After the Okanagan Spring Birding Tour - Days 4 and 5

April 9, 2018

After an overnight stay in Okanagan Falls we headed south for Osoyoos and then east to Grand Forks. We made a very brief stop at a marsh at the intersection of Road 22 and Highway 97.

We'd seen Virginia Rail here in previous tours so I tried using a recorded call and listened for responses. In fact we did get an answer, but the bird never revealed itself. The photo below was taken at the same location on our 2013 tour. I'm counting the bird as we heard a clear response.

Virginia Rail - Road 22 March, Oliver BC - 2018 Bird # 133 - Photo from April 2013

We took the back road from Oliver through the Nk'mip band reserve, ending up at Mount Baldy Ski resort and then on to Grand Forks. The only bird seen on the way was this Robin at my sister's place in Grand Forks.

American Robin - Grand Forks BC

April 10, 2018

The next morning we were having breakfast in my sister's dining room when I saw bird movement through the window. I had my camera nearby and snapped a couple of shots of a pair of Cedar Waxwings. This was quite an early sighting for this species.

Cedar Waxwing - Grand Forks BC - 2018 Bird # 134

We left Grand Forks and headed west on Highway 3. We made a quick stop at Wagon Wheel road in Bridesville and I tried to call in Williamson's Sapsucker. We'd seen them here on the 2017 tour, but all was quiet today. My consolation was another Mountain Bluebird.

Mountain Bluebird - Bridesville BC

Our next stop was Nk'Mip winery in Osoyoos. In the parking lot were a number of House Sparrows.

House Sparrow - Osoyoos BC

We carried on to Princeton and I tried Wayne Lake and the Swan Lake Sanctuary. The former was frozen over as can be seen from this photo.

Canada Goose - Wayne Lake, Princeton BC

Swan Lake was very quiet as well, there were no birds to be seen there other than this Flicker.

Northern Flicker - Swan Lake Conservation Area, Princeton BC

Our final stop was Manning Park resort. We'd picked up Subway sandwiches in Princeton and stopped in the parking lot of the lodge to eat. The food in the car got the attention of some of the local Ravens.

The snowbank we were parked by looked dirty and I suspect it had some road salt as well. It may also have had some scattered bird seed. It attracted a number of Juncos and a few Common Redpolls.

Common Redpoll - Manning Park Lodge, Manning Park BC

One of the Juncos was of the Slate-colored race, a treat for us from the West Coast to see.

Dark-eyed Junco and Common Redpoll - Manning Park Lodge, Manning Park BC

The last photo for the day and the trip goes to a Raven. We had four on the hood of the car at one point, but this shot turned out the best.

Common Raven- Manning Park Lodge, Manning Park BC