Thanks Derek,
I'll take a look.
On Tue, 28 Jun 2022 at 15:17, Derek Matthews < Derek@...> wrote: Hi Anne, ? I’ve been asked to do lots of interviews on crows over the years and have attached a short article I did for a recent publication which hopefully will help you. ? Most crow attacks happen in May, June and July which is the nesting season for crows (like many other songbirds) and they are territorial and particularly protective when young fledge and leave the nest. If they believe any kind of a threat is near – cats, dogs or people they may well attack. ? They’ve invested a lot in to their young – they’ve built nests, spent up to 20 days incubating eggs and another 30 days or more feeding young before they fledge so they have a lot invested in to these fledglings. ? So, to answer your question, it’s about 50 days from the start of incubation until young crows fledge at which time they are still dependant on their parents for another week to 10 days and the parents will still aggressively protect them from any potential threats. ? In the attached article there is a link to a fascinating video called ‘Inside the animal mind’ where a test was set up where EIGHT separate stages had to be completed in a SPECIFIC order for the crow to solve the puzzle and get the food reward – it was a world first and one of the most complex tests of the animal mind ever constructed. ? So, although you may have to wait a while to get back to your garden, please enjoy the crows and appreciate them for the fascinating animals they are – not always easy but worth it! :o) ? Hope this helps! ? Derek ? 
| Derek J. Matthews
Chairman, ?Director Communication
NABC Certified Trainer
Vancouver?Avian Research Centre
Registered Canadian Charity #82118 2656 RR0001
4115, East Braemar Road, North Vancouver, BC, V7K 3C9
T: (604) 218-1191
E: Derek@...
W: |
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? I belong to a community garden in Vancouver. Last week, at the garden, I was dive bombed by three aggressive crows --- no doubt protecting their nest(s) nearby. The crows were asserting dominance. They actually followed me out of the garden. It would be great if someone could answer the following question: When can I expect this aggression by crows? to subside so I can garden again? I assume when the baby crows are old enough to leave the nest. But not sure when this might be.
|
Thanks Perry for your reply.
Chased out of the garden by three crows would be a more accurate description.
A skirmish over urban land use between humans and crows.
On Tue, 28 Jun 2022 at 14:36, PERRY EDWARDS < drchuper@...> wrote: The parents will continue to aggressively protect their young when they are out of the nest but still learning to fly, i.e.: flapping around on the ground. Wildlife Rescue have an annual problem with UHI (“unnecessary human intervention), in which well-meaning folks “rescue” the young & bring them in, despite being attacked by the parents. Attempts to return them are rarely successful.?
Their advice: if bird does not have an obvious injury such as blood or a broken wing, is not on its back, and is not in immediate danger from traffic or a predator, leave it be.?
Timing for fully fledged young is of course variable depending upon hatch dates.? Perry EdwardsNorth Vancouver?
? I belong to a community garden in Vancouver. Last week, at the garden, I was dive bombed by three aggressive crows --- no doubt protecting their nest(s) nearby. The crows were asserting dominance. They actually followed me out of the garden.
It would be great if someone could answer the following question: When can I expect this aggression by crows? to subside so I can garden again?
I assume when the baby crows are old enough to leave the nest. But not sure when this might be.
Thanks in advance.
Anne
|
Hi Anne, ? I’ve been asked to do lots of interviews on crows over the years and have attached a short article I did for a recent publication which hopefully will help you. ? Most crow attacks happen in May, June and July which is the nesting season for crows (like many other songbirds) and they are territorial and particularly protective when young fledge and leave the nest. If they believe any kind of a threat is near – cats, dogs or people they may well attack. ? They’ve invested a lot in to their young – they’ve built nests, spent up to 20 days incubating eggs and another 30 days or more feeding young before they fledge so they have a lot invested in to these fledglings. ? So, to answer your question, it’s about 50 days from the start of incubation until young crows fledge at which time they are still dependant on their parents for another week to 10 days and the parents will still aggressively protect them from any potential threats. ? In the attached article there is a link to a fascinating video called ‘Inside the animal mind’ where a test was set up where EIGHT separate stages had to be completed in a SPECIFIC order for the crow to solve the puzzle and get the food reward – it was a world first and one of the most complex tests of the animal mind ever constructed. ? So, although you may have to wait a while to get back to your garden, please enjoy the crows and appreciate them for the fascinating animals they are – not always easy but worth it! :o) ? Hope this helps! ? Derek ? 
| Derek J. Matthews
Chairman, ?Director Communication
NABC Certified Trainer
Vancouver?Avian Research Centre
Registered Canadian Charity #82118 2656 RR0001
4115, East Braemar Road, North Vancouver, BC, V7K 3C9
T: (604) 218-1191
E: Derek@...
