American Ornithological Society Will Change the English Names of Bird Species Named After People. “There is power in a name, and some English bird names have associations with the past that continue to be exclusionary and harmful today. We need a much more inclusive and engaging scientific process that focuses attention on the unique features and beauty of the birds themselves,” said AOS President Colleen Handel, Ph.D., a research wildlife biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska. “Everyone who loves and cares about birds should be able to enjoy and study them freely—and birds need our help now more than ever.”

Pamela Zevit RPBio | Biodiversity Conservation Planner

?

T 604.590.7254

As a second generation settler, I am a privileged guest working on the shared traditional lands (tém:é虫w) of the s?myám? (Semiahmoo), sq??c?iy?a?? (Katzie), K?ik?????m (Kwikwetlem), q??ɑ:n????n? (Kwantlen), Qiqéyt (Qayqayt), Sc??waθ?n (Tsawwassen) and x?m?θk??y??m (Musqueam).

?

?

We have just finished a 4-week birding trip to Turkey, Cyprus and Greece. Having birded a lot in Europe and Asia, this trip was an excuse to look for some of the specialist species we hadn’t seen before and meet up with friends and family along the way.

?

Our itinerary took us from Vancouver to Istanbul and on to Izmir (Kruper’s Nuthatch, Thrush Nightingale) and to Lake Ac?g?l (Cretzschar’s Bunting) before heading towards Kalikan (Ruppell’s Warbler, Eastern Black-eared Wheatear). From there on to Side (Delicate Prinia, Levant’s Sparrowhawk, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler) and the Oymapinar Dam (Pied Wheatear). A short visit to Cyprus was specifically for the endemics, we dipped on Cyprus Scops Owl but got the other two, Cyprus Wheatear and Cyprus Warbler in addition to Eastern Orphean Warbler which was also new for us.

?

Back to Turkey and to Cappadocia and from there we drove to the Aldaglar Mountains (Caspian Snowcock, Snowfinch, Crimson-winged Finch and finally, for us, Alpine Accentor which we had looked for previously in many countries!). On to Gaziantep (Iraq Babbler, Northern Bald Ibis, Pallid Scops-Owl, Eastern Rock Nuthatch) before returning to Istanbul for the raptor migration on the Bosphorus.

The raptor migration was something I had wanted to see since I was a kid. When we arrived, we were told it had been quiet with only 20 raptors overhead all morning which was disappointing and we were both thinking what this would have been like 50 years ago with millions of raptors migrating through the Bosphorus from Europe and Asia to Africa. After a short time chatting with the local guys, one of them started to get excited pointing off in to the distance and we all started scanning when first a trickle of raptors appeared; the trickle became a river and shortly after it started raining raptors with hundreds of birds moving ahead of a weather front. They estimated 1,300 raptors in the couple of hours we were there; Short-toed, Booted and Steppe Eagles with Common, Steppe, Long-legged and Honey Buzzards along with Eurasian Sparrowhawk – what a spectacular sight as kettles of raptors soared overhead above the sprawl of Istanbul below! Although the number of birds today are a fraction of what they would have been in the past with these birds running the ultimate gauntlet migrating between Europe and Asia down through the Bosphorus to Africa, it was still a birding highlight we will always remember!

?

After the excitement of the raptor migration, we also got Yelkouan Shearwater on the ferry on the way back to Istanbul!

From Istanbul we flew to Thessaloniki in Greece primarily to meet up with family as there was only a single new species for us, Dalmatian Pelican which we got at Lake Kerkini NP, a Greece birding hotspot north of the city.

?

Although not a ton of new birds for us, Turkey in particular, is a high recommend and perhaps even more so for birders with non-birder partners; with so much to do, with history going back thousands of years, stunning architecture, great accommodations and food, and the Turkish people are wonderful, so friendly and with a great sense of humour – really a trip worth doing for birders and non-birders alike!

?

We will post the trip report on our birding website () with information on the itinerary, accommodations, guides, field guides and bird lists etc., and, as always, we’ll be happy to help and provide more information and advice for anyone thinking of planning a trip there.

?

Happy fall birding!

?

Derek

?

?

As we near 60,000 observations on iNaturalist in Surrey I would love to have better analysis tools like this to help filter the data.

?

“As people get better at identifying birds, go birding in new spots or get better tools to bird with, their reporting often changes over time. Those changes can affect abundance estimates for bird species. By looking for variations in bird counts and coupling that with variation in birders’ behaviors, researchers used double machine learning to screen out the behavior changes and better account for bird numbers.”

?

Pamela Zevit RPBio | Biodiversity Conservation Planner

?

T 604.590.7254

As a second generation settler, I am a privileged guest working on the shared traditional lands (tém:é虫w) of the s?myám? (Semiahmoo), sq??c?iy?a?? (Katzie), K?ik?????m (Kwikwetlem), q??ɑ:n????n? (Kwantlen), Qiqéyt (Qayqayt), Sc??waθ?n (Tsawwassen) and x?m?θk??y??m (Musqueam).

?

?

Hi Daniel and all...I was actually just ?thinking about posting about hummingbirds in my own yard here in S.W. Langley.? This article is also shocking for sure and ties right into my own observations.

?

