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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