Post by Dave on Jan 20, 2007 14:30:45 GMT -8
Jeff and I planned to do some birding this morning and decided to go east instead of west. Our hope was to find some redpolls, grosbeaks, crossbills, etc....
Well, we left early this morning and drove up to Manning Park, fully aware that the park is covered in 2 to 3 metres of snow. We figured we would be the lone birders amidst the skiers, but counted on whatever bird we would find, would be something worth studying.
We pulled into the park lodge area sometime after 8 and scouted out the grounds. Nothing flew, moved, or even peeped. After walking a loop of the area, we went into the lodge and asked for a copy of the bird checklist. The woman behind the desk clearly thought we were rather strange....looking for birds this time of year?? We then drove up towards the ski area, taking numerous stops at every clearing/pull off, waiting/listening, walking off into the woods for short stretches, and driving on. I must comment on the fact that our bird list at this point was at 2 species. Both were large and black, 1 magnificent crow, and 2 majestic ravens. When we got to the Lightning Lake "Y", we decided to check out the lake parking area as it was somewhat plowed. Halfway to the lake I spotted something that moved! Finally, a bird! It turned out to be an American Dipper taking advantage of a little section of water not frozen over.
For a few minutes we sat in the unusually high snowbank on the side of the road and savoured views of this bird . We then headed on to the lake which was completely devoid of bird life. Up we went to the Gibson's ski area where we confused several parking directors, electing to do a loop through the area in search of finches, etc. Again, nothing.
We slowly drove back to Hwy #3, and never saw a bird of any sort, but were rewarded with another crow back at the lodge area.
At this point, we drove back towards home, electing to find some bird areas in Thor's stomping grounds. We had heard of the "Hope Airport" several times in Thor's postings and thought we would give it a try, maybe it would deliver a Short-eared Owl? The only problem was that we had no idea where the Hope Airport was, so after visiting the gas station for directions, we headed to it. I must say that the area around the airport offers some neat habitat. We drove around the airport in a counter-clockwise direction. The first half was very quiet other than the odd Song Sparrow and Stellar's Jay. The next quarter gave us a flock of birds, which we stopped for and spent sometime sorting through. The whole flock turned out to be Oregon Juncos and a Hairy Woodpecker stopped by to say "Hi".
The last section of the loop was the most exciting. Driving slowly along the road, I slammed on the binders implanting Jeff's head into the windshield. Pine Grosbeaks!! Sure enough, we bumped into a flock of 7 which allowed us to watch them nibble the end of the branches for quite a while. Definitely the highlight of the morning!
After enjoying these neat birds, we headed home.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Dave
Well, we left early this morning and drove up to Manning Park, fully aware that the park is covered in 2 to 3 metres of snow. We figured we would be the lone birders amidst the skiers, but counted on whatever bird we would find, would be something worth studying.
We pulled into the park lodge area sometime after 8 and scouted out the grounds. Nothing flew, moved, or even peeped. After walking a loop of the area, we went into the lodge and asked for a copy of the bird checklist. The woman behind the desk clearly thought we were rather strange....looking for birds this time of year?? We then drove up towards the ski area, taking numerous stops at every clearing/pull off, waiting/listening, walking off into the woods for short stretches, and driving on. I must comment on the fact that our bird list at this point was at 2 species. Both were large and black, 1 magnificent crow, and 2 majestic ravens. When we got to the Lightning Lake "Y", we decided to check out the lake parking area as it was somewhat plowed. Halfway to the lake I spotted something that moved! Finally, a bird! It turned out to be an American Dipper taking advantage of a little section of water not frozen over.
For a few minutes we sat in the unusually high snowbank on the side of the road and savoured views of this bird . We then headed on to the lake which was completely devoid of bird life. Up we went to the Gibson's ski area where we confused several parking directors, electing to do a loop through the area in search of finches, etc. Again, nothing.
We slowly drove back to Hwy #3, and never saw a bird of any sort, but were rewarded with another crow back at the lodge area.
At this point, we drove back towards home, electing to find some bird areas in Thor's stomping grounds. We had heard of the "Hope Airport" several times in Thor's postings and thought we would give it a try, maybe it would deliver a Short-eared Owl? The only problem was that we had no idea where the Hope Airport was, so after visiting the gas station for directions, we headed to it. I must say that the area around the airport offers some neat habitat. We drove around the airport in a counter-clockwise direction. The first half was very quiet other than the odd Song Sparrow and Stellar's Jay. The next quarter gave us a flock of birds, which we stopped for and spent sometime sorting through. The whole flock turned out to be Oregon Juncos and a Hairy Woodpecker stopped by to say "Hi".
The last section of the loop was the most exciting. Driving slowly along the road, I slammed on the binders implanting Jeff's head into the windshield. Pine Grosbeaks!! Sure enough, we bumped into a flock of 7 which allowed us to watch them nibble the end of the branches for quite a while. Definitely the highlight of the morning!
After enjoying these neat birds, we headed home.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Dave
