Week 25 Now it gets HARD!
Last week was the honeymoon week of sitting around drinking Margaritas and adding birds as they flew about my brother’s backyard. This week we start to work on the 4th ranked birds – the tougher ones, the ones that require effort, sometimes lots of effort. We left Monday morning for Kelowna and stopped at a few spots along the way with clear objectives. First up was a Sage Thrasher, one of the rarest birds in Canada. We have seen them in Arizona but never in Canada. Their habitat is sagebrush so they are restricted to those areas and can be found in the White Lake area of the Okanagan. There is a vast area of sagebrush put aside for this endangered species with a very small population, between 7-36 individuals. It was the proverbial “looking for a needle in a haystack”. I knew the odds were low but you miss getting 100% of the birds you do not try for. BC birders on Discord had given me some suggestions of where to go and so we arrived at the trailhead around 8am. It was already hot. For some reason, despite seeing lots of sagebrush to our left we took the trail to our right and starting climbing into the hills passing a few ponds along the way. It clearly was not Sage Thrasher territory and I was annoyed second-guessing myself and what we should be putting our time into. After about 30 minutes I insisted we turn back and headed left from the trailhead towards the fields of sagebrush. We started hearing sparrows and saw Say’s Phoebe’s, good indicators we were in the right area.
Still, I was discouraged with the heat and the lack of seeing anything new so I was busy composing this blog, in my head, about the difficulty in getting these 4th ranked birds and how I expect not to get many of them…and then right at my feet a SAGE THRASHER flushed up, over the fence and landed in a small shrub allowing us to both see it and for Jerry to GET PICTURES! Euphoria!! Excitement! We got the SAGE THRASHER! When it flew back deeper in the sagebrush we watched it for a bit and then when it disappeared we slowly started the walk out and within a few minutes we heard another Sage Thrasher singing up in the hill. I really did not think I would get that bird let alone two!
Next we stopped at a few known spots for owls or swifts or just good birds. Max Lake in Penticton was quiet but by then it was mid-day and not the best birding time. Next we stopped at Okanagan Lake PP and walked the campground checking trees for roosting owls. A report of a Pygmy Owl from the previous day had peaked my interest. I did see an owl but it was a juvenile Great Horned Owl. Four hours after we were there someone in that campground saw 3 Western Screech Owl juveniles! So close! We were right there! So frustrating!
We continued onto Kelowna but made a quick stop at Hardy Falls in Peachland. This is a favourite spot of ours after being out on hot trails. The trail is shaded and cool with a waterfall at the end. American Dippers are frequently seen there but we did not see one.
After checking into our hotel and having dinner at the hotel pub we headed to west Kelowna and Rose Valley Regional Park. This area was hit by fire last year and we were sad to see the devastation of barren hills and burned trees. Greenery underneath is starting to come back but it is not the lush forested park we remember from 2022. They have started restoration and will be replanting in the next few years but the work needed is massive.
We were searching for Black-backed and American 3-Toed Woodpeckers among the burnt trees. These are specialists that arrive in burn areas after fires and specifically target beetle larvae that is laid in trees that are burned. They also find it easier to nest in burnt trees. I thought that it would be a slam-dunk to get both these species at this new extensive burn but it turns out there are not very many at this site and our attempts did not turn up any. The salvage logging that is taking place probably has an impact on just how many have arrived and stayed in the area.
At dusk we headed for Reservoir Road, a known site for hearing and sometimes seeing Flammulated Owl. In 2022 we were lucky enough to be shown its nesting hole and saw it go in and out on two nights. We stood around the area where that nest was and where there are many trees with nest holes and waited, and waited. We always arrive too early thinking it will be dark by 9:30 but dusk stretches towards 10pm and Veery’s and Towhees continued to call incessantly until it was very dark. We heard just Nighthawks and Common Poorwills. No owls. I was disappointed, discouraged, but I know these birds require work and perseverance. We will have to move further up the path and try again on Tuesday night.
Tuesday morning we were up before 5:30 despite the late night from owling. Our target was Dusky Grouse, a lifer for us if we ever manage to see one. It is becoming a bit of a nemesis bird for us. We have tried for it whenever we come out to BC but it has eluded us. We headed up Beaver Lake Road into the mountains on what is one of the better mountain roads we have been on. Lots of pull-offs, smooth gravel. It was enjoyable rather than stressful. We pulled over often as we heard and saw birds. We managed to add Townsend’s Warbler to our list and Jerry even got pictures of it on our 3 or 4th stop for them. He finally got pictures of MacGillivray Warbler, Cassin’s Finch and we saw some Canada Jays and got pictures of those. Sadly, no Dusky Grouse although a bird flushed from the road at one point and it looked pretty gray but it disappeared into the shrubs not to be seen again.
We continued to our next target, Clark’s Grebe at Salmon Arm, the most reliable place to find one in BC. We set ourselves up on the wharf and scoped, and scoped. Carefully looking at every Western Grebe for the one that looks a bit different, paler, no black around the eye, orange/yellow bill instead of green/yellow. If the birds are close it is easy but when they are waaaay out with some water shimmer, it is a daunting process. We kept at it for over an hour, took a break and then went back at it for another hour. The wharf moves slightly and as I scoped in the heat I started to feel slightly seasick. A headache started. I was sure I had the Clark’s and compared it with a nearby Western. Jerry weighed in. We looked again and again in between it’s diving. The problem is there are also hybrid’s of both species so we needed to make sure we had a full on Clark’s Grebe. At one point we were sure and going to add it but when we talked more, looked at pictures both of us could not, in good conscience, add it to the list because we both felt there was still doubt. I was disappointed to miss this 4th ranked bird when we have always been successful at getting it on our trips out here. I had kind of put it down as an absolute even though it is a 4th ranked bird. Sigh! you cannot get them all. I will be lucky to get 50% of the 4th ranked birds in BC. I consoled myself that there is still lots of time. There is a Clark’s Grebe that has been hanging at a reservoir in Alberta so I might be able to get it on the way home or we might be passing through Salmon Arm again on our way to Jasper. It is not over yet.
