Rare Birds British Columbia 

Indigo Bunting - Wardner, BC A big surprise for the Kootenays this year when this beautiful Indigo bunting showed up in Wardner. It took a little sleuthing from the Merlin bird app, and some help from my friends at BC Rare Bird Alert, but the bird was found on the shores of Haha Lake singing his little heart out. These small seed eaters rarely come north of the border here in British Columbia, but we were lucky enough to see two in the province with the other bird showing up at Colony Farms in Coquitlam, BC. Michael W Klotz 2021 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Indigo Bunting - Wardner, BC
Blue Jay - Ladner Harbour Park, BC This is partner in crime of the other fancy Jay we had stick for the winter. This Blue Jay is a rare visitor to Vancouver and usually doesn't come west of the Rockies, save for a couple towns in the Columbia Valley. His ride or die was a California Scrub-jay who have made a bit of an in to the area from the south. There are still only a hand full of those. The two birds could be seen together headed for the oak trees or skulking in the park. Michael W Klotz 2020 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Blue Jay - Ladner Harbour Park, BC
California Scrub-jay - Ladner Harbour Park, BC We have had some fancy jays stay for the winter here in Metro Vancouver. On a little spit of land in Ladner, BC there have been a California Scrub-jay and a Blue Jay making Ladner Harbour Park their home. The funny thing is, they have been keeping each other company most days. One bird usually doesn't come east of the Rockies and the other doesn't come north of the Canadian border. Now that most of the oak trees are stripped of their acorns the birds have to search the hiding spots used to stuff the nuts away for a rainy day. Michael W Klotz 2020 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
California Scrub-jay - Ladner Harbour Park, BC
Nelson's Sparrow - Whiffen Spit, BC A very rare sparrow to see east of the Rockies was this extremely shy Nelson's Sparrow. We showed up to Whiffen spit and spent at least an hour looking for the bird in an area less that 100 yards square. He was tucked into some roses and rotting logs that had been washed up by the high tide at some point. For 3 brief moments we were able to see him and take some photos. Our bird looked a little disheveled but overall seemed fine. As quickly as he had come, he left again within three days. Michael W Klotz 2020 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Nelson's Sparrow - Whiffen Spit, BC
Red-backed Shrike - Powell River, BC One of the most interesting rare birds of the year landed in Powell River, BC in Oct of 2020. The trek to get there for me was a ferry, an overnight stay, another ferry, 3 hours of looking for our bird, 20 minutes of photos, 2 ferries and an hour and a half drive home. He was well worth it! Our little friend is the first record for Canada and stuck around from Oct 22-30. He was mostly interested in the insects crawling around in the grass. I was very happy to count myself among those who saw this bird. Michael W Klotz 2020 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Red-backed Shrike - Powell River, BC
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Harris's Sparrow - Terra Nova Rural Park, BC
Palm Warbler - Maplewood Flats, BC Palm Warblers are common in the east, but we only see one or two a year here. The best way to tell you have a Palm Warbler is the tail wag. The bird pumps its tail up and down which is not something the rest of the warblers do here. This particular bird was found at Maplewood Flats in North Vancouver, BC. The leaves had started to turn on the maples in the parking lot, which turned out to be very complimentary to the little guy. Michael W Klotz 2020 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Palm Warbler - Maplewood Flats, BC
Mandarin Duck - Piper Spit, BC We have a beautiful bird that lives in Burnaby lake in the winters who should not be here under his own steam. Trevor, as the locals have named him, is a Mandarin Duck. He is very closely related to the Wood duck, another beautiful duck that is found in North America,. The females of the two species are so similar that Trevor has found himself a wood duck mate and the two are inseparable. There is no confirmation of where he is from because Trevor has no band, but many believe he is an escapee from a local aviary. Either way, he poses well for a camera ! Michael W Klotz 2020 - www.TheBirdBlogger.comPicture
Mandarin Duck - Piper Spit, BC
Black-billed Magpie - North Vancouver, BC So Black-billed Magpies are not entirely rare, but they are here in Vancouver! Most of these birds are drier grassland or farmland citizens. Seeing this juvenile here in North Vancouver, one of the wettest areas in British Columbia, is a rare site. What is even more interesting is that he has blue eyes and the fleshy gape at the base of his bill. The other thing I found very interesting is that the crows did not like him, but the fact that our crows don't see these birds at but still find them a danger around nesting season is interesting. Michael W Klotz 2020 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Black-billed Magpie - North Vancouver, BC
