June 22 2013 A Day Trip To Alexandria Bridge.

The sun was supposed to be shining today so we headed out to Alexandria Bridge north of Hope, BC ( http://goo.gl/maps/nWBeS ) in hopes of finding Nashville Warblers.  The sun wasn't shining but we did find Nashvilles and a few other birds.  The bridge crosses the Fraser River and it is still acceptable to walk across it.  It was originally built in 1861 to facilitate traffic for the Cariboo gold rush.  The present bridge was rebuilt on the same site in 1923 and decommissioned in 1964.  We were there for about an hour and were surprized at how many people walk down to the bridge.

Black-throated Gray Warbler

Willow Flycatcher

Western Tanager

Western Tanager

Nashville Warbler

Nashville Warbler

Nashville Warbler

Alexandria Bridge

Rufous Hummingbird

Fraser River from bridge

End of this blog


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June 3 - June 10 2013 Green Lake and Tunkwa Provincial Campgrounds

We have been home from Arizona for a few weeks now so it was time to get out again and check the birds north of us before the campground fees increased on June 14.  As seniors we get 1/2 price during the winter months.  Green Lake Provincial Park ( http://goo.gl/maps/oIYaF ) in the Thompson-Nicola region seemed like a good destination as we had not been there previously.  We stayed there for 5 days with great weather and got the following shots to record some of the natural attractions we encountered.  I averaged 100-200 shots a day and weeded out the better ones.

The flycatchers were singing, making identification easier.  Here is a Least Flycatcher.

I have put three flycatchers together for comparison.  This Willow Flycatcher was an easy ID with its' "fitzbew".

Dusky Flycatcher was a little harder to identify but we finally figured it out.

A Pine Siskin was begging to have its' picture taken as I sat at a picnic table.

Mule Deer came on to beach at sundown.

This Red-necked Grebe was between us and the deer above.

Marsh Wrens are everywhere.

A beautiful Swallowtail.

Calliope Hummingbirds were very common.  One posed nicely.

For some reason the sun would not cooperate for good pictures and only came out sporadically from behind drifting clouds.

Here is a Calliope with it's gorget flared.

A Tree Swallow.

Warbling Vireos are usually tough to find in the leaves but this one was quite bold.

A warbling Warbling Vireo.

A Vesper Sparrow popped up out of the grass.  Judging by its' agitated state we figured a nest was close by so we took a few pix and left.

The area around our campsite was alive with chironomides, a type of none biting midge.  They became more noticeable in the setting sun as they produced a steady hummmmmmm.

A Hairy Woodpecker probes a hole.

And is rewarded with a morsel.

We saw Sandhill Cranes a few times.  Sometimes they were out in the open...

And sometimes they were hard to spot.  Can you see it?  We watched for  ten minutes until it finally stepped into the open.

The trailer at sundown.

Taken at the campsite.

We counted 68 American White Pelicans at Green Lake.

This is where the pelicans were.

A Common Yellow-throat.

Eastern Kingbird .

Green Lake.

The beach at our campsite.

Green Lake?  Every color but, when the sun is setting.

WE left Green Lake to visit in Kamloops.  A walk along a dyke yielded some Spade-footed Toads.  Thanks to a tip from a friendly conservation officer? whose name I forget but he had a handle-bar moustache. 

None of us had ever seen this toad before.

And this is why. We set it on the ground and it was gone before we knew it.  They use their hind legs (Spade-feet) to drill into the soil.

Immature Male Red-winged Blackbird at Tunkwa ( http://goo.gl/maps/rydvG )

We only had one cloudy and cold day at Tunkwa and didn't get many pictures.  Many of the shots I did get were right in the campsite such as this Savannah Sparrow.

The neighbouring campsite had a feeder set up so I took advantage for a few shots of this Rufous Hummingbird.

Shots were difficult to get with no sun.

Perhaps the sun would have made the gorget too bright??

Lichen formed a nice fore-ground for this House Wren.

Many wrens have very nice patterns on their backs.

I was walking on a grassy trail at the campsite when I saw a Vole scampering towards me with this weasel right on its' tail.  The Vole ran right by my foot and the Weasel stopped to figure me out.  When I started snapping pictures the shutter noise scared it and I only got one more fleeting shot.

Watching nature in the raw can be very exhilarating.  This is the end of this blog.

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