June 20-24, 2016-Lillooet, Diamonds Ranch, Fountain Lake, Bobolink, Veery, Macgillivray's Warbler

At the beginning of June we visited BC Hydro's Seton Campground close to Lillooet.  We liked the location and the fact it was free camping.  So we headed out there again for 5 days.  The following maps show 2 areas we visited.

The point on the map indicates the Diamond Ranch between Pavillion and Clinton.  This back road is very picturesque and birdy.  I wish we would have gone all the way to Clinton but rain showers were hindering our explorations.

High in the hills above Lillooet are a couple of nice lakes that we hiked around.  One was Fountain Lake.

This Robin was collecting bugs on the shore of Fountain Lake.

We were excited to find a Bobolink on the Diamond Ranch.  Unfortunately it was raining at the time.  This restricted our exploration of the area.  This area is 1500 meters above sea level and is a vast grassland between Pavillion and Clinton.  The good variety of birds we found there was unexpected.

Ian Routley from Lillooet went up to find the Bobolink on June 30 2016.  He reported back that he found it and 1 other male and 1 female.  They were carrying insects.  This may be the first breeding evidence recorded for this area.  

Okay butterfly guys-Fritillary?  Thanks to Tim Allison of Calgary for identifying it as a Field Crescent.

I posted a picture of this Gray Catbird on the blog  from our previous trip.  He popped up again and ate a few Red Osier Dogwood berries.

Dian heard something and after a little searching we found a Macgillivray's Warbler at Fountain Lake.

Many of the birds we saw were in feeding mode.

Lillooet has a vast area covered with spawning salmon channels.  This buck Mule Deer was cooling off in them. 

A doe Mule Deer was in camp.

Song Sparrow at Fountain Lake collecting insect specimens.

Spotted Sandpiper at Fountain Lake. 

This Spotted Sandpiper at Fountain Lake had 4 other little ones.

We heard Veerys but it wasn't until the last day that we finally saw one at our campsite.

We have come to the conclusion that Veerys are difficult to photograph as they are skittish and stay in dark undergrowth.  Veerys sing at sundown and this was evident at the campsite.  We heard them every evening so we knew they were there but we couldn't find any. This one finally appeared the morning before we left.

The wind blew the feathers of this Vesper Sparrow to reveal the chestnut patch.  At Diamond Ranch.

Warbling Vireo at Fountain Lake

Western Meadowlark Diamond's Ranch

We spotted some people in a field on a drive to Goldbridge.  So we stopped and saw this sign.

It was a group of archeologists excavating  an ancient native village.  We will have to take the tour the next time we visit.

We thought we would visit Lillooet again and see what we missed the first visit but we just found more things to see and do.  One of the things is to drive the whole route from Pavillion to Clinton.  That is my kind of country.

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