Author Archives: geocbcfo

Recent events, including the racism directed at Christian Cooper on the Ramble in New York City’s Central Park, demonstrate that racism and discrimination are everywhere, even in the birding world. British Columbia Field Ornithologists is committed to ensuring inclusion and diversity within its own ranks and within the wider birding community. All of us have a responsibility to challenge racism and discrimination whenever they appear and to work towards respect and inclusivity, whether we are in the field or meeting with our members and fellow birders.

Discussion of Round 28 submissions to the Bird Records Committee has just been completed. Consensus decisions to “accept” were made for nine of the ten submissions for this round.

Photo: David Baird

To see the full report of those recently accepted records, follow the link here or use the drop down menu above – BRC Public > Feb – Mar, 2020.

 – Invitation to Apply –

Needed – Three (3) individuals to serve as participating members of the BC Bird Records Committee (BCBRC).

Duration – We are seeking three individuals who are willing to commit to a three-year term, beginning April 2020. As per BRC operating guidelines, up to two consecutive terms may be served, for a total of six years. Renewal for a second term is optional and subject to BCBRC approval. Members may not sit for more than two-consecutive terms before taking a mandatory one-year absence. Following this absence, individuals may be re-nominated for additional terms, and placed in the candidate pool for available positions. Monthly time commitments vary, but candidates should be willing to put in approximately ten (non-consecutive) hours.

Qualifications – Candidates should be knowledgeable on bird identification and distribution of all bird species in the province, as well as familiar with the identification and distribution of avian taxa from the remainder of North America, and ideally also Eurasia and Mexico. Preferred candidates will have first-hand experience with the majority of species that may be reported (see the current Review List). In addition to field experience, candidates should have access to sufficient resources (e.g., books, web resources) to provide critical, independent commentary and evaluations of bird records by set deadlines. Knowledge of aging and sexing of birds is a plus.

Candidates must be courteous and respectful of fellow committee members and to individuals whose records are being reviewed, including confidentiality of observer names and committee discussions. Previous experience with committees is beneficial, but not mandatory; however, candidates must be able to work effectively in a committee operating under a consensus framework.
In addition to birding experience, candidates must be able to reliably communicate electronically. This includes frequent and reliable access to the internet and the ability to email, Skype (or similar alternative), and send/receive files in MS Word and MS Excel formats.

Prior membership to BCFO is not a requirement, but non-members are expected to join the organization upon appointment to the committee. All BCBRC members are expected to maintain their membership to BCFO in good standing for the duration of their tenure. Candidates should reside in British Columbia for the majority of each calendar year for which they are serving.

Selection – The committee strives to maintain representation of the entire provincial birding community by selecting members from varied regions of the province. To further ensure that the committee is representative of the provincial birding community, women are strongly encouraged to apply.

The BCBRC is a committee of the BCFO. Applicants, or a short-list of applicants, will be discussed by the current BCBRC membership for nomination to the committee. Final appointments are made by the BCFO Board of Directors.

How to apply – You may nominate yourself or someone else who you believe is qualified. All nominations should be sent electronically to the Chairperson of the BCBRC, at bcbrc.chair@gmail.com. In the email include a brief description of your qualifications, or, if nominating someone else, highlight why you think that person would fit well on the committee. Make sure to include your full name and contact information (email address and/or phone number), or the full name and contact information of the nominee. All information should appear in the body of the email; formal cover letters, CVs, etc., are not required.
 Please apply as soon as possible, and no later than March 15. The positions will remain open until filled.

Round 27 of the Bird Records Committee was a significant one. Two new species were added to the Main Provincial list, and another was elevated from the Provisional List to the main list.

Photo: David Bell

To see the full report of recently accepted records, follow the link here or use the drop down menu above – BRC Public.

BCFO is delighted to present the latest entry in our Featured Photographer series. This time we showcase another of our talented young birders, Adam Dhalla, who received a BCFO Young Birder Award in 2017. See his work here

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The BCFO Young Birder Award welcomes talented young birders into the BC birding community providing them with recognition, opportunity, encouragement, and mentoring.

We present Young Birder Awards to youth who meet certain qualifications. To be selected for a BCFO Young Birder Award, recipients must be between 11 and 18 years of age, and have:

• exceptional observational and birding skills well beyond the ‘novice’ level;
• shown substantive engagement in the activities of the birding community through their accomplishments, participation, and contributions;
• been nominated and sponsored by a BCFO member, and approved by the Board of Directors.

2020 is the seventh year of the BCFO Awards Program as we continue to find many young, keen, committed birders from around BC. Each recipient receives a free membership to BCFO until age 18, a memorial plaque, and a stylish BCFO ball cap.

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Congratulations to Nicholas Croft and Gaelen Schnare the 2020 BCFO Young Birder Award recipients. They join the ranks of a very talented and growing group of British Columbia young birders.

Nicholas Croft

Nicholas Croft started birding in 2015 when he was eight years old. His favourite birding places include Tofino, Waterton Lakes and the Okanagan. He recently joined two Young Birder Program field trips to Kamloops and the Southern Okanagan. On these trips he saw many lifers, with the highlight being a family of Great Grey Owls. Nicholas has done one pelagic trip, which he loved and hopes to do more. Nicholas recently helped OWL release an injured and rehabilitated Northern Saw-whet Owl.

His passion for birds was rewarded at the Vancouver Island Regional Science Fair where he won an award for his project assessing winter bird use of the Hope Bay estuary. Nicholas has also contributed to citizen science through the annual CBC4Kids on Pender Island, and helps out with the BC Coastal Waterbird Survey, a program of Birds Canada and Environment Canada.

