Post by paulos on Nov 7, 2022 8:54:59 GMT -8
In May I had to visit several communities in the Kootenays for work. I managed to plan it around the Creston Valley Bird Festival and a BC Field Ornithologists field trip that I co-led after the festival. It was a blur of a trip, but I was able to catch some good bird sightings in some places along the way. My route was a huge square through the southern interior and Kootenays--down to Kamloops, Highway 1 to Golden, south to Fernie and Cranbrook, then through the West Kootenay back via the Okanagan. It was my first time traveling the Rocky Mountain Trench between Golden and Cranbrook. Some nice rarities showed up!
Highlights were:
- My BC first Willet at Canal Flats, Columbia Lake.
- The resident Common Grackles in Fernie.
- A Franklin's Gull at Reade Lake near Cranbrook.
- My BC first Loggerhead Shrike at Duck Lake, Creston.
- My first Central Kootenay Lark Sparrow at Leach Lake, Creston with the BCFO group.
- A hybrid Cinnamon Teal X Northern Shoveler at Duck Lake.
- My first Central Kootenay White-throated Swifts near Castlegar.
- A juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron that had been reported in Grand Forks.
- Great Gray Owls near Osoyoos.
I managed 172 species. You can see the trip report here: ebird.org/tripreport/58732
A Ring-necked Pheasant in Salmon Arm
Barrow's Goldeneye, fittingly seen in Golden
Black-necked Stilt at Duck Lake
Loggerhead Shrike at Duck Lake
Great Gray Owl
A Red-necked Phalarope in 70 Mile House on the return home