Beaver Pond had five species of swallows, two Olive-sided Flycatchers, and one MacGillivray's Warbler. We stopped at the eastgate to see if the Northern Waterthrush had returned for the third straight year. I managed to get a brief glimpse of one but that was it. A group doing the Manning Park Bird Blitz was there but unfortunately they didn't get a chance to see the Waterthrush. Also here was a Red-naped Sapsucker.
Our next stop was the Seperation Lakes WMA on Osprey Lake Raod near Princeton. Mountain Bluebirds floated in the wind and Vesper Sparrows were common. Also in the vicinity, were a number of Eastern Kingbirds and one Say's Phoebe. On the lake were many Wilson's Phalaropes, with a number of ducks in brilliant breeding plumage; Ruddy, Shoveler, Cinnamon and GW Teal, RN Ducks, and Mallards. In this area the Purple Lupine was truly unbelievable. We drove up Hembrie Mountain road a found a number of Mule Deer in the forest with a thick carpet of Lupine underneath them; just beautiful.
Highway 5 A to Merritt was fairly unventful. We did see, possibly hundreds, of Common Nighthawks hawking on Kidd Lake. I have only seen this once before, on Stump Lake near Merritt. It is quite a sight. There was a fisherman in his boat getting dive bombed by the birds. They were coming within feet of his head while he fished.
In Merritt we took a quick drive up Lindley Creek Road. Here we found many Nashville Warblers, Western Tanagers, Rufous Hummingbirds, Mountain Bluebirds, YR Warblers, one Cassin's Finch, a few Meadowlarks, two Hermit Thrushes, a couple of Mountain Chickadees, a heronry, with about 20 nests, one Red-naped Sapsucker, and a number of Chipping Sparrows.
At the end of the day we had seen and heard 70 species. Four legged creatures were also out; one black bear, many mule deer and Columbian Ground Squirrels, and one Yellow-bellied Marmot.
Thanks,
Brent Schmor
Abbotsford