Birding for Nicholas also has an artistic side. Developing and honing his photography skills has resulted in four photo exhibitions on Pender Island. Nicholas hopes to experience a whole new world of birding when he goes to Australia next year.

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Gaelen Schnare

Gaelen has a deep love for all things bird-related. He is an impressive young person and an impressive birder. Possessing a keen eye and unbridled enthusiasm, he is also very good with a camera; framing and selling his photos at various art shows.

As a citizen scientist, Gaelen contributes his bird observations through eBird, and also posts his natural history observations to iNaturalist. He regularly gives presentations about birds at the annual Creston Valley Bird Festival, and has led tours at that festival for young birders – a mentor already.

Gaelen also gives presentations to local Nelson schools, and participates in the Nelson Christmas Bird Count. This past summer, he and his father accompanied friends to Saskatchewan to bird the Grasslands National Park.

The BCFO Board of Directors welcomes two new members to the provincial Bird Records Committee: Cathy Antoniazzi and David Bradley.

The Board also extends its warmest thanks for their years of diligent and respectful work on the committee to both Chris Charlesworth and Mike Toochin who now rotate off the committee having reached the conclusion of their terms.

The BCFO Bird Records Committee of course continues its reviews of sightings of the province’s rare birds. The result of the latest committee decisions transferred Arctic Loon from the Provisional List to the Main Provincial List.

Photo: David Bell

To see the full report of recently accepted records, follow the link here or use the drop down menu above, BRC Public – Round 26.

Registration and payment pages now open. You can find them under the Events drop-down menu above, or via the links below.

Register and Pay for the Golden AGM and Conference HERE

And

Register and Pay for the Pre-AGM Extension Trip HERE

The details and schedule of the AGM have been expanded and updated. You can check them out HERE before linking to the payment pages above.

Details have now been finalized for this year’s Extension Trip to Southern Alberta.

An exciting adventure awaits participants as we explore the prairie potholes and foothills of Alberta. An amazing array of birds will be looked for including:

Sharp-tailed Grouse, Spruce Grouse, Dusky Grouse, Clark’s Grebe, Common Nighthawk, Yellow Rail, Sandhill Crane, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Piping Plover, Upland Sandpiper, Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, Wilson’s Phalarope, Franklin’s Gull, Black Tern, American White Pelican, White-faced Ibis, Swainson’s Hawk, Ferruginous Hawk, Great Gray Owl, Burrowing Owl, Prairie Falcon, Alder Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, Brown Thrasher, Chestnut-collared Longspur, McCown’s Longspur, Blue Jay, Boreal Chickadee, Winter Wren, Rock Wren, Lark Sparrow, Baird’s Sparrow, Baltimore Oriole, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Sprague’s Pipit,  Grasshopper Sparrow, Brewer’s Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Lark Bunting, Baird’s Sparrow, Yellow-breasted Chat, Bobolink, Baltimore Oriole, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Tennessee Warbler, Connecticut Warbler, Cape May Warbler, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak

NOTE: The Registration and Payment pages for the AGM and Extension will open at 9:00 am PDT April 6, 2019. In order to participate in the Extension, you must be a current BCFO member, and registered for the AGM.

Full details of the Extension and itinerary here.

The BCFO Young Birder Program welcomes talented young birders into the BC birding community, and provides them with opportunity, encouragement, and mentoring.

As part of the program, we present Young Birder Awards to youth who meet certain qualifications. To be selected for a BCFO Young Birder Award, recipients must be between 11 and 18 years of age, and have:

• exceptional observational and birding skills well beyond the ‘novice’ level;
• shown substantive engagement in the activities of the birding community through their accomplishments, participation, and contributions;
• been nominated and sponsored by a BCFO member and approved by the Executive Committee.

The Awards Program, now in its sixth year, continues to grow as we find many young, keen, committed birders from around BC. Each recipient receives a free membership to BCFO until age 18, a memorial plaque, and a stylish BCFO ball cap.

In 2019 we are very pleased to welcome Sasha Fairbairn, another talented and committed Young Birder to this very talented group of young people. Congratulations, Sasha.

Sasha Fairbairn, Surrey

Photo: Melissa Hafting

In common with many of our award winners, Sasha is a committed volunteer. The Sunnyside Acres Heritage Society benefits from Sasha’s involvement in a couple of ways. She helps with their social media web pages, and not surprisingly, is also a birding guide for the society, which welcomes visitors to Sunnyside Acres Urban Forest Park near her home in Surrey.

This past summer Sasha attended the Beaverhill Bird Observatory Young Ornithologists Workshop in Alberta where she learned to band birds, and was able to greatly increase her knowledge of matters ornithological.

Sasha enjoys birding with others and participated in the Manning Park Bird Blitz, which she intends to make an annual event.

Previously Sasha lived in New Zealand and this is where her love of birding developed. And now she has even got her parents interested in birding! She participates in Project FeederWatch, and the Great Backyard Bird Count. She enters her sightings into eBird, and writes her own blog about birds and birding <https://bcbackyardbirds.wordpress.com/>.

Keen to promote conservation of the environment, Sasha is an accomplished writer too. In 2017 she won a youth contest called “A voice for animals” <https://www.hennet.org/docs/contest/winners/2017_Sasha_Fairbairn.pdf>.
She is a great birder with intense passion for the hobby and is a very welcome addition to BCFO’s Young Birder Award recipients.