I have a very hummingbird friendly acre of garden here in Langley, and have previously enjoyed many summers filled with hummingbird wars as they would fight over our salvias, fuchsias and many other food sources.? This summer has been surprisingly free of that, with the occasional visits by either Annas or Rufous being quite the exception, and reason to take note.? The reduced Anna’s population I expected after noticing what seemed like quite a mortality event last December.? But the Rufous have always been plentiful here, and yet have been definitely uncommon this summer.

?

This only adds to my concern about the crashing numbers of swallows here.? Again, seeing any swallows around our yard this summer has been reason for stopping and taking note...compared to most of my life when they would be such an ?expected species all day long.?

?

Insectivorous bird populations...definitely telling us something big is going on!

?

?

Glen Thomson

Langley, BC

?

?

?

Sent from for Windows

?

A slower morning this morning at the VARC banding station with only 80 birds processed but it included a SECOND hatch year (HY) male Rose-breasted Grosbeak!

?

Things have been hopping at ??é虫?t?m Regional Park (Colony Farm) with a succession of rare/uncommon birds this week including the two Lewis’s Woodpecker, Say’s Phoebe and a Gray Catbird!

?

Happy fall birding and banding!

?

Derek

?

?

Hi Pamela,

?

Brainard and I and a number of permitted hummingbird banders are members of a long standing hummingbird forum (Humband) and reports of overwintering Rufous in the east are quickly reported and most of them trapped and banded. We also quickly share ‘foreign’ retraps of each others birds and I don’t know of any records of overwintering Rufous banded in the east that have been subsequently retrapped here in BC.

?

We have a very high rate of Hummingbird recaptures as they return to our feeders year over year and I had one female Rufous that I retrapped 6 times in consecutive years in North Van, for almost a longevity record (the longevity record is 8 years 11 months!) as I banded her as an after hatch year bird – a pretty amazing feat for a 3 gram bird overwintering in Mexico!

?

Unfortunately, like so many migratory birds, Rufous numbers are declining as they are very vulnerable to habitat loss in the small area of Mexico where they overwinter.

?

Derek

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

Podcast.

?

Very cool, I didn’t know some rufous hummers made a journey to overwinter in the eastern US.

I’m curious if or how many eastern winter banded rufous have been recaptured here?

Pamela Zevit RPBio | Biodiversity Conservation Planner

?

T 604.590.7254

As a second generation settler, I am a privileged guest working on the shared traditional lands (tém:é虫w) of the s?myám? (Semiahmoo), sq??c?iy?a?? (Katzie), K?ik?????m (Kwikwetlem), q??ɑ:n????n? (Kwantlen), Qiqéyt (Qayqayt), Sc??waθ?n (Tsawwassen) and x?m?θk??y??m (Musqueam).

?

?

Hi Vanbirders,

?

Following the heavy rain yesterday, we banded this morning suspecting a busy morning and that something good might show up and we were right on both accounts. It was a very busy morning with lots of birds and lots of diversity including a hatch year male Rose-breasted Grosbeak!

?

?

Happy fall birding and banding!

?

Derek

?

?

?

Hi Vanbirders,

?

I’ve just posted from a busy few weeks of migration monitoring and banding at Colony Farm. Daily totals were in the range of 120-190 birds processed often with only half our nets open due to the volume of birds moving through the park!

?

This time of the year is the very best time of the year to study molt and ageing of landbirds in the hand with hatch year birds in full juvenal plumage, hatch year birds undergoing their preformative molt (with molt limits in the making!) and worn post-breeding adults in basic and adult alternate plumages, and those undergoing their definitive prebasic molts back to basic (winter nonbreeding) plumages. Always lots to learn and study!

?

Highlights were a HY American Redstart, HY Vesper Sparrow and HY Least Flycatcher! Separating the empids can be tricky but over the years we have taken the time to compile a photographic review manual showing field marks but more importantly wing morphology and biometrics which is how we separate these tricky birds in the hand.

?

Anyway, lots of photos on the VARC Fb page at the link in ‘photos’ above – hope you enjoy them!

?

Happy birding!

?

Derek

?

?

Hi Vanbirders,

?

No doubt what bird of the day was today when we banded this Hatch Year (HY) male , a rare bird for us here in Vancouver and only the second individual of this species for the Colony Farm station!

?

Fall migration has definitely begun with large numbers of HY birds dispersing through the park and lots of diversity!

?

Happy fall birding!

?

Derek

?

?

In anticipation of the release of their newest anthology, “”, Orion has devoted this week’s essays to celebrating our feathered friends.

Pamela Zevit RPBio | Biodiversity Conservation Planner

?

T 604.590.7254

As a second generation settler, I am a privileged guest working on the shared traditional lands (tém:é虫w) of the s?myám? (Semiahmoo), sq??c?iy?a?? (Katzie), K?ik?????m (Kwikwetlem), q??ɑ:n????n? (Kwantlen), Qiqéyt (Qayqayt), Sc??waθ?n (Tsawwassen) and x?m?θk??y??m (Musqueam).

?

?

Forwarding on behalf of the research team at ECCC. Surrey has been participating in this study for several years (or rather the gulls that happen to use some our foreshore parks). If you have any questions regarding the report or the project as a whole please reach out to ECCC staff:

?

Dr. Mark Hipfner, Mark.Hipfner@...

Nik Clyde, Nik.Clyde@...

?

?