To begin with, let me say that “geese in the Okanagan Valley” is a very controversial subject, with opinions varying from “How nice to have so many of these great Canadian symbols in our back yard” to “Kill off all of these pests fouling [which is different from fowling] our beaches and playing fields!” For a pretty fair assessment of the issue and its debaters, have a look at this article , which explains that, in the first place, Canada Geese are not native to the Okanagan Valley. They were introduced by well-meaning folks in the 1960s and ’70s (according to the article) and have flourished [or dominated] here ever since. Goose management is now a major concern of almost everyone in the Valley.

That said, for birders, there are several varieties of geese, including several subspecies of Canadas, and accidental Snow Geese and Greater White-fronted Geese noted here every year. A few photos will suffice to illustrate what we see….

Snow Goose in autumn

Tundra Swan and Snow Goose share Thomson Farm field.

Greater White-Fronted Geese over Munson Pond in autumn.

Greater White-Fronted Geese, Munson Pond

Snow Goose swims with but is not attached to these Canadas in Munson Pond.

Snow Goose in Spring, Thomson Farm.

Last spring (2016), I was privileged, I felt, to find a Canada Goose nesting just across the brook in Thomson Marsh. Although I kept checking on her, I missed the hatching, and the parents and their offspring either moved to a safer location or suffered predation. One never knows. It was interesting to see the gander a few meters away seemingly keeping watch. He wasn’t there all the time, however, unlike goose pairs I’ve observed in other places. And oddly, one day, there was a Mallard drake stationed only a few meters away from the goose on her nest. Not quite sure what he was looking for…. Click images to enlarge.

Mama CANG on her nest, Thomson Marsh.

She knows I’m there, but not a threat….

The gander takes a gander….

Prying Mallard….

Swans visit the valley in winter, a mix of Trumpeters and Tundras. I didn’t photograph any of the former last year (and not for political reason, I must add, though that might have been a subconscious factor), but got some pleasing images of a young Tundra family in Okanagan Lake near Maude Roxby Sanctuary.  Click images to enlarge.

Tundra pair with cygnet in tow….

I like to call this one “Three Eyes”

In the spring, the Snow Goose that stayed for several weeks at the Thomson Farm (just south of the Marsh named for this farm family that donated the land that made the marsh sustainable) was accompanied by this lonely Tundra Swan. It was quite independent yet capable of getting along with the small flock of geese and its white cousin. It will be interesting to see if we have a similar situation this spring….  Click images to enlarge.

Tundra Swan and Snow Goose share Thomson Farm field.

Tundra Swan in Thomson Marsh.

(S)he stayed for nearly a month….

In Part 1, we looked at waders (some of whom, like avocets and phalaropes, float) and shorebirds. In Part 2, we turn to a favourite of mine and many folks (though not my wife’s for some unfathomable reason), the Great Blue Heron.

GBHEs are found across Canada, the USA, and Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean and parts of northern South America. But in Canada, they are normally found year round only in BC and along the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. Whether their distribution will change as climates warm remains to be seen. The Okanagan Valley is one of the few non-coastal parts of Canada where we can observe GBHEs even in winter. Since coming here, I’ve gained even more respect for these large, almost prehistoric looking birds and their ability to adapt to varied environments. We have quite an assortment; I’m able to identify a few individuals by their favourite hangouts and differences in behaviour….

Where I see GBHEs mostly—Belmont Ponds and Thomson Marsh. Michaelbrook Marsh, located off the top right quadrant of the map is frequented by herons from these areas, too. Munson Pond, about a kilometre away, as the heron flies, is home to several individuals who seem to spend most of their time watching the lake from perches high above. Click to enlarge.

Let me show you a few shots of these guys/gals (I can’t tell the difference) who never fail to grab my attention whenever I come across one. Let’s begin with Sir Ralph of Belmont Pond. People either praise or vilify my inclination to “name” the character birds I encounter, but in this case, I’m blameless, or almost so, for the name ‘Ralph” had been given by the residents on the Pond to this wonderful specimen before I arrived. But the name feels right, and, in my infinite wisdom, I’ve added the knighthood—I think he’s earned it and  hope you agree.