W: |
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
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Show quoted text
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Anne Der
Sent: June 28, 2022 11:18 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [vanbcbirds] nesting crows? I belong to a community garden in Vancouver. Last week, at the garden, I was dive bombed by three aggressive crows --- no doubt protecting their nest(s) nearby. The crows were asserting dominance. They actually followed me out of the garden. It would be great if someone could answer the following question: When can I expect this aggression by crows? to subside so I can garden again? I assume when the baby crows are old enough to leave the nest. But not sure when this might be.
|
The parents will continue to aggressively protect their young when they are out of the nest but still learning to fly, i.e.: flapping around on the ground. Wildlife Rescue have an annual problem with UHI (“unnecessary human intervention), in which well-meaning folks “rescue” the young & bring them in, despite being attacked by the parents. Attempts to return them are rarely successful.?
Their advice: if bird does not have an obvious injury such as blood or a broken wing, is not on its back, and is not in immediate danger from traffic or a predator, leave it be.?
Timing for fully fledged young is of course variable depending upon hatch dates.? Perry EdwardsNorth Vancouver?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Jun 28, 2022, at 12:44, Anne Der <anneder1107@...> wrote:
? I belong to a community garden in Vancouver. Last week, at the garden, I was dive bombed by three aggressive crows --- no doubt protecting their nest(s) nearby. The crows were asserting dominance. They actually followed me out of the garden.
It would be great if someone could answer the following question: When can I expect this aggression by crows? to subside so I can garden again?
I assume when the baby crows are old enough to leave the nest. But not sure when this might be.
Thanks in advance.
Anne
|
I belong to a community garden in Vancouver. Last week, at the garden, I was dive bombed by three aggressive crows --- no doubt protecting their nest(s) nearby. The crows were asserting dominance. They actually followed me out of the garden.
It would be great if someone could answer the following question: When can I expect this aggression by crows? to subside so I can garden again?
I assume when the baby crows are old enough to leave the nest. But not sure when this might be.
Thanks in advance.
Anne
|
Northern Spain, Pyrenees & North Norfolk coast England - Trip Report
Northern Spain, Pyrenees & North Norfolk coast England – Trip Report ? We decided to add a two-week birding trip to northern Spain and the Pyrenees to a return trip to London to see family and to bird up on the north Norfolk coast in England with friends from the US. The Pyrenees are stunning and a high recommend with amazing scenery, great hotels and roads and excellent birding. ? There wasn’t a lot that we could see that would be new for us so we decided to focus our attention on some hard-to-get species we hadn’t seen before. Our target list was 16 species of which we managed 13 so we were pretty happy and it was nice to be back with European birds and birdsong with Nightingales singing everywhere. Our life birds were: ? Greater Short-toed Lark Calandra Lark Iberian Green Woodpecker Western Bonelli’s Warbler Rock Sparrow? Great Spotted Cuckoo Citril Finch Alpine Chough Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush Western Subalpine Warbler? Dupont’s Lark Middle Spotted Woodpecker Eurasian Eagle Owl ? We had a guide for just 2 days at the end of the trip to try for any of the species we’d missed and which required that super-local knowledge of specific habitat to find them. One of these was Dupont’s Lark which was epic as they are so hard to find – eBird describes them as ‘Fiendishly hard to see’ – they are in thick desert steppe scrub habitat and don’t fly much preferring to run on the ground. We put a lot of time in for this species and were on the point of finally giving up when a bird appeared in the open allowing for fantastic views and even a few photographs before running back in to the scrub. ? The Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush was a special birding moment too – we got it at the end of a 20k hike up in to the high alpine and watched the male doing it’s display flight right in front of us – what a stunning bird! We really only dipped on three species, Alpine Accentor, which we tried really hard for including scaling a vertical rock face with chains and ladders (thanks Aidan and George!!) and still didn’t see; White-backed Woodpecker and for the woodpecker we were with a guide who had radio-tagged them as part of an ongoing conservation project and knew precise territories but they are silent and pretty much impossible to find at this time of year. The remaining species was White-winged Snowfinch which we knew was a long shot but it’s always nice to have something to go back for another time! ? Our time up on the north Norfolk coast was spent in all the places I grew up birding and although there was nothing new for us, spending time there is always a pleasure and it will always be one of my favourite places to bird in the world. An evening spent at dusk on the heath at Holt Lowes SSSI watching ‘roding’ Eurasian Woodcock and Eurasian Nightjars displaying right above our heads was magical. ? We will post a full trip report on our birding website () shortly with full details of the trip itinerary along with the bird list, guide and accommodation information and, as always, happy to help and provide information for anyone thinking of planning a trip there. ? Derek ? 