Late afternoon we headed back to our hotel and had a pizza on the way. Some down time at the hotel refreshed us and we headed off for another night of owling. This time we met more people on the path, from Ontario too, and we discussed strategy and information. They had heard two Flammulated Owls in the area on Saturday so that made us feel better that we were in the “right” spot. We only arrived after 9pm this time and were determined to stay until after 10. It was much windier making it more difficult to hear but we stayed until after 10 and heard nothing. Two nights dipping on the owls. Bigger sigh!
These are the times when I have to remind myself that I have a cushion of rarities specifically for this scenario where I miss species. I am pretty sure I will hit the target of 400 so if I miss a few, I miss a few. Still, it hurts.
Wednesday we slept in till 6 and headed off to Black Mountain for a hike to try again for Dusky Grouse, Townsend’s Solitaire and Steller’s Jay. It was a beautiful trail, rocky in spots but lots of birds and opportunities for more and better pictures for Jerry.
Half-way through I saw a bird fly towards a dead tree and I registered the colouring was different. When it landed I got on it with my bins and Jerry got his camera on it. Townsend’s Solitaire! Still an expected species but at least we added a bird. We had a number of Ruffed Grouse on the hike but not a Dusky. One out of three targets is something, I guess.
We opted to spend the hot hours back at the hotel catching up on pictures and blogs and went for an early dinner and then back out to see if we could catch up with some Vaux’s Swifts. These swifts are similar to our Chimney Swifts and there are numerous reports of them throughout BC but they are not generally in the same places so to see them we just keep checking locations where they have been seen more consistently but so far we have not found them. There is a chimney in Courtney on the Island that is a frequent spot but I am hoping not to have to make the drive for them. After dipping (missing) on the Swifts we headed back to Reservoir Road for our third attempt at the Flammulated Owl. We walked further up the road than the previous nights listening intently for any hooting. We saw a couple of people standing up the hill in the dark and knew they would be birders, and it turned out we knew them from Ontario. Jeremy, being one of them, had done a Big Ontario Year a few years back! There are a lot of Ontario birders visiting western Canada this year, likely because most of us don’t want to travel to the US. Jeremy had heard one owl a bit before we got there but at quite a distance. We listened for a bit longer and then started walking down towards what we think is the nesting area. When we got close to the area we had a very small owl flush from the brush and go up to a hole at the back of a tree. We had our Owl! Whew!!! We waited a bit longer to see if there would be any noise from them but it was quiet. It is likely nesting time where they tend to be much quieter and in a few weeks once they start feeding there will be more interaction between the two adults.
Thursday morning we headed back to Okanagan Lake Provincial Park to search for those Screech nestlings that had been reported. We knew they were likely roosting in one of the many maples in the park and we decided we would check them all. LOL! We spent 3 hours and walked 3 kms covering as much of the park and campgrounds as possible. We asked people and got some information about past nest holes but we were not successful at finding them. We really need to be at some of these spots at night so we can hear them. The problem is we are not scheduled to be there. I have to make some plans to set this up so we get this lifer. We did add Steller’s Jay and got great views of Lewis’s Woodpecker and Clark’s Nutcracker so it was well worth the stop.
We moved on to Manning Park where a few of our species needed had been reported and walked some of the trails. We heard the deep whoop-whoop-whoop of a Sooty Grouse. We hoped that we would see one but for now it gets added to the list based on that distant call. These additions are always a tad disappointing as we would love to have fantastic interactions with every bird we see but the reality is many interactions are very brief or only heard. At the end of the trail I heard a different call that made me look up quickly, Jerry saw the bird fly up and away and Merlin recorded a Red-breasted Sapsucker. Another bird for the list and another disappointing encounter. We will see many more of these in Vancouver for picture opportunities.
We headed back to Grand Forks for 4 days of rest and family time before we head to Vancouver and the Island. We added 7 birds on this 4 day trip and missed three 4th ranked birds plus the Swift. I have a list of 114 birds to get in BC and we have seen 76 between this trip and the February trip. Vancouver and the Island should yield quite a few more. Time to regroup, research for next week’s trip and make some decisions about trying for the birds we have missed. I left a window of 4 days after our time on the Island to go back for anything we haven’t documented so I’ll look at that over the weekend too.
Our last trip out in 2022 we encountered bears at every turn it seemed and this year we have not seen any until Manning Park where there was one quite a ways down the road we were walking on. We opted to turn around and head back to our car. Back in Grand Forks Friday morning we had two bears behind the property. My brother has the area around the house and buildings all fenced and gated and they have Athena, the “bear” dog that alerts us to anything outside the perimeter. These bears are always around so any walks outside of the fenced area we carry air horns. Athena used to accompany us but she has a bad leg now and cannot manage the walks anymore.
We took another hike on Sunday, heading to the summit of Saddle Peak and spending some time below at Saddle Lake. We saw a Virginia Rail in the bulrushes and Jerry got pictures of it. I took a video of the very loud Yellow-headed Blackbirds.
Tomorrow we will try for Swifts close by and then Tuesday we head to Vancouver and then the Island. More birds coming…
Week 25 7 species added 373 E&J