Click image to enlarge in new tab.

Featured fotos of Sir Ralph:

(Ardea herodias) Great Blue Heron above small Belmont Pond.

Sir Ralph in his willow in winter.

Belmont Pond evening hunt…

Other GBHEs I’ve photographed this year: Click images to enlarge them.

Spotted, Hider decides to move to a less visible spot.

Comin’ down….

Hider hopes he’s invisible….

“How do I know one GBHE from another?” is a legitimate question. I do see herons flying from one location to another, certainly, and  I understand the issue. Based on their behaviour,  however, I suspect some who act similarly within relatively close proximity to be the same bird, but I can’t be sure.

Hider is so named because, unlike Sir Ralph who has no problem with public performances, Hider likes to snuggle in among the reeds and cattails so that he’s just barely visible, a difficult trick because he’s a large one. In the flight shot above, he’s asserting his right to dominate the far west corner of Thomson Marsh, and a wee Hooded Merganser is fleeing without squawking any protest!

In December, at -5ºC,  a somewhat small Great Blue I hadn’t (to my knowledge) seen before showed up one afternoon in Thomson Brook on the northeast side of Thomson Marsh where there was still some flowing water. I’d already been alerted to his/her presence by another photographer who’d marvelled at how close he’d been able to approach. I arrived at the spot probably 20 minutes later and (s)he was still hunting and willing to be observed. I was able to get several shots including savouring his/her sushi appetizer….

Stalking….

Savouring…

Surveying….

One regret I have from late 2016 is that I was unable to observe the Green Heron that unexpectedly visited Rotary Marsh along with a couple of out of season/out of place passerines, a Lucy’s Warbler and a Least Flycatcher. I found and photographed the Lucy’s but couldn’t locate the other two. Still, my visit to the “far end of town where the trickle-grass grows” was not in vain, as I got excellent looks at some ducks that appear in Part 3 of this series, and this lovely Great Blue, too!

Below: a Green Heron from another time and another place, just because it’s fun to recall…. A note to those who’ve never seen one, Greenies are much smaller than GBHEs, and much more colourful! Click image to enlarge in a new tab.

Part 3 introduces some ducks, and coots ….

Last week, I completed my favourite/best photos collection of perching birds (and a few that roost or climb) from 2016.

As promised, I’m going to provide separate posts for raptors and water birds, as well as the few mammals that caught the attention of my eye and camera last year. So let’s begin with the waders, which for me means “birds that commonly occur in [and around] reedy areas, shallow waters, ponds and such” (Wikipedia) and, up here in the Interior, this includes mainly two subcategories, herons and shorebirds. Compared to the waders’ catalogues of our most avid birders, mine is considerably smaller. At The Coast, there’s a much greater diversity, especially of shorebirds, and a community that’s deeply committed to it. On the other hand, up here, while  there are fewer species (though more than I’ve searched out), some of them are indigenous to our ecosystems and unlikely to appear in coastal conditions; I’m very pleased to be located right where we are. No doubt, I’ll add to my list in years to come….

Among the wader/floaters unique to the Interior, the American Avocet particularly stands out! In fact, the map above shows that while this mostly western species breeds in states that touch the 49th parallel, none breed in BC at all. My photos show the contrary. Click photos to enlarge….

Some interesting facts about American Avocets from Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology:

• 

  “With its elegant profile and striking coloration, the American Avocet is unique among North American birds. In summer it can be found in temporary and unpredictable wetlands across western North America where it swings its long upturned bill through the shallow water to catch small invertebrates.

