The annual Strathcona Park Bird Search has concluded for another year, with several teams counting at several locations – Buttle Lake on Friday & Saturday, Paradise Meadows on Saturday, and Wood Mountain area today.
Big Pond & Mount Washington
At Paradise Meadows, the team circled the Centennial & Paradise Meadows Loops, as well as the trail to Battleship Lake, a hike of about 5.8 km in total.
Gray Jay at Battleship Lake
18 species were recorded:
Mallard 4
Common Goldeneye 1
Sooty Grouse 4
Rufous Hummingbird 2
Red-breasted Sapsucker 1
Olive-sided Flycatcher 2
Steller’s Jay 1
Gray Jay 4
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 5
Pacific Wren 2
Bewick’s Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
Varied Thrush 3
American Robin 8
Fox Sparrow 2
Chipping Sparrow 4
Dark-eyed Junco 10
Pine Siskin 4
Common Goldeneye Female at Battleship Lake
Today’s team hiked up through Wood Mountain Ski Park (the old Forbidden ski hill) into Strathcona Park a little way beyond the park boundary, a hike of about 6.6 km with 320m elevation gain.
View from Wood Mountain Ski Park
The old ski hill was the birdiest area, with many flycatchers, thrushes & hummingbirds. Snow patches on the trail increased around the 1000 m elevation & the bird activity was somewhat decreased by the time we reached that area.
Swainson’s Thrush Singing
23 species were recorded:
Sooty Grouse 2
Band-tailed Pigeon 1
Rufous Hummingbird 8
Olive-sided Flycatcher 4
Willow Flycatcher 4
Warbling Vireo 4
Steller’s Jay 1
Gray Jay 1
Violet Green Swallow 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 3
Pacific Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 12
Swainson’s Thrush 4
Varied Thrush 5
Hermit Thrush 4
American Robin 7
Townsend’s Warbler 5
Orange-crowned Warbler 2
Western Tanager 1
Dark-eyed Junco 12
Song Sparrow 1
Pine Siskin 3
The Buttle Lake team had 49 species – further details to come!
