British Columbia Trip ~ February 18, 2013

The winter of 2013 produced several extremely unusual Asian strays in the West, particularly in British Columbia.  One of these, a Citrine Wagtail that was discovered on Vancouver Island near Courtenay, represented the 1st record for Canada and only the 2nd record for North America.  Then, a Red-flanked Bluetail was found in New Westminster, just southeast of the city of Vancouver, which was also a 1st record for Canada and only the 2nd mainland sighting in North America.  The close proximity of these two mega-rarities caused me to take a flight from Philadelphia International Airport to Seattle, Washington with a stopover in Chicago. I got the rental car at around 11:00 AM and headed up I-5 into Canada. I got to Queen's Park in New Westminster, British Columbia at around 2:00 and started searching for the Red-flanked Bluetail that had been found just two days after I got home from my January trip to the Pacific Northwest.

Queen's Park in New Westminster, British Columbia.

After about an hour-and-a-half, I spotted the bird near the children's playground area. It was really tough to get photos because of the very dark evergreen understory coupled with the dreary conditions.  Other birds seen there included Red-breasted Nuthatch, Pacific Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Varied Thrush, American Robin, and Dark-eyed 'Oregon' Junco.

Queen's Park in New Westminster, British Columbia.

I left there at around 5:00 and drove towards Tsawwassen and got a motel that was about 15 minutes from the ferry terminal.

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British Columbia Trip ~ February 19, 2013

I got on the 5:15 AM ferry to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island and drove the hour-plus up to Courtenay.

Sunrise from the Strait of Georgia near Duke Point, British Columbia.

This was my second attempt at getting a look at a Citrine Wagtail that was found there back in November.  I, and another birder named David from California that I'd met on the ferry, set up shop at the 'traditional' site around 9:00 with Randy, an Alberta birder.  A Northern Shrike and a Spotted Towhee were two of the birds found in the large slash piles.

Spotted Towhee near Courtenay, British Columbia.

About four hours later while David and I were checking the south side of the fencerow, Randy yelled "Wagtail!" The bird had flown in from the southeast and landed on a rock about 20 feet away from him, its tail bobbing away. As the two of us worked our way closer for a better look, the bird took off and flew back from where it came. The bird never returned despite another hour or so of waiting. I was the last one to leave at around 3:00, glad that I finally got to see the bird but wishing I'd had a little longer look at it and a chance for a photo.

I drove back to Nanaimo, took the 5:45 PM ferry back to Tsawwassen and drove over to New Westminster where I spent the night.

Late afternoon in the Strait of Georgia near Duke Point, British Columbia.

Late afternoon in the Strait of Georgia near Duke Point, British Columbia.

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British Columbia Trip ~ February 20, 2013

I drove over to Queen's Park once again to see if I could get some better photos of the Red-flanked Bluetail.  While there, a sleet storm partially whitened the ground.  Several Varied Thrushes and numbers of 'Oregon' Juncos and American Robins were present.

Varied Thrush at Queen's Park in New Westminster, British Columbia.

Craig Tumer, an Oregon birder, joined me about an hour later.  Craig was one of the two birders who discovered a Little Bunting in Joseph, Oregon on January 28th.  Soon after, Craig spotted the Bluetail and we both were able to get photos of it despite the occasional showers.

Red-flanked Bluetail at Queen's Park in New Westminster, British Columbia.

Red-flanked Bluetail feeding on a worm at Queen's Park in New Westminster, British Columbia.

Red-flanked Bluetail at Queen's Park in New Westminster, British Columbia.

I left there and drove the two-plus hours back to Seattle where I spent the night.

The Space Needle in Seattle, Washington.

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British Columbia Trip ~ February 21, 2013

I returned the rental car with 555 more miles on it and took an early flight back to Philadelphia by way of Chicago. I was thrilled to see two extremely unusual 'life' birds for North America.
More photos can be found in my British Columbia Photo Album.

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British Columbia Trip - February 18-21, 2013

1) Canada Goose
2) Trumpeter Swan
3) Mallard
4) American Wigeon
5) Eurasian Wigeon
6) Black Scoter
7) Pacific Loon
8) Common Loon
9) Double-crested Cormorant
10) Great Blue Heron
11) Northern Harrier
12) Bald Eagle
13) Red-tailed Hawk
14) Peregrine Falcon
15) Ring-billed Gull
16) Mew Gull
17) Glaucous-winged Gull
18) Rock Pigeon
19) Northern (Red-shafted) Flicker
20) Northern Shrike
21) American Crow
22) Northwestern Crow
23) Common Raven
24) Black-capped Chickadee
25) Chestnut-backed Chickadee
26) Brown Creeper
27) Red-breasted Nuthatch
28) Pacific Wren
29) Golden-crowned Kinglet
30) Red-flanked Bluetail*
31) Varied Thrush
32) American Robin
33) European Starling
34) Citrine Wagtail*
35) Spotted Towhee
36) Fox Sparrow
37) Song Sparrow
38) Golden-crowned Sparrow
39) Dark-eyed 'Oregon' Junco
40) Purple Finch

(*) denotes 'life' bird.

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