The conference in Canada was great fun, and I got the chance for a bit of birding, accumulating 114 species, and 7 lifers in the end. Without wishing to distract too much from my story of Brisbane birding, here are some pics.
White-tailed Ptarmigan. After a three hour hike to the summit of Flatiron Mountain, I flogged around all afternoon but couldn’t find any ptarmigan. Instead of sensibly going back down and sleeping in the car overnight, I just lay on the tundra and slept overnight on the mountain. I woke up shivering a few times, but was rewarded in the morning when a covey of six birds gave brilliant views!
Sooty Grouse – roadside birds in the early morning along Blackwall Road in E C Manning Provincial Park.
Spruce Grouse – another boreal forest speciality, this female gave great views on the loop trail at Strawberry Flats, E C Manning Provincial Park.
Poor picture, but PINE GROSBEAK! I’ve tried so many times for this bird in Europe and Asia – so pleased to finally connect, with three birds in E C Manning Provincial Park.
Northern Pygmy-owl. Split from the European Pygmy-owl a few years ago, I’d dipped on this species several times in SW USA, so very pleased to catch up with it along the Yew Lake trail at Cypress Mountain, just outside Vancouver.