| Derek J. Matthews
Chairman, ?Director Communication
NABC Certified Trainer
Vancouver?Avian Research Centre
Registered Canadian Charity #82118 2656 RR0001
4115, East Braemar Road, North Vancouver, BC, V7K 3C9
T: (604) 218-1191
E: Derek@...
W: |
? ?
|
Curlew Live Webcam - N Ireland
? I became interested in the conservation efforts for these endangered birds from the beautifully written book ‘Curlew Moon’ (Mary Colwell).?
I was pleased to see this BBC article today highlighting an RSPB (NI) live webcam on a nest in Northern Ireland. The cam should be active until mid-month:
Direct link to the camera feed on YouTube:
Perry EdwardsNorth Vancouver?
|
Re: 4 photos of LARK SPARROW at Colony Farm, Monday, May30, 2022
Awesome pix Colin, congrats.
JOGO
|
4 photos of LARK SPARROW at Colony Farm, Monday, May30, 2022
|
LARK SPARROW reappears at Colony Farm!!!
At 3:21pm today I photographed a LARK SPARROW foraging on the ground at the intersection of Pumphouse and Wilson Farm Dyke Trails at Colony Farm. Likely the same one seen in the same area a week or so ago. Photos to be added later.
Colin Clasen
Coquitlam, BC
|
Birders, ? Yesterday, May 22, I spent most of the day out birding in and near Pitt Meadows, Minnekhada Park, and Quarry Road. During the day, I found Western Tanagers at several different locations. It looks like there may be a small “wave” of them passing through. ? During the day, I recorded 6 Western Tanagers at 4 different locations:? one at the parking area for the Golden Eagle Golf Course in Pitt Meadows, 2 at and near the parking area of the nearby Swan-e-set Golf Course, 2 at the Minnekhada Lodge in Minnekhada Park, and one more along Quarry Road north of Minnekhada. I got great photos of a co-operative tanager at Minnekhada Lodge. Not surprisingly, a BLACK BEAR came ambling out of Minnekhada Park on Oliver Road as I was driving into the park. Bears are often seen there. ? Good luck and good birding, ? Wayne Weber contopus@... ?
|
Thanks Larry and Colin.
Colin McKenzie New Westminster
------- Original Message -------
On Friday, May 20th, 2022 at 8:47 AM, Larry Cowan <lawrencecowan@...> wrote:
Hi Colin,
The access is on the north side of the dyke just past the entrance to the rock quarry where the procession of dump trucks enter. There are several spots at the dyke and along the road north of the dyke access. Be aware the vehicle traffic along Rannie Rd. is often passing at high speeds.
As Mel has cautioned birders should not use taped play back. With patience I'm sure you'll get great looks if he displays in the same manner as last year.
Cheers
Larry Cowan
Pitt Meadows
From: "othersparrow via groups.io" <othersparrow@...> To: "vanbcbirds" < [email protected]> Sent: Friday, May 20, 2022 7:45:54 AM Subject: [vanbcbirds] Sturgeon Slough
Hello, Can anyone advise on how to access Sturgeon Slough in Pitt Meadows (where to park and walk) ? I was thinking to visit the yellow-breasted chat.
