British Columbia – Yukon 104th Christmas Bird Count: 14 December 2003—5 January 2004

Richard J. Cannings

A record total of 80 counts came in from the British Columbia-Yukon region this year, with new counts from Apex-Hedley, Carcross, Cawston, Little River-Powell River Ferry, Logan Lake, Lower Howe Sound, Tlell and Vanderhoof, while the Hecate Strait ferry route survey was revived after many years. It is especially good to see the latter count back—it covers a part of the coast well known for remarkable concentrations of waterfowl and seabirds. December was on the mild side, but counts done in early January--especially those in the Yukon and the northern half of British Columbia--had to deal with very wintry low temperatures. Fort St. James had a low of -31ºF while Dawson Creek experienced -29º with winds of up to 20 mph.

The species count in British Columbia bounced back to 225 (218 last year) and Yukon’s species count did the same (34 vs. 21 last year). Ladner retained the species total crown with 140 species, and Oliver-Osoyoos led the way again in the Interior with 107. In the Yukon, Whitehorse was alone in the lead with 22 species.

Yellow-billed Loons surpassed even last year’s high totals, with 17 reported on 9 counts. Six were seen from the Hecate Strait ferry, but the rest were on the east coast of Vancouver Island, including 3 at Nanaimo and 2 at Nanoose Bay. Clark’s Grebes are unusual anywhere in British Columbia, so two at Lardeau were doubly unexpected. A single Northern Fulmar was perhaps not unexpected in Hecate Strait, but one off Lasqueti Island was a big surprise. The only other pelagics seen were 5 Short-tailed Shearwaters off Rose Spit. The only American Bitterns reported were 8 at Ladner; not a record high but certainly a respectable total.

As usual, a few Turkey Vultures lingered on Vancouver Island, with 4 at Sooke and singles at Duncan and Victoria. Numbers of wintering Brant were excellent, with 1409 seen on 9 counts, including 661 at Ladner and 547 at Skidegate Inlet. A total of 7234 Trumpeter Swans were counted in British Columbia, including a record- smashing 2939 in the traditional stronghold of Comox. A good Common (left) and Yellow-billed (right) Loons at total of 3663 Long-tailed Ducks Nanoose Bay, BC. A record total of 17 Yellow- were seen on the Hecate Strait billed Loons were seen on BC counts this year. ferry crossing. Squamish Photo: Ralph Hocken regained its Bald Eagle title with a vengeance with 2411 reported; Chilliwack had 483, an increase at least partly due to a circle shift that gave it more top-quality eagle habitat.

Rough-legged Hawk numbers climbed to 120, thanks to a total of 50 at Vernon, a new high for that count. A very heartening total of 70 Peregrine Falcons were reported, 22 of them at Ladner (a new Canadian high) and 15 at Victoria. Ladner also had 3 Gyrfalcons; singles were found in the Interior at Kelowna and Williams Lake. Single Spruce Grouse were unearthed at Pemberton-Mt. Currie, Smithers and Whitehorse; Blue Grouse were found only at Cawston (2) and Cortes Island (1). Haines Junction had a single Willow Ptarmigan and 3 White-tailed; the only other ptarmigan report in the region was a count week White-tailed at Whistler. As usual, Dawson Creek reported the only Sharp-tailed Grouse (11). Wild Turkeys were found on five counts in southeastern British Columbia, with Kimberley’s total of 79 edging out the 75 at Creston. A record high 14,747 California Quail were tallied in British Columbia, including a new Canadian high of 3821 at Oliver-Osoyoos.

Nanaimo had 33 Virginia Rails and a count week Sora; Vaseux Lake had a single Sora on count day. Even more eye-opening was the 6028 Black-bellied Plovers at Ladner—triple the previous Canadian record. The 234 Black Oystercatchers at Skidegate were also a new national high. Other unusual shorebirds included 3 American Avocets at White Rock, a single Willet at Ladner and a Ruddy Turnstone at Nanaimo. Ladner also had 79,507 Dunlin, close to last year’s record total, while 2 in Kelowna and 1 at Fauquier were unusual for the Interior. Last year’s Red Phalarope invasion dwindled to 6 birds at Victoria and a single at Sooke.

