YUKON WARBLER Newsletter of the Yukon Bird Club Spring-summer 2016 Cameron Eckert photo This stunning Pileated Woodpecker, first seen by Russel Oborne and TJ Grantham on 11 November 2015, and photo- graphed here on 20 February 2016, was a star rarity in Haines Junction through the winter to the delight of local birders. Biodiversity assistant job gives wealth of experience page 6 Dave Mossop photo Cassin’s Finch a Yukon first Banding Peregrine Falcon chicks. page 4 Promoting awareness, appreciation, and We want your birding conservation of Yukon birds and their habitats photos and stories! The Yukon Bird Club is a registered non-profit, Thank you to all who contribute to make the Yukon charitable organization. Warbler. To make a submission, write to: [email protected] Membership fees Our next deadline is September 31, 2016. Individual $15.00 Yukon Warbler Editor: Liz Hargreaves: Family * $25.00 [email protected] Senior/Student ** $10.00 Institutional $50.00 Contributing $50.00 2016 Board of Directors Supporting $100.00 Lifetime $200.00 Cameron Eckert - President/Checklist/Sightings Coordinator * Family memberships cover two or more people living Jim Hawkings - Treasurer/Secretary/Membership/ at one address. Website ** Also includes those for whom finances are limited. Pam Sinclair - Special Projects Coordinator Foreign members please pay by Canadian dollar or Jennifer Trapnell - Field Trip Coordinator money order. Scott Williams - Director Devon Yacura - Director For more information contact: Shyloh van Delft - Youth Coordinator Yukon Bird Club Betty Sutton - Events Coordinator Box 31054 Al Cushing - Director Whitehorse Liz Hargreaves - Newsletter Editor/Website YT, Y1A 5P7 Vacant position - Birdathon Coordinator Canada [email protected] Rare sightings reports YBC Website: yukonbirds.ca All sightings of rare or notable birds should be sent Yukon Birds Facebook group: facebook.com/ directly to the Sightings Coordinator: groups/212509148852262/ [email protected] YBC Twitter: yukonbirds Contributors Yukon Warbler is published by the Yukon Bird Club. Cameron Eckert Copyright © 2016 Yukon Bird Club. All rights reserved. Ruth McCullough Printed material, artwork, or photographs may not be Bruce Bennett reproduced by any means without permission from the Cynthia Hunt author, artist, or photographer. All other material may Shyloh van Delft not be reproduced by any means without the Editor’s Ione Christensen permission. Dave Mossop 2 Cameron Eckert photo This adult Common Loon made a real attempt at overwintering on a short stretch of open water along the Yukon River in Whitehorse at least from 26 Dec (here 28 Dec) to 31 Jan after which is fate was uncertain. Yukon Sightings – winter 2014-15 by Cameron D. Eckert A flock of 46 Trumpeter Swans, counts for Common Goldeneye record high for winter, along with 9 this season were 36 at Lake Laberge Christmas Bird Counts are both a Mallards, 2 Common Goldeneye, 14 Dec (BD, CE), and 31 at Tagish L. primary source of information about and 11 Common Mergansers were 20 Dec (CE, AP, PS, SVD). Barrow’s northern bird populations in winter, at Johnson’s Crossing 26 Dec (AS). Goldeneye is scarce in s. Yukon in and a catalyst for community well- Elsewhere, a single Trumpeter Swan winter; 1 was at Marsh L. 21 Dec (CO); being – citizen science at its best! with 2 Mallards were at Fox Lake 1 at Whitehorse 26 Dec (fide JH); and 14 Dec (BD, CE); and 7 Trumpeters a high count of 4 was at Whitehorse Tracking winter birds through the with 1 Mallard, 1 Bufflehead, and 4 4 Feb (ph. GN). Willow Ptarmigan season produces fascinating trends Common Goldeneye were at Nares are thin in s. Yukon; reports this for common winter birds, as well as Lake 17 Jan (CE). Four Mallards, winter included 7 at Teslin 14 Dec an impressive list of winter rarities pushing the limits of their winter (fide BS), 21 at Tagish 21 Dec (DK), – which this season included both range, were at Dawson 21 Dec (fide and 18 at the Teslin R. 26 Dec (AS). Common and Yellow-billed Loons, SJ); while a record-high count of Five White-tailed Ptarmigan, rarely two unseasonal corvids, a suite of 75 Mallards was recorded on the seen in winter, were on Montana sparrow species, and a new finch for Whitehorse CBC 26 Dec (fide JH). Mountain 21 Dec (DK), and 16 were the Yukon. A Bufflehead, rare in winter, was seen at Thomson Creek Valley 15 at Tagish Narrows 4 Feb (JH). High Continued on page 4 3 Cassin’s Finch sighting a Yukon first Continued from page 3 but are rarely reported; one was at Raven population in Whitehorse is Feb (MM). Two lingering Common Chapman Lake, central Yukon 13 Jan on a steady rise with a tally of 2,209 Loons and a single Yellow-billed (CM). Christmas counters in Haines on the 26 Dec CBC (fide JH). Tagish Loon were at Lake Laberge 3 Dec Junction turned up a Northern continues as Northern Canada’s (CE); though more impressive was Hawk Owl and a Great Gray Owl Mountain Chickadee hotspot with a winter-plumage adult Common 20 Dec (fide JB). Another Great Gray a count of 21 on the 21 Dec CBC (fide Loon swimming continuously in Owl was seen at Kluane Lake 27 Dec SVD). A long walk along the Wolf Cr the current on a short stretch of (JB); and one was along the Tagish trails 20 Dec recorded an impressive open water on the Yukon River in Road 22 Feb (TA). A Gyrfalcon, rarely 17 Boreal Chickadees (JH). A flock Whitehorse 26 Dec to 31 Jan (ph. CE, seen in winter, was near Chapman of 500 Bohemian Waxwings was at mob). An immature Horned Grebe, Lake 27 Dec (GB, CH). Whitehorse 23 Dec (CE). Rare winter casual in winter, was at Lake Laberge sparrows included an American Tree An interior-race (C. s. annectens) 6 Dec (ph. CE). The Whitehorse CBC Sparrow at Teslin to mid-Dec (HS); Steller’s Jay first seen in Watson produced a record-high count of a Fox Sparrow at Whitehorse to 1 Lake in late Oct continued at least to 39 Bald Eagles, along with a rare Jan (DS; ph. CE; RL, MAL); a Lincoln’s 26 Dec (WA). Two American Crows, winter Golden Eagle 26 Dec (ph. CE; Sparrow at Tagish 21 Dec (ph. CE, casual in winter in the Yukon, were fide JH). A Sharp-shinned Hawk, AP, PS, SVD); a White-crowned seen at Watson Lake through 19 casual in s. Yukon in winter, was Sparrow in Whitehorse on 26 Dec Jan, with one remaining through 30 reported from Teslin 14 Dec (fide BS). (ph. RL, MAL) and through the season Jan (ph. SD). The winter Common Snowy Owls winter in the far north (TA); a Golden-crowned Sparrow Bruce Bennett photo This Cassin’s Finch seen briefly at a Cowley Creek feeder 15 Feb 2015 established the Yukon’s first documented record. Despite the photo’s soft quality, it does show the bill shape, underside patterns, and very slight golden tones to the face which favours Cassin’s over Purple Finch. 4 Cameron Eckert photo There are very few winter records for Fox Sparrow - this one at a Whitehorse feeder through 1 Jan (here 30 Dec) estab- lished the Yukon’s first Christmas Count record for the species. Fox Sparrow at Christmas Bird Count Continued on page 4 along Schwatka Lake in Whitehorse Observers: Tracy Allard, Julie-Ann through the season at the Takhini 18 Dec (ph. RL, MAL) grew to about Bauer, Bruce Bennett, Greg Brunner, River (LG, JH); and a single Dark- 60 birds by 16 Jan (ph. CE; ph RL, Linda Cameron, Boris Dobrowolsky, eyed Junco at Dawson 21 Dec (fide MAL). The Yukon’s first documented Cameron Eckert, Linda Gerrand, SJ). An incredible total of 54 Dark- Cassin’s Finch was seen briefly at a Jim Hawkings, Jurg Hoefer, Cynthia eyed Juncos as well as a White- Cowley Creek feeder 15 Feb (ph. BB). Hunt, Sebastian Jones, Dan Kemble, crowned Sparrow were recorded Pine Siskin is normally casual in s. Mary Ann Lewis, Rob Lewis, Meghan on the Haines Junction CBC 20 Dec Yukon in winter; reports this season Marjanovic, Colin McCann, Geoff (fide JB). Three Rusty Blackbirds, included 11 along Windy Arm 13 Dec Newhouse, Clive Osborne, Adam Perrier, casual in winter, were tallied on (ph. CE); 8 at Carcross 21 Dec (DK) and Ben Schonewille, Hendrien Schonewille, the Whitehorse CBC 26 Dec (ph. 120 there on 17 Jan (CE); and 1-2 in Pam Sinclair, Adam Skrutkowski, CE), with one surviving at a feeder Whitehorse through late Feb (TA). Dorothy Sorensen, Shyloh van Delft. through the season (LC). A small flock of Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches *** 5 Exploring the Yukon wilds with a Biodiversity Assistant job by Shyloh van Delft iodiversity Assistant STEP Job – My Summer with Dave Mossop. B Little did I know what last summer held in store for me. Mine and Dave’s summer started off with a Willow Ptarmigan survey in the Chilkat Pass in April. This allowed us a beautiful winter drive through snowy landscape, and when we started the survey at around 7am the display calls of several dozen males echoed off the hills within our 1km area. May was mostly lab work (skin- ning birds), and weekly duck surveys between Whitehorse and Carmacks. This was really interesting as we found a few active nests along the way, and a female Hooded Merganser – an unusual Yukon migrant. When June arrived, nest box Shyloh van Delft photo checks took priority. Dave and I spent Dave and Shyloh at kestrel nestbox checks. several days checking nest boxes for American Kestrels and Boreal Owls traveled further north into Eagle finally came, I was excited to get into around Whitehorse, through Lewes Plains for Breeding Bird Surveys, the Eagle River and paddle, knowing Marsh, between Whitehorse and which started at 3:30am.