Thank you,
Colin New Westminster
--
Larry Cowan
Pitt Meadows, BC
|
Hi Colin,
The access is on the north side of the dyke just past the entrance to the rock quarry where the procession of dump trucks enter. There are several spots at the dyke and along the road north of the dyke access. Be aware the vehicle traffic along Rannie Rd. is often passing at high speeds.
As Mel has cautioned birders should not use taped play back. With patience I'm sure you'll get great looks if he displays in the same manner as last year.
Cheers
Larry Cowan
Pitt Meadows
From: "othersparrow via groups.io" <othersparrow@...> To: "vanbcbirds" < [email protected]> Sent: Friday, May 20, 2022 7:45:54 AM Subject: [vanbcbirds] Sturgeon Slough
Hello, Can anyone advise on how to access Sturgeon Slough in Pitt Meadows (where to park and walk) ? I was thinking to visit the yellow-breasted chat.
Thank you,
Colin New Westminster
-- Larry Cowan Pitt Meadows, BC
|
Hello,
Can anyone advise on how to access Sturgeon Slough in Pitt Meadows (where to park and walk) ? I was thinking to visit the yellow-breasted chat.
Thank you,
Colin New Westminster
|
Re: [Tweeters] Vaux's Happening
I checked the Courtney web cam at 9:10 and the Swifts are arriving. ?Thanks Wayne.
Long may you run Len Jellicoe
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On May 16, 2022, at 1:38 PM, Wayne Weber < contopus@...> wrote:
Latest report of Vaux's Swifts from Monroe, WA, forwarded from the TWEETERS e-mail group. ? Wayne Weber Delta, BC ? ? -----Original Message----- Sent: Sunday, May 15, 2022 6:06 PM To: Tweeters Subject: [Tweeters] Vaux's Happening ? Our Vaux’s Happening Northbound migrations has bagged 150,000 to 400,000 Vaux’s Swifts each of the last 14 years. So far this year we’re over 600,000. We suspect the cold and wet weather is responsible. ? The Courtenay Museum has just gotten a chimney cam up and running. Runs super smooth. Swifts are in there now. ? ? Our Monroe Wagner inside chimney cam continues to run not smoothly. Three-four thousand of the wee birds in there now.?? ? ? Larry Schwitters ? Issaquah ? ? _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list ?
|
FW:[Tweeters] Vaux's Happening
Latest report of Vaux's Swifts from Monroe, WA, forwarded from the TWEETERS e-mail group. ? Wayne Weber Delta, BC contopus@... ? ?
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-----Original Message----- From: Tweeters [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Larry Schwitters Sent: Sunday, May 15, 2022 6:06 PM To: Tweeters Subject: [Tweeters] Vaux's Happening ? Our Vaux’s Happening Northbound migrations has bagged 150,000 to 400,000 Vaux’s Swifts each of the last 14 years. So far this year we’re over 600,000. We suspect the cold and wet weather is responsible. ? The Courtenay Museum has just gotten a chimney cam up and running. Runs super smooth. Swifts are in there now. ? ? Our Monroe Wagner inside chimney cam continues to run not smoothly. Three-four thousand of the wee birds in there now.? ? ? Larry Schwitters ? Issaquah ? ? _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list [email protected] ?
|
Re: Dusky Flycatchers (was: Empid question)
Hi
It should be said that we have 3 records of Dusky in Victoria so far this May that is higher than the usual one or two.