An intriguing small gull seen on the Lower Howe Sound count had to be relegated to the “gull sp.” category; it was initially identified as a Ross’s Gull but the details were insufficient for positive identification and it was never seen again. Ladner reported an Iceland Gull, while Vernon had a count- week Iceland and, for the second year in a row, a Lesser Black-backed. Single Slaty-backed Gulls were seen at Ladner and Nanaimo. A Thick-billed Murre at Skidegate Inlet was a first for that count.

Western Screech-Owl numbers remain distressingly low, with singles reported from four counts: Nanaimo and Victoria on Vancouver Island and Penticton and Vaseux Lake in the Okanagan Valley. On the other hand, Victoria reported 23 Great Horned and 8 Barred Owls; the latter species is often Creston, BC reported 17 implicated in the decline of coastal screech-owl Northern Pygmy-Owls this year. populations. In the Yukon, Great Horned was only Photo: R. A. Cannings reported from Haines Junction (2), suggesting that numbers haven’t increased very much from the lows of 2002. The only Snowy Owl reported was at McBride. The big owl story in the region this year was the large numbers of Northern Pygmy-Owls that moved into southern valleys—a total of 141 were seen on 33 counts, including a high of 17 at Creston, tying the Canadian record.

Victoria topped its own Canadian record for Anna’s Hummingbird with an astounding total of 343—the previous high was 198. Just as surprising perhaps were single Rufous Hummingbirds at Lower Howe Sound and Comox. A single Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was unusual at White Rock, as was an unidentified sapsucker in chilly Princeton. Sunshine Coast birders tallied an amazing 17 Hutton’s Vireos, a new Canadian record— and this time truly Canadian; the previous records were held by Ladner, a count that straddles the US border. Ladner reported a Western Scrub-Jay, only the third record for a Canadian Christmas count.

Continuing a mysterious trend of winter records, single Barn Swallows were seen at Ladner and Sunshine Coast. Half-hardy Rock Wrens were seen at Vaseux Lake (2) and Lake Country (1) and Vaseux Lake also tied the Canadian Canyon Wren record with 25. Lillooet’s American Dipper total dipped to 113 this year, while Squamish reported 100; both counts have substantial salmon runs that attract the birds. Penticton reported 226 Western Bluebirds, more than double the previous Canadian high, and a single Mountain Bluebird; there was a count-week Mountain on the Sunshine Coast as well.

The bird of the season was a Fieldfare discovered by Larry Cowan on the Pitt Meadows count. The bird was never seen again, but digital photographs were adequate to confirm this record—a first for British Columbia at any time of year. Bohemian Waxwing numbers bounced back to a total of 25170, with 4498 in Prince George and 4244 in Vernon. Unusual warbler reports included an astonishing 18 Yellow-rumped at Penticton (a single warbler there would be cause for celebration), single Palms at Sooke and Comox, and single Wilson’s at Chilliwack and Vaseux Lake.

A Rose-breasted Grosbeak at Masset was a great find, even better than the Brambling at Tlell—Bramblings are almost regular winter visitors to the Queen Charlotte Islands. An immature oriole at Nanaimo was extraordinary; it was initially identified as a Baltimore, but the details provided could not rule out Bullock’s. Pine Grosbeak numbers were double last year’s low totals, with good counts at McBride (383) and Marsh Lake-Yukon River (324). Common Redpoll numbers were up once again to a total of 9745 in the region, more than half of that total coming from Prince George alone (5635). White- winged Crossbills were widespread, but common only in central British Columbia; perhaps the most unusual report was a count-week bird at Parksville-Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island. A similar pattern was observed for Evening Grosbeak—this species, once common in southern BC, was reported in numbers only in central British Columbia from Smithers east to Mackenzie and McBride. The commonest finch this year was the Pine Siskin with over 55000 reported, almost all of them from coastal counts including a new Canadian record of 10420 from Parksville-Qualicum Beach.