Registration is on-line only, opened at 9am April 2, and is limited to 15 participants, first come first served. The Extension Trip is now fully subscribed. You may sign up on the wait list & you will be contacted for your payment if a space becomes available. There is currently 1 name on the wait list.
Cost for Extension Trip: $150.00 per person, not including meals and accommodation. Cost includes a contribution to the