• In response to predators, the American Avocet sometimes issues a series of call notes that gradually changes pitch, simulating the Doppler effect and thus making its approach seem faster than it actually is.
• Nesting American Avocets aggressively attack predators, sometimes physically striking Northern Harriers or Common Ravens. 
• A female American Avocet may lay one to four eggs in the nest of another female, who then incubates the eggs. American Avocets may parasitize other species’ nests too; single American Avocet eggs have been found in the nests of Mew Gulls. Other species may also parasitize avocet nests. Avocets have incubated mixed clutches of their own eggs and those of Common Terns or Black-necked Stilts. The avocets reared the stilt hatchlings as if they were their own. 
• American Avocet chicks leave the nest within 24 hours after hatching. Day-old avocets can walk, swim, and even dive to escape predators. 
• The oldest recorded American Avocet was over 15 years old, when it was found in California, where it had been banded a decade and a half earlier.”

In our community, Avocets are found at Robert Lake, a saltwater marsh with very limited access for birders (a looooonnnngggg story that I won’t be going into here!) and, oddly, just to the north, in ponds now incorporated into the Kelowna Landfill, including one still referred to locally as Alki Lake — “Alki” because its so alkaline, and “lake” because that may have been true in the past. Although the landfill is a state-of-the-art operation, any landfill is, after all, a complex built with garbage and not a great place to spend the day no matter how many eagles and ravens and hawks and ducks and even avocets and stilts it supports….

Efforts to encourage AMAVs & Black-necked Stilts to relocate have been largely unsuccessful….

Speaking of BNSTs, here’s the best proof that this species is doing well here, too, in the same environment as the Avocets (click to open enlarged image in a new tab):

The stilts and avocets occupy quite different territories most of the year as the comparison of their ranges (below) shows. We’re very fortunate in Kelowna to be able to enjoy both species in the same locale!

We are very fortunate…

…to have both species in our area!

Other shorebirds (that I have photos of) that grace our Okanagan community:

Killdeer are found throughout most of North America.

As males and females look alike,…

…it’s hard to know if this one is male or female….

I’m inclined to believe that the Killdeer above, from Thomson Marsh, is a male. On my walks in spring, while his mate was sitting on eggs, he would pop out of the brush between the path and Thomson Brook and lead me along, regardless of which  way I was travelling, away from her. Of course, to me, it felt like I was walking with a Killdeer; his perspective was likely a little different, but as I’m not fluent in Killdeer, I couldn’t always grasp what he was trying to tell me…. To enlarge graphic and photos, just click them!

Robert Lake is a great place to see a wide variety of shorebirds, including Killdeers, but it’s especially great for sandpipers that really prefer salt marshes, such as the Least, Solitary, and occasionally, outside its usual range, Pectoral Sandpiper.

Found coast to coast in Canada, and North America.

The photo doesn’t prove it, but LESAs are very tiny, yet quite trusting of people—at least at Robert Lake.

I found Solitary Sandpipers in several locations in 2016, including this one in a pond near Upper Mission Creek where it was foraging on a carpet of algae. It took a little work to get a suitable vantage point for the shot, but I think it was worth it….

Solitary Sandpiper on a bed of algae.

We live right on the southern edge of the SOSAs breeding grounds in BC/

From Cornell: “The Solitary Sandpiper is commonly seen in migration along the banks of ponds and creeks. While not truly solitary, it does not migrate in large flocks the way other shorebirds do…. The Solitary Sandpiper lays its eggs in [abandoned] tree nests of several different song birds, particularly those of the American Robin, Rusty Blackbird, Eastern Kingbird, Gray Jay, and Cedar Waxwing….Of the world’s 85 sandpiper species, only the Solitary Sandpiper and the Green Sandpiper of Eurasia routinely lay eggs in tree nests instead of on the ground.“ ….In migration and winter [SOSAs are] found along freshwater ponds, stream edges, temporary pools, flooded ditches and fields, more commonly in wooded regions, less frequently on mudflats and open marshes.”

Pectoral Sandpipers are being found in BC more often these days although Cornell’s range map for them indicates otherwise. We’re likely to see them, if at all, only during migration. I was lucky to be alerted to this one’s presence and to get this lifetime shot!

A rare visitor west of the Rockies….

but fairly common in the rest of North America

As rare as Pectorals are, the Lesser Yellowlegs below (and its close relative the Greater Yellowlegs) are regular visitors to Robert Lake and other Okanagan wetlands.

