Post by JeffOver on Aug 25, 2008 19:05:15 GMT -8
Hi all,
I went up to Princeton this past weekend and saw quite a few different birds--including 2 life birds! ;D ;D We actually stayed in a cabin near Tulameen, but on Saturday we went out to Princeton, to the Swan Lake Wildlife Refuge--I highly recommend it to anyone travelling out that way especially during migration! It's not far off the highway either. It's located on Osprey Lake Road just past the Princeton Exhibition Grounds. You hike in a dry grassland over some rolling hills, through a few groves of trees, and then down into a kettle, where Swan Lake is located. It's a kind of a marshy lake, surrounded by reeds, and there are two bird blinds from which one can view the lake. According to the brochure, 130 birds have been tallied for the Swan Lake area.
Here's a list of the identified birds I saw:
Red-winged blackbird
Eastern Kingbirds
Western Kingbird
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
American Coot--lots
Pied-billed Grebes--at least 5
Mallard--I think ( I didn't pay much attention to the ducks)
Yellow-rumped warbler
Western Meadowlark
Northern (Red-shafted) Flicker
Mountain Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch (1) ;D
Pygmy Nuthatch (at least 3, probably more)
;D
Common Raven
Sparrow--(could have been Savannah's, but once again, didn't pay too much attention, the brochure mentions Vesper Sparrow)
Pine Sisken
The White-breasted Nuthatch and Pygmy Nuthatches (my two life birds) were a very nice find at the end of our (quite warm) mid-day walk. They were in the first grove of pines after you start walking from the entrance.
My parents and I were examining the lake from the second bird blind when things started to get exciting. I spotted three shorebirds flying above the surface of the water, and I watched them closely as I waited for them to land so I could I.D. them...then in front of me a bird that had a dove shape to it dove into the bushes to the left of the blind. As I turned my eyes back to the shorebirds, out of nowhere a falcon blasted over! I was hoping it would give a prolonged chase so I could I.D. that as well, but I think it heard my rather excited voice as I tried to keep track of all the activity, so it didn't stick around. Needless to say, the pair of Eastern Kingbirds made a racket over the whole ordeal, and the shorebirds were nowhere to be seen. The brochure mentions Prairie Falcon, so that could very well have been another life bird, but who knows. I'd definitely love to go back. There are several nest boxes along the fences there as well that apparently host both bluebird species; however, I think they have already moved on.
At the cabin and at Otter Lake there were robins, lots of Evening Grosbeaks, Western Tanagers, Osprey, Pine Siskens, and Cedar Waxwings. Also at the cabin one night I heard an owl hooting--tried to call it in but it didn't work. I'm not sure of the species. Anyway, not a bad list for a weekend in which I only spent one day from about 11:00 till 2:00 p.m. birding. Have a good one all!
--Jeff
I went up to Princeton this past weekend and saw quite a few different birds--including 2 life birds! ;D ;D We actually stayed in a cabin near Tulameen, but on Saturday we went out to Princeton, to the Swan Lake Wildlife Refuge--I highly recommend it to anyone travelling out that way especially during migration! It's not far off the highway either. It's located on Osprey Lake Road just past the Princeton Exhibition Grounds. You hike in a dry grassland over some rolling hills, through a few groves of trees, and then down into a kettle, where Swan Lake is located. It's a kind of a marshy lake, surrounded by reeds, and there are two bird blinds from which one can view the lake. According to the brochure, 130 birds have been tallied for the Swan Lake area.
Here's a list of the identified birds I saw:
Red-winged blackbird
Eastern Kingbirds
Western Kingbird
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
American Coot--lots
Pied-billed Grebes--at least 5
Mallard--I think ( I didn't pay much attention to the ducks)
Yellow-rumped warbler
Western Meadowlark
Northern (Red-shafted) Flicker
Mountain Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch (1) ;D
Pygmy Nuthatch (at least 3, probably more)
;DCommon Raven
Sparrow--(could have been Savannah's, but once again, didn't pay too much attention, the brochure mentions Vesper Sparrow)
Pine Sisken
The White-breasted Nuthatch and Pygmy Nuthatches (my two life birds) were a very nice find at the end of our (quite warm) mid-day walk.
They were in the first grove of pines after you start walking from the entrance.My parents and I were examining the lake from the second bird blind when things started to get exciting. I spotted three shorebirds flying above the surface of the water, and I watched them closely as I waited for them to land so I could I.D. them...then in front of me a bird that had a dove shape to it dove into the bushes to the left of the blind.
As I turned my eyes back to the shorebirds, out of nowhere a falcon blasted over! I was hoping it would give a prolonged chase so I could I.D. that as well, but I think it heard my rather excited voice as I tried to keep track of all the activity, so it didn't stick around. Needless to say, the pair of Eastern Kingbirds made a racket over the whole ordeal, and the shorebirds were nowhere to be seen. The brochure mentions Prairie Falcon, so that could very well have been another life bird, but who knows. I'd definitely love to go back. There are several nest boxes along the fences there as well that apparently host both bluebird species; however, I think they have already moved on.At the cabin and at Otter Lake there were robins, lots of Evening Grosbeaks, Western Tanagers, Osprey, Pine Siskens, and Cedar Waxwings. Also at the cabin one night I heard an owl hooting--tried to call it in but it didn't work. I'm not sure of the species. Anyway, not a bad list for a weekend in which I only spent one day from about 11:00 till 2:00 p.m. birding. Have a good one all!
--Jeff