Brewer's Sparrow - Iona Island, BC Occasionally we get passing migrants, but this one is a little more special. We don't see many Brewer's Sparrows as they are a dry country bird where there the sagebrush grows. we have a some areas in the interior that suit them fine, but he must have needed a rest and refueling so he stopped on the coast at Iona Island near to the Vancouver International Airport. The range of this, our smallest sparrow, keeps it in the western states and provinces. It winters in the southwestern states and Mexico. Michael W Klotz 2020 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Brewer's Sparrow - Iona Island, BC
Gray-Crowned Rosy-Finch - Iona Island, BC Once or twice a year we are lucky to get a view of a Gray-Crowned Rosy-finch down towards sea level. This year the spot was Iona Island, which is very close to the Vancouver Airport. Many of the usual suspects were down grabbing a photo of the bird which
Gray-Crowned Rosy-Finch - Iona Island, BC
Tufted Duck - Burnaby Lake, BC A rare visitor from way across the big pond was visiting Burnaby Lake. It would seem that this drake had an affection for one of the female Scaup feeding along Eagle Creek on Piper Spit and gave amazing views and photo opportunities. This feather-headed Tufted Duck is usually found in Europe and Asia but usually once a year we have a visitor on either coast of North America that made its way across the land bridge and flew south on an alternate continent. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Tufted Duck - Burnaby Lake, BC
McKay's Bunting - Tsawwassen, BC During a quick drive by on the Ferry Jetty in Tsawwassen, we came across a very pale Snow bunting. Not being familiar with the female McKay's we carried on with the sighting listed as a Snow. Liron Gertzman contacted me a couple days later and suggested the bird as a McKay's so we compared notes and photos and he passed along the info to our resident rare bird expert, Melissa Hafting. Mel contacted a couple of the known experts on the subject and to all of our surprise, we were confirmed with a McKay's. Please see the details of Mel's research here. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
McKay's Bunting - Tsawwassen, BC
Mandarin Duck - Burnaby, BC This Very handsome cousin of the Wood duck showed up in Burnaby Lake last fall and has been wowing crowds for some time. his photogenic feathers are all the rage at Piper Spit boardwalk. This amorous male has also found himself a North American girlfriend in a female wood duck that he follows around defending from any would be local suitors. It is believed that this colorful waterfowl did not make it here on his on but was most likely an escapee from a private collection as it would be some distance to come for this bird. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Mandarin Duck - Burnaby, BC
Cap May Warbler - Abbotsford, BC One more fancy warbler for the Lower Mainland this winter! This Cape May Warbler has made Mill lake home for the time being where he has found a Mahonia blooming in the winter to keep his blood sugars up. I did not realize that this is the only warbler that has a tubular tongue suited to to do this. The small patch of the flowering plant was being closely guarded by our winter visitor for any intruding hummingbirds thinking they would be able to take advantage of the winter flowers. With a quick flurry of wings and a snap, the warbler was chasing away would be nectar thieves. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Cape May Warbler - Abbotsford, BC
Black and White Warbler - Vancouver, BC There have been several uncommon song birds making a stop over on the BC coast this year, including this rare Black and White Warbler. He was nice enough to stay around so I could find him on my second visit. He apparently starts the morning off in the very same place in Vancouver and then ventures out in the afternoon in search of insects. One of the tell tale signs of this bird, is the unusual habit of hanging upside down while looking for food. This two tone bird is typically found east of the Rockies but on occasion will be found here every second year or so. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Black and White Warbler - Vancouver, BC
