Author Archives: geocbcfo

Creston Valley Bird Festival goes virtual this year with live webinars plus some Covid-safe outdoor events. Registration opens April 1st. http://www.crestonvalleybirds.ca/

Here you can Choose Your Own Adventure, or view here the Schedule of Webinars and Outdoor Events .

The BCFO is pleased to present the next in our series of Featured Photographers.  Val hails from Victoria, and is a long-term member of BCFO known to many for his wide interests in natural history beyond birds. Check out Val’s photography here.

Next up in our Zoom presentations by members for members will be Alan Burger’s presentation Birds of the Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic. In April Rand Rudland will present Madagascar – Endemism in a Threatened Landscape.

Times, dates, and details of the presentations are found in the Members area.

Once again BCFO is delighted to present this year’s Young Birder Award recipients. As flag carriers for the future of birding they are both notable ambassadors, and outstanding young people. The BCFO Young Birder Award welcomes talented young birders into the BC birding community providing them with recognition, opportunity, encouragement, and mentoring.

The Young Birder Awards are presented 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.

2021 is the eighth 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 Daniel Graca, Evan Larson, Cameron Montgomery, and Sage Pasay the 2021 BCFO Young Birder Award recipients. They join the ranks of a very talented and growing group of British Columbia young birders.

Daniel Graca

In her nomination of Daniel, Melissa Hafting says:

This amazing young man has been birding undetected in the local birding scene for far too long. He’s loved birding since he was a tiny tot. Birding with Daniel and his dad this fall I was amazed by his skill. He picked up a Blue Jay in flight, at a great distance, and described carefully why it was a Blue Jay and not a Steller’s or California Scrub-Jay. Daniel also identifies birds by ear. He follows the BC Rare Bird Alert closely, and with the help of his parents who do the driving, he successfully twitches many of the rarities. He also finds his own rare birds, such as the adult Sabine’s Gull he found and photographed in the Fraser Valley. In the past he’s gone with family to Europe, Mexico and the US to look at birds.

This talented young birder deserves the Young Birder Award for his commitment and his skill.  He raises money for the CWF and OWL, and is passionate about habitat conservation for birds and wildlife. He’s also passionate about bringing awareness to the problem of window strikes and to making homes and windows bird friendly.

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Evan Larson

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Cameron Montgomery

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Sage Pasay

In his nomination of Sage, Allan Jensen says:

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In this, the second of our birding travel adventure presentations by members, for members, join Larry Cowan on Wednesday, 17th February 2021 at 7:30 pm for a Peruvian birding adventure from Lima to the heart of the Amazon.

Details for viewing the presentation are found in the Members area.

 – Invitation to Apply –

Needed – Two (2) individuals to serve as participating members of the Bird Records Committee (BRC).

Duration – We are seeking two individuals willing to commit to a three-year term, beginning March 2021. 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 BRC 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, 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 BRC 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 and of varied backgrounds. To ensure that the committee is inclusive of the diversity within the provincial birding community, women, Indigenous Peoples, Black and people of colour, persons with disabilities, persons of diverse sexual orientation, gender identity or expression (LGBTQ2S+), and others are strongly encouraged to apply.

The BRC is a committee of the BCFO. Applicants, or a shortlist of applicants, will be discussed by the current BRC membership for nomination to the committee. Final appointments are confirmed 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 Catherine Craig, Chair of the BRC, 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 January 31, 2021. The positions will remain open until filled.

Discussion of Round 29 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 Bell

To see the full report of those recently accepted records, follow the link here or use the drop down menu above – BRC Public > BRC Round 29 Mar to Dec 2020.

Amie MacDonald of Birds Canada has a request:

Hello BC birders,

Birds Canada has recently started a research project using radio-telemetry and leg flags to track overwintering movements of Dunlin in the Fraser River Estuary and their migration. We would appreciate hearing about any sightings of birds with leg flags if you happen to see any while out birding – you can email me directly at amacdonald@birdscanada.org. Spotting a leg flag in a large flock of Dunlin is certainly no easy feat, but we know birders are up for the challenge! We will collect a lot of movement data through the Motus Wildlife Tracking System, but leg flag sightings help in areas where there is no Motus coverage and offer very precise locations. Complete reads of the 3-digit code are great, but even just one or two of the digits can be very helpful if you can’t get a complete read.

Thanks and happy birding!

Amie

Amie MacDonald
Motus Analyst and Coordinator, British Columbia
Birds Canada | Oiseaux Canada
(506) 232-1219 | amacdonald@birdscanada.org
www.birdscanada.org | www.motus.org
(she/her)

The American Robin pictured above is certainly not looking for earthworms in a mountain ash tree, but for most of us these ubiquitous birds foraging in a grassy field is another familiar sight.

Dr Rob Butler has made a study of a question that has likely puzzled many of us over the years: ” How exactly do they find the earthworms that they eat? Do they use sight or sound or …?”

Read Rob’s article here to see what he found out.