Post by Dave on Dec 23, 2011 20:38:26 GMT -8
Greetings Birders,
When news of the Ross' Gull just across the border in the Okanagan reached my ears, I was at Apex Mountain, not far away! The only problem was my passport was at home in Chilliwack!
My parents were not planning to chase this bird, but with a "tiny bit of pressure" from their son, agreed to go for a drive this morning and deliver some passports. They have never seen Gray Partridge and I had some up-to-date info as to where to find them, so with the possibility of 2 new birds, they left Chilliwack this morning at 630 and met my family in Keremeos at 930. We then piled into one vehicle and headed across the Nighthawk border crossing. The lady there was familiar with the answer to "Where are you going?" - rare gull at Lake Palmer.
We followed our printed directions to Lake Palmer and met this sight - rather encouraging ;D
I was out of the vehicle in a shot, and soon learned the bird had just landed on the ice on the far side of the lake. It remained across the lake the entire time we were there, but did allow excellent scope views as it flew around, repeatedly landing on the ice near a section of open water.
At one point I looked up to see who was near me and saw Abbotsford's John Vooys standing beside me. Nice to see you today, John, and congrats on adding to your impressive list!
I guess the deer carcass was frozen under ice (according to some of the birders there) although I later heard the carcass was removed by one of the locals. Whatever the case, the bird was still there, although very distant. I certainly wasn't going to complain about having the opportunity to watch it!
Here are my poor quality, very distant photos of my life Ross' Gull. Hopefully you can find the bird in these photos! If you have really good eyes, note the dark underwings and the wedge-shaped tail, among other fieldmarks
After enjoying the views of this mega rarity, we headed north a short distance to the border, crossed back into British Columbia and pulled over at the sage brush area that Thor and I had the Gray Partridge on Monday. It only took about 10 minutes and I flushed a lone bird that circled past my parents for their first views of this difficult species. Too fast for photos. We looped back to the vehicle and on route flush another 8 or so birds! This is what a Gray Partridge looks like when it explodes out of the brush!
I think I have a new goal - a picture of a Gray Partridge on the ground - I never see them until they erupt!
Here are some other pictures of wildlife near the road on the way home today:
After explaining to my oldest son the difference between Mountain Goats and Bighorn Sheep, we drove around the corner and there were Bighorn Sheep!
Hmm...if sheep are usually white and goats are usually brown, why are Mountain Goats white and Bighorn Sheep brown? Confusing to my 4 year old son (and me)....
Keeping a watch on me....
That is all for now,
Dave
When news of the Ross' Gull just across the border in the Okanagan reached my ears, I was at Apex Mountain, not far away! The only problem was my passport was at home in Chilliwack!
My parents were not planning to chase this bird, but with a "tiny bit of pressure" from their son, agreed to go for a drive this morning and deliver some passports. They have never seen Gray Partridge and I had some up-to-date info as to where to find them, so with the possibility of 2 new birds, they left Chilliwack this morning at 630 and met my family in Keremeos at 930. We then piled into one vehicle and headed across the Nighthawk border crossing. The lady there was familiar with the answer to "Where are you going?" - rare gull at Lake Palmer.
We followed our printed directions to Lake Palmer and met this sight - rather encouraging ;D
I was out of the vehicle in a shot, and soon learned the bird had just landed on the ice on the far side of the lake. It remained across the lake the entire time we were there, but did allow excellent scope views as it flew around, repeatedly landing on the ice near a section of open water.
At one point I looked up to see who was near me and saw Abbotsford's John Vooys standing beside me. Nice to see you today, John, and congrats on adding to your impressive list!
I guess the deer carcass was frozen under ice (according to some of the birders there) although I later heard the carcass was removed by one of the locals. Whatever the case, the bird was still there, although very distant. I certainly wasn't going to complain about having the opportunity to watch it!
Here are my poor quality, very distant photos of my life Ross' Gull. Hopefully you can find the bird in these photos! If you have really good eyes, note the dark underwings and the wedge-shaped tail, among other fieldmarks
After enjoying the views of this mega rarity, we headed north a short distance to the border, crossed back into British Columbia and pulled over at the sage brush area that Thor and I had the Gray Partridge on Monday. It only took about 10 minutes and I flushed a lone bird that circled past my parents for their first views of this difficult species. Too fast for photos. We looped back to the vehicle and on route flush another 8 or so birds! This is what a Gray Partridge looks like when it explodes out of the brush!
I think I have a new goal - a picture of a Gray Partridge on the ground - I never see them until they erupt!
Here are some other pictures of wildlife near the road on the way home today:
After explaining to my oldest son the difference between Mountain Goats and Bighorn Sheep, we drove around the corner and there were Bighorn Sheep!
Hmm...if sheep are usually white and goats are usually brown, why are Mountain Goats white and Bighorn Sheep brown? Confusing to my 4 year old son (and me)....
Keeping a watch on me....
That is all for now,
Dave