LEWA foraging at Robert Lake

Common throughout the Americas!

Most fascinating bird in the marsh

The final entry in this part on waders/shorebirds is actually, like the AMAVs we began with, a floater/swimmer as well as a wader. The Wilson’s Phalarope is one of the most fascinating birds we see in the salt marsh. Unlike most birds we see in Canada, the females are not only more colourful than males; females “court and defend male mates—several per season—while males do most of the work of raising the young.”  Imagine that, all you MCP- couch potatoes! Nature does work in mysterious ways…. Besides the unusual gender appearances and roles, WIPHs also utter peculiar sounds—like dogs barking in the distance. Moreover, “Phalaropes are the only shorebirds that regularly swim in deep water. They bob on the surface, often spinning in circles to bring small food items within reach of their slender bills.” (Cornell)

A western bird for the most part, but WIPHs can be found near the Canadian-American border in Ontario, QC, and NB/NS.

Female WIPH, Robert Lake, Kelowna, BC.

Probably a young male WIPH

Part 2 of this series will focus on Great Blue Herons and a few gulls….
Part 3 will cover ducks, grebes, and coots….

“End with a flourish,” I’ve read. So here goes.

The “Y” birds (Y not, you may ask) include three birds whose names begin with Yellow. One, the Yellow-headed Blackbird is a western bird.The other two, warblers, are found across the North American continent and coast to coast to coast in Canada.

Yellow-headed Blackbirds return to us from the southwestern US and Mexico in early April. Occasionally, they’ll land on a rooftop on their way further north, but their season starts for us when we see the first males in Thomson Marsh where the Red-winged Blackbirds by this time are already well established. The first few males are very quiet; we’re likely to see them before we hear them. Within a couple of weeks, the situation reverses, and we enjoy the cacophony of the clash of vocalizing RWBLs and YHBLs. As with RWBLs, YHBL females show up a couple of weeks after the males have established their territories.

I confessed in part 3 of this series that my favourite species in the summer marsh is the Eastern  Kingbird. The Yellow-headed Blackbird is a close second. The chief difference and factor that makes me lean to the EAKIs is that individual families are much easier to identify among the EAKIs. The pairs are devoted to each other in ways that the YHBLs are not. The YHBLs arrive earlier than the EAKIs and depart earlier, as well, at least the males. By late summer, the marsh is ruled by the RWBLs and the growing EAKI families. But last year, at least, I was able to identify a couple of females that continued hang around. Their offspring seem to become independent fairly quickly. It was surprising to find a couple of female YHBLs still being chased by a fledgling Brown-headed Cowbird that had “conned” one of them into raising. Although they’re not very attractive/photogenic at this time of year, I find “Yellow-heads” an interesting group to study….

Juvenile Male fledgling YHBL, Thomson Marsh, Kelowna, BC.

Juvenile fledgling, Thomson Marsh, Kelowna, BC.

Yellow-headed Blackbird Range (Cornell)

Swamp boss!

Upper crust elite YHBL….

Don’t bug me!

“How can I help you?”

From Yellow-headed Blackbird, Identification, All About Birds – Cornell Lab of Ornithology [with some editing by KAR]:

With a golden head, a white patch on black wings, and a call that sounds like a rusty farm gate opening, [male] Yellow-headed Blackbirds demand our attention. Look for them in western and prairie wetlands, where they nest in reeds [or cattails] directly over the water. 

[We don’t get to see them winter in Kelowna, but we do run into migrating flocks in Kane Valley early in the spring.] They’re just as impressive in winter, when huge flocks seem to roll across farm fields. Each bird gleans seeds from the ground, then leapfrogs over its flock mates to the front edge of the ever-advancing troupe.

Yellow-headed Blackbirds breed in loose colonies, and males mate with several females. During the breeding season, they eat insects and aquatic invertebrates. [See map for wintering grounds.] They form huge flocks in winter, often mixing with other species of blackbirds, and feed on seeds and grains in cultivated fields. 