Rusty Blackbird - Burnaby, BC While not a rare bird in British Columbia's northern forests, it is quite rare to see this visitor in the Vancouver area. When they are seen is in the fall migration where we might see one bird or so a year. As it turns out, this pale-eyed bird dropped by Piper Spit on Burnaby Lake a couple of days ago and to top it off there was a second bird at the same location. A two for one. Rusty blackbirds are told apart from the other blackbirds easily by the eye color, but in the breeding season, the males are all black which resembles the Brewer's Blackbird. The Brewer's is however smaller and the beak more conical as well as having a purple sheen on the head and chest not seen in the Rusty. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Rusty Blackbird - Burnaby, BC
Chestnut-sided Warbler - North Vancouver, BC This little visitor is definitely a ways from home. The multi-colored warbler is usually no farther east than Saskatchewan/North Dakota during breeding season but does have some occurrences here. The BC Rare Bird Alert mentions that this is the 70th record for this province. I find it interesting that the 68th and 69th records were within a couple weeks of this bird with one of the sightings just across the inlet in Vancouver on Jun 22, 2018. Was there a short circuit in a flock of birds that was headed up from Central America? No matter, This bird was a first for me in Canada Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com
Chestnut-sided Warbler - North Vancouver, BC
California Scrub-jay - Maple Ridge, BC Over the last 10 years we have seen the migration of a new species of Jay in Vancouver and the surrounding area. This is a dry weather bird that is found mostly along the coast from the Baja of Mexico north to Washington State has now moved into Canada. This one of a matched pair who appear to have babies in the area. At this particular time, the jay was scolding a cat that was slinking in the bushes below. There have been other Scrub-jays found in the lower mainland but none that I know of that are confirmed breeding birds. These are some of the most northerly of the species every to be found. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com
California Scrub-jay - Maple Ridge, BC
Sage Thrasher - Pitt Meadows, BC Sage Thrashers are a very rare migrant as they head through to the sage country. It just so happened that this was the second sighting this month and more over, this one one of two birds that stopped for a quick visit. They were only here for 3 or so days. Thrashers are related to mockingbirds with the Sage Thrashers typically the most northern migrators of the lot west of the Rockies, but stick to the driest areas of scrub. They also have the shortest bill of any thrashers in North America and Caribbean. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com
Sage Thrasher - Pitt Meadows, BC
Great-tailed Grackle - Vancouver An unusual visitor to Vancouver was calling an empty lot in the fancy part of town home for the time being. Some of the locals were interested to know what all of the camera's were for this morning and were surprised to hear that we don't usually see this bird here. Word has it, it has been here in the same location for the last month. Great-tailed Grackles don't usually make it north of California and Arizona and are very common in the sub-tropics and tropics of North and Central America. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com
Great-tailed Grackle - Vancouver, BC
Blue Jay - Richmond, BC This rare visitor to the west side of the Rockies was fraternizing with our Stellar's Jays at a common food hang out in Richmond. Michael Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com
Blue Jay - Richmond, BC
Chondestes grammacus
Lark Sparrow - Surrey, BC
Palm Warbler - Richmond, BC This rare visitor to the Pacific Coast was my first sighting of this bird in British Columbia. The Palm Warbler is very common on the East Coast and is easily identified by its bobbing of its tail very much like the Spotted Sandpiper. This bird seemed to be happy to pick through the Oak tree in at the parking lot of Iona Park and then heading to the reed bed in the pond on the other side of the parking lot. Thanks to Carlo et al for finding this great bird. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Palm Warbler - Richmond, BC
White-cheek or Storm Wigeon - This rare morph of the American Wigeon is what's call a White-cheeked or Storm Wigeon. They are relatively rare and have very little information that I can find on the internet. I have seen them before here overwintering a couple years ago and it would seem that the flocks that do have the white cheeks have several individuals with varying degrees of the white pigment covering some of the cheek with others continuing all the way to the neck. There were at least two birds of this flavor in a flock of 130 wigeon. We have more than 30,000 of these ducks wintering here and I have only seen this white check in two flocks of 80-130 birds. This would lead to the idea that it is a genetic trait. During my research however, there have been several birds through out North America's wintering grounds from Florida, California, Arizona and British Columbia which would lead to a this being a random color morph with in the greater population. Just some observations from a curious birder. Michael Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com
