Post by Gord on Jul 16, 2006 16:44:46 GMT -8
Went on the Canada's Parks Day hike to Cheam Mountain. Me, Jeff and serveral others met at Thompson Park and headed up just after 7:00 am.
On the way up, Jeff spotted a nice family of red-breasted sapsuckers. Also along the way we heard Hammond's flycatcher, warbling vireo, MacGillvray's warbler among others.
On the hike, I was delighted to hear a flock of pine siskens flying over. There were six of them. I saw siskens several times throughout the day, but never more than six so Im not sure if these were different ones. It has been over a year that I had not seen or heard a pine sisken! I hope they are on their way back. Also many grey-headed rosy finches cruising around. On the way back down Jeff got a great view of one that cooperated with our requests (bordering on commands!) to land on a nearby tree. A lifer bird for him!
I also, wishing to come through on my white-tailed ptarmigan promise, found two roosters near the summit. One was unusually jumpy and left the area fairly quickly. The other stuck around and happily fed while we watched and took a few pictures.
The weather was nice, but a little windy and it was fairly socked in at the last 1/4 of the mountain top. The flowers were in bloom and looking awesome.
Here is the list of birds we saw/heard:
Turkey Vulture
Blue Grouse
White-tailed Ptarmigan
Vaux's Swift
Black Swift
Rufous Hummingbird
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Northern Flicker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Hammond's Flycatcher
Warbling Vireo
Northwestern Crow
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Winter Wren
American Robin
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
American Pipit (one feeding two freshly fledged young)
Cedar Waxwing
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler (2 males and one female)
MacGillvray's Warbler
Black-headed Grosbeak
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Grey-crowned rosy Finch
Pine Sisken
The ptarmigan
Found two dark-eyed junco nests. One in a fir tree, the other on the ground next to a rock.
The one in the tree. They were in the middle of hatching.
The nest is hidden in the centre left.
A closeup
An enjoyable trip! Hope to do it again soon.
On the way up, Jeff spotted a nice family of red-breasted sapsuckers. Also along the way we heard Hammond's flycatcher, warbling vireo, MacGillvray's warbler among others.
On the hike, I was delighted to hear a flock of pine siskens flying over. There were six of them. I saw siskens several times throughout the day, but never more than six so Im not sure if these were different ones. It has been over a year that I had not seen or heard a pine sisken! I hope they are on their way back. Also many grey-headed rosy finches cruising around. On the way back down Jeff got a great view of one that cooperated with our requests (bordering on commands!) to land on a nearby tree. A lifer bird for him!
I also, wishing to come through on my white-tailed ptarmigan promise, found two roosters near the summit. One was unusually jumpy and left the area fairly quickly. The other stuck around and happily fed while we watched and took a few pictures.The weather was nice, but a little windy and it was fairly socked in at the last 1/4 of the mountain top. The flowers were in bloom and looking awesome.
Here is the list of birds we saw/heard:
Turkey Vulture
Blue Grouse
White-tailed Ptarmigan
Vaux's Swift
Black Swift
Rufous Hummingbird
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Northern Flicker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Hammond's Flycatcher
Warbling Vireo
Northwestern Crow
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Winter Wren
American Robin
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
American Pipit (one feeding two freshly fledged young)
Cedar Waxwing
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler (2 males and one female)
MacGillvray's Warbler
Black-headed Grosbeak
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Grey-crowned rosy Finch
Pine Sisken
The ptarmigan
Found two dark-eyed junco nests. One in a fir tree, the other on the ground next to a rock.
The one in the tree. They were in the middle of hatching.
The nest is hidden in the centre left.
A closeup
An enjoyable trip! Hope to do it again soon.