Well, we’re quickly nearing the end of this final chapter of Favourite Passerine Fotos of 2017. Let’s talk about two of the warblers that we look forward to every year in Belmont Park and ponds and Thomson Marsh: I’ll take them in the order in which they appear, which means we look first at Yellow-rumped Warblers, another bird that’s distributed across the NA continent and coast to coast to coast in Canada.

“Yellow-rumped Warblers are impressive in the sheer numbers with which they flood the continent each fall. Shrubs and trees fill with the streaky brown-and-yellow birds and their distinctive, sharp chips. Though the color palette is subdued all winter, you owe it to yourself to seek these birds out on their spring migration or on their breeding grounds. Spring molt brings a transformation, leaving them a dazzling mix of bright yellow, charcoal gray and black, and bold white.” (Cornell)

The first year here, I waited expectantly and failed to find many close enough to photograph well. In 2016, however, I learned where to locate them—closer to home, ironically, and am looking forward to similar opportunities this spring. In summer, the Butter Butts pretty much leave town and the heat of the valley bottom for the cooler hillsides. In autumn, in their new camouflage, they reappear along with Warbling Vireos and juvenile Waxwings in various locations, along the Creek, but also among the many weeds now offering their seeds and harbouring insects….

YRWA in autumn, foraging.

Autumn Butterbutt offering a special photo opp along Mission Creek….

These photos are not outstanding, but may indicate the kinds of interesting challenges that Yellow-rumps offer in the waning months of the year. By late October, they’re gone.

The final bird of this long series is the Yellow Warbler. I’ve learned to be patient with this  species. It appears in different locations at different times from  spring through early autumn. Early and late summer into autumn afford the best photo opps in the Okanagan. YEWAs can be very difficult to capture due their rapid movement and propensity for cover, but I can usually count on excellent chances late in the season….

Two of the shots below are of males. I’ll leave it to you to figure out which is which.

Click the photos to see them enlarged.

Late spring Yellow Warbler

Early summer YEWA

Autumn YEWA

“Yellow Warblers forage along slender branches of shrubs and small trees, picking off insect prey as they go or briefly hovering to get at prey on leaves. Singing males perch near the tops of the bushes or trees in their territory.

As male Yellow Warblers are setting up territories they may perform a “circle flight” in which they fly toward a neighboring male or female in a horizontal, semicircular path. A male may also fly slowly with fast, exaggerated wingbeats away from a female he is courting or a male he is competing with. As these territorial encounters proceed, males start by singing at each other; as the dispute goes on, the songs get quieter or switch to chip notes as the males begin to chase each other.

Yellow Warblers typically form monogamous pairs that sometimes last more than one breeding season and reform the next. Yellow Warblers defend their nesting territories from many species, including other warbler species, chickadees, House Wrens, blackbirds, and Eastern Kingbirds. They may even chase off other warbler species while on their wintering grounds. Common predators of Yellow Warbler nests include garter snakes, red squirrels, jays, crows, raccoons, weasels, skunks, and domestic or feral cats.” (Cornell)

And finally, a note on conservation with regards to YEWAs, again from Cornell:

“Yellow Warblers are one of the most numerous warblers in North America but their populations have been slowly declining, and have decreased by 25% between 1966 and 2014, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 90 million with 37% spending some part of the year in the U.S., 15% in Mexico, and 57% breeding in Canada. They rate a 6 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score and are not on the 2014 State of the Birds Watch List. In the western U.S. the grazing of rangelands can degrade Yellow Warbler nesting habitat, particularly stands of willow trees along creeks. The Brown-headed Cowbird lays its eggs in the nests of many species including Yellow Warblers, and this can reduce their breeding success. Like many migratory songbirds that move at night, Yellow Warblers are at risk of collisions with buildings; they can be attracted to and killed at tall, lighted structures such as TV towers and tall buildings.” We all hope this delightful, beautiful, interactive songster is able to survive in its Okanagan breeding grounds for years to come!