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On May 15, 2022, at 9:57 AM, Derek Matthews <Derek@...> wrote:
? Hi Wayne, ? Thanks so much for such detailed information – your data and records going back to the 60’s are truly impressive. With technology and the advent of repositories like eBird, people forget that it’s only through dedicated written records like yours that we have so much data on the trends of the world’s birds – outstanding work, thank you. ? I absolutely love separating Empids in the hand and have spent hours collecting photographs and compiling measurement and wing morphology data. The definitive keys to separating Dusky from Hammond’s in the hand, as I know you know, is the short primary projection, the evenly spaced primary tip spacing, p10 being shorter than p4 and I always added that the outer edge of the outer rectrix (r6) was contrastingly white which I thought was definitive but this last feature wasn’t the case with the two birds yesterday, which shows there is always something to learn! ? We have banded 5 of the Empid species thus far at Colony Farm; Willow, Dusky, Hammond’s, Least and Pacific-slope and keep hoping for a stray Yellow-bellied to show up! I’ve been very close to calling Alder but, as you also know, separating those from Willow involves a complex formula of all the measurements – I’m sure we’ve had one and we flag any Willow with wing chords over 70mm and body mass over 13.5 grams for a closer look. I’m convinced that the odd one must make its way down the coast given the breeding range is really not that far away. ? As for our Duskys, it’s so interesting that the increase in numbers this year has coincided with one of the coldest, wettest springs on record for a species whose habitat preference is the drier, chapparal habitat of the Interior! ? Thanks again and thanks for your kind comments about VARC. ? Take care and good birding. ? Derek ? ? From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Wayne Weber
Sent: May 14, 2022 10:31 PM
To: VANBIRD2 <[email protected]>
Cc: DEREK MATTHEWS <derek.j.matthews@...>; QUENTIN BROWN <quentinkbrown@...>; MELISSA HAFTING <bcbirdergirl@...>
Subject: [vanbcbirds] Dusky Flycatchers (was: Empid question) ? Derek, ? As the main person who has kept track of rare bird sightings in Metro Vancouver since the 1960s, I can give a very definite answer to your question. It is an unqualified YES! Since May 4th this year, there have been 14 reports of Dusky Flycatcher in our area, which is an all-time high. (All of these were single birds, and it doesn’t include the birds your team banded). A normal number of sightings would be 1 to 5 in a year, almost all of them in May.? By most definitions, this is rare, especially because it is very unusual to find more than one Dusky Flycatcher at once. ? All or nearly all of this year’s sightings were by experienced and capable birders, and/or were photographed. It looks like an abnormally high number of Duskies migrated west of the Cascades this year. You can see a list of the dates and locations of these sightings on the “Vancouver Rare Bird Alert” webpage, maintained by Melissa Hafting. It is at this location: . From the top of the listing, scroll down about 3 screens and you will find the list of all the recent Dusky Flycatcher sightings. ? Dusky Flycatcher is an abundant breeding bird in the BC Southern Interior. (I have run a BBS route near Merritt since 1974, and the first year I surveyed it, I recorded 44 Dusky Flycatchers— the commonest bird on the route!) However, the species does not breed west of the Cascades, and is consistently a rare migrant, more in spring that fall. The status of Dusky Flycatchers in Seattle, WA and Portland, OR is pretty much the same as around Vancouver. ? As you know, Dusky Flycatcher is very difficult to identify in the field, especially from Hammond’s, which is common here. As you say, the wing formula of the two is different, making it possible to reliably identify them in the hand.? Even after 60 years of birding experience, I often have difficulty separating these two on visual characters alone. However, the songs and call-notes of these two are quite different, and make it easy to separate them IF they are vocalizing. I first recorded Dusky Flycatchers in the field (by their call-notes) in our area at Pitt Meadows in 1972, and I usually manage to find one or two myself every spring. ? Even though I’ve rarely visited the Colony Farm banding station, I am well aware of the work that you and your cooperators are doing. This work is very important and valuable, and documenting records of rare and accidental species, even if it’s a tiny part of the work you do, is important nonetheless. ? Can you give us the dates of Dusky Flycatchers you’ve banded this year? I gather that each time it was a single bird, except for today. ? Keep up the outstanding work you are doing at VARC!! ? Wayne Weber, Ph.D. Delta, BC contopus@... ? ? From: It turns out that there is also one of these roosts known in BC, at the Courtenay Museum in Courtenay, and that one is active right now. [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Derek Matthews
Sent: Saturday, May 14, 2022 3:55 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [vanbcbirds] Empid Question! ? Hi Vanbirders! ? Are there any Empid experts out there who have noticed a lot of Dusky Flycatchers in the lower mainland this spring? ? For us as banders with birds in the hand, we can fairly easily separate Dusky from Hammond’s based on wing morphology. This spring, along with a good number of Hammond’s, we have banded multiple Dusky Flys and this morning banded two Dusky along with several Hammond’s. ? This is highly unusual for us; we normally catch the odd Dusky in Spring, and treat it as an uncommon if not rare bird here, but not multiple birds and never two in the same morning! ? I was just wondering if anyone has noticed an increase or had any thoughts? ? Thanks! ? Derek
<image001.png> | Derek J. Matthews
Chairman, ?Director Communication
NABC Certified Trainer
Vancouver?Avian Research Centre
Registered Canadian Charity #82118 2656 RR0001
4115, East Braemar Road, North Vancouver, BC, V7K 3C9
T: (604) 218-1191
E: Derek@...
