Pine Grosbeaks

[b1schmor]

Hello birders,

with all the talk of Pine Grosbeaks and Bohemian Waxwings, Carolynn and I decided to walk around Mill Lake today. It was very cold and snowing but quiet and beautiful. Varied Thrushes were everywhere, and we saw our first large flock of Pine Siskins this fall. On the south end of the lake, to our great surprise, we found three female Pine Grosbeaks. This is a new bird for me in the Abbotsford/Mission area. There was one area of open water that had a nice selection of waterfowl; Common and Hooded Mergansers, A. Coots, N. Shovelers, L Scaups, PB Grebes, C. Geese, A Wigeon, Buffs, RN Ducks, and plenty of Mallards.

Good birding,
Brent Schmor
Abbotsford

[b1schmor]

Hello birders,
I walked Mill Lake, in Abbotsford, again today hoping to relocate the three female Pine Grosbeaks and Western Gull. No luck with the Gull, but I did manage to find two Grosbeaks, a male and a female this time, sitting quietly in trees near a very well travelled area.

Thanks,
Brent Schmor
Abbotsford

[Deleted]

Hi, folks
I also walked around Mill Lake on Sunday afternoon (late afternoon) but didn't see any grosbeaks, pine or otherwise. Other than a lot of Mallards and coots along with a few geese and a couple of Buffleheads around an area of open water near the north side parking lot, where people feed the birds, the lake was frozen up and quiet. The Egyptian Goose was still hanging out there with the other geese.

I did see four female Pine Grosbeaks in Langley on Friday. It's certainly a species to be looked for this winter.

Stan Olson
Abbotsford

[Deleted]

Oops, jumped the gun a bit with my previous message. It was Saturday afternoon, not Sunday. I take comfort in the quotation that someone posted at my recent office birthday party -- They say that as you get older you'll start losing your mind, but don't worry, you won't miss it much.

However, I did walk Mill Lake again today (Sunday) with similar results. A Bald Eagle was perched by the lake, and a lone swan flew in and landed in the open water, but left almost immediately, before I could get close enough to identify it to species.

Stan Olson
Abbotsford

[dvdk]

While waiting for my transfer bus at Bourquin today, I took a quick jaunt out to Mill Lake. A beam of sunlight was just poking through the overcast sky, so there appeared to be some good bird activity. Unfortunately I couldn't stick around very long for fear of missing the bus.

Along the floating boardwalk, there was a possible Slate-coloured junco. Didn't look as black and white as my Stokes guide indicates, but definitely darker than your average Oregon (Dark-eyed) junco. Maybe not exactly RBA material, but still...

Also, two red-shafted flickers preening in a cottonwood, and a downy woodpecker or two, steller's jays, robins, black-capped chickadees and more I'm sure had I hung around a bit longer. Binocs would have been nice too.