White-checked or Storm Wigeon - Pitt Meadows, BC
Fieldfare - Salmon Arm, BC Every once in a while a bird will find its way across the Bering Strait and not make it back to the right side of the continent to head south. In this case, we are very lucky to be able to see one of these birds. This Feildfare is a cousin of our American Robin with a couple of differences. One of them being the lack of red on the breast and the light gray on the back. This bird was however with a flock of Robins making short work of the Mountain Ash Berries on several trees just south of Salmon Arm. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Feildfare - Salmon Arm, BC
Summer Tanager - Vancouver, BC Summer Tanager are very rare visitors to the west coast and even more rare north of the US-Canada border. This immature male bird had made an area in and around the Marpole Neighborhood of Vancouver its home for a stint. He was dodging in and out of a Laurel picking away a the feeders in the area. The red flecking on the face and partial red rump identifies this bird as a young male just coming into his soon to be overall red colors. These birds usually spend their winters from Mexico south to the northern half of South America. Immature birds sometime go on walk-a-bout in the fall and don't head south for some time. For more details on this rare bird and others in British Columbia, go to British Columbia Rare Bird Alert. Michael Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Summer Tanager - Vancouver, BC
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King Eider - Tsawwassen, BC
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King Eider - Tsawwassen, BC
Northern Cardinal- Cranbrook, BC A common eastern bird made its way to the northeast corner of BC in a town called Cranbrook. The home this wonderful visitor home at, has also made it her home for the last couple weeks. A friend of mine from the area met me as my guide for the lay of the land and the people. Thank you, Carleen, for the great morning of birding. During our search along the creek next to the house, Carleen heard, then spotted the Female Cardinal heading back towards the house with the feeders. We made our way back and met Katrin who was the first to spot the female Cardinal in the same tree where took this photo. We then met Greg, the other resident of the lucky house. Greg and Katrin are local naturalists as well as amazing hosts and I thank them for their hospitality. While chatting out on the deck, the birds very high chirp was identified and we all headed to the front where she was feeding on sunflower seeds in an ornamental crab-apple tree. Hopefully she sticks around for others to see this rare visitor to the west of the Rockies. Michael Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com
Northern Cardinal - Cranbrook, BC
White-winged Dove - Richmond, BC In the North West corner of Richmond, BC is a fantastic little park call Terra Nova, that turns up great birds during the year with this year being no exception. This White-winged dove is usually found in the dry climates of the southern US and south into Central America and the Caribbean. (Range Map) The first time I put this bird on my life list was in Dominican Republic. I never thought I would get to see it in my back yard. It appears that this dove, like others in its family have moved into cities and town where feeders are available. The White strip down the wing is the tell tale sign to tell the difference from other North American doves along with the square tail. Michael Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com
White-winged Dove - Richmond, BC
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Curlew Sandpiper - Delta, BC
Hoary Redpoll - Vancouver, BC This tiny little finch lives in some of the coldest climates imaginable yet it somehow survives on seeds throughout the winter. This special Redpoll was not like the others and is rarely seen in our neck of the woods but came down with the Common Redpolls to Queen Elizabeth Park. Michael W Klotz 2019 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Hoary Redpoll - Vancouver, BC
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Burrowing Owl - Tsawwassen, BC
Hudsonian Godwit - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, BC This bird created a little bit of a clamor when it showed up at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary. Seemed to show up on the high tides and when he was here, he sunk his beak into the mud up to his forehead. For 15 minutes we had no idea what color his beak was. Michael W Klotz 2010 - www.TheBirdBlogger.comPicture
Hudsonian Godwit - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, BC