W: |
? ?
|
Re: Dusky Flycatchers (was: Empid question)
Hi Wayne, ? Thanks so much for such detailed information – your data and records going back to the 60’s are truly impressive. With technology and the advent of repositories like eBird, people forget that it’s only through dedicated written records like yours that we have so much data on the trends of the world’s birds – outstanding work, thank you. ? I absolutely love separating Empids in the hand and have spent hours collecting photographs and compiling measurement and wing morphology data. The definitive keys to separating Dusky from Hammond’s in the hand, as I know you know, is the short primary projection, the evenly spaced primary tip spacing, p10 being shorter than p4 and I always added that the outer edge of the outer rectrix (r6) was contrastingly white which I thought was definitive but this last feature wasn’t the case with the two birds yesterday, which shows there is always something to learn! ? We have banded 5 of the Empid species thus far at Colony Farm; Willow, Dusky, Hammond’s, Least and Pacific-slope and keep hoping for a stray Yellow-bellied to show up! I’ve been very close to calling Alder but, as you also know, separating those from Willow involves a complex formula of all the measurements – I’m sure we’ve had one and we flag any Willow with wing chords over 70mm and body mass over 13.5 grams for a closer look. I’m convinced that the odd one must make its way down the coast given the breeding range is really not that far away. ? As for our Duskys, it’s so interesting that the increase in numbers this year has coincided with one of the coldest, wettest springs on record for a species whose habitat preference is the drier, chapparal habitat of the Interior! ? Thanks again and thanks for your kind comments about VARC. ? Take care and good birding. ? Derek ? ?
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Show quoted text
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Wayne Weber
Sent: May 14, 2022 10:31 PM
To: VANBIRD2 <[email protected]>
Cc: DEREK MATTHEWS <derek.j.matthews@...>; QUENTIN BROWN <quentinkbrown@...>; MELISSA HAFTING <bcbirdergirl@...>
Subject: [vanbcbirds] Dusky Flycatchers (was: Empid question)? Derek, ? As the main person who has kept track of rare bird sightings in Metro Vancouver since the 1960s, I can give a very definite answer to your question. It is an unqualified YES! Since May 4th this year, there have been 14 reports of Dusky Flycatcher in our area, which is an all-time high. (All of these were single birds, and it doesn’t include the birds your team banded). A normal number of sightings would be 1 to 5 in a year, almost all of them in May.? By most definitions, this is rare, especially because it is very unusual to find more than one Dusky Flycatcher at once. ? All or nearly all of this year’s sightings were by experienced and capable birders, and/or were photographed. It looks like an abnormally high number of Duskies migrated west of the Cascades this year. You can see a list of the dates and locations of these sightings on the “Vancouver Rare Bird Alert” webpage, maintained by Melissa Hafting. It is at this location: . From the top of the listing, scroll down about 3 screens and you will find the list of all the recent Dusky Flycatcher sightings. ? Dusky Flycatcher is an abundant breeding bird in the BC Southern Interior. (I have run a BBS route near Merritt since 1974, and the first year I surveyed it, I recorded 44 Dusky Flycatchers— the commonest bird on the route!) However, the species does not breed west of the Cascades, and is consistently a rare migrant, more in spring that fall. The status of Dusky Flycatchers in Seattle, WA and Portland, OR is pretty much the same as around Vancouver. ? As you know, Dusky Flycatcher is very difficult to identify in the field, especially from Hammond’s, which is common here. As you say, the wing formula of the two is different, making it possible to reliably identify them in the hand.? Even after 60 years of birding experience, I often have difficulty separating these two on visual characters alone. However, the songs and call-notes of these two are quite different, and make it easy to separate them IF they are vocalizing. I first recorded Dusky Flycatchers in the field (by their call-notes) in our area at Pitt Meadows in 1972, and I usually manage to find one or two myself every spring. ? Even though I’ve rarely visited the Colony Farm banding station, I am well aware of the work that you and your cooperators are doing. This work is very important and valuable, and documenting records of rare and accidental species, even if it’s a tiny part of the work you do, is important nonetheless. ? Can you give us the dates of Dusky Flycatchers you’ve banded this year? I gather that each time it was a single bird, except for today. ? Keep up the outstanding work you are doing at VARC!! ? Wayne Weber, Ph.D. Delta, BC contopus@... ? ? From: It turns out that there is also one of these roosts known in BC, at the Courtenay Museum in Courtenay, and that one is active right now. [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Derek Matthews
Sent: Saturday, May 14, 2022 3:55 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [vanbcbirds] Empid Question! ? Hi Vanbirders! ? Are there any Empid experts out there who have noticed a lot of Dusky Flycatchers in the lower mainland this spring? ? For us as banders with birds in the hand, we can fairly easily separate Dusky from Hammond’s based on wing morphology. This spring, along with a good number of Hammond’s, we have banded multiple Dusky Flys and this morning banded two Dusky along with several Hammond’s. ? This is highly unusual for us; we normally catch the odd Dusky in Spring, and treat it as an uncommon if not rare bird here, but not multiple birds and never two in the same morning! ? I was just wondering if anyone has noticed an increase or had any thoughts? ? Thanks! ? Derek 
| Derek J. Matthews
Chairman, ?Director Communication
NABC Certified Trainer
Vancouver?Avian Research Centre
Registered Canadian Charity #82118 2656 RR0001
4115, East Braemar Road, North Vancouver, BC, V7K 3C9
T: (604) 218-1191
E: Derek@...
W: |
? ?
|
Re: Need help with ID please (a flycatcher and a duck)
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On Sat, May 14, 2022, 10:33 PM Wayne Weber < contopus@...> wrote: Nikhil, ? Your tentative identifications are correct--? Western Wood-Pewee and Common Goldeneye! ? Wayne Weber Delta, BC contopus@... ? ? ? Can anyone help identify these birds please? 1) Flycatcher?today in White Rock. The bird was perched above a small pond. Attached is a small video as well as pictures. I'm leaning towards Western Wood-Pewee but the field guide (Sibley's) shows grey frontal parts while the bird here has a contrast between dark upperparts and pale underparts. 2) It's one of the Goldeneyes, also from White Rock today. There were 3 individuals. Yellow eye. The shape of the white spot is more round than it is like a comma suggesting Common, however the wing pattern and upperparts look more like a Barrow's. The in-flight photos came out all blurred but the pattern (white patch on upperwing) is visible.
|
Re: Need help with ID please (a flycatcher and a duck)
Nikhil, ? Your tentative identifications are correct--? Western Wood-Pewee and Common Goldeneye! ? Wayne Weber Delta, BC contopus@... ? ?
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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Nikhil Patwardhan
Sent: Saturday, May 14, 2022 3:40 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [vanbcbirds] Need help with ID please (a flycatcher and a duck)? Can anyone help identify these birds please? 1) Flycatcher?today in White Rock. The bird was perched above a small pond. Attached is a small video as well as pictures. I'm leaning towards Western Wood-Pewee but the field guide (Sibley's) shows grey frontal parts while the bird here has a contrast between dark upperparts and pale underparts. 2) It's one of the Goldeneyes, also from White Rock today. There were 3 individuals. Yellow eye. The shape of the white spot is more round than it is like a comma suggesting Common, however the wing pattern and upperparts look more like a Barrow's. The in-flight photos came out all blurred but the pattern (white patch on upperwing) is visible.
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Derek Matthews
John Gordon
lenjellicoe
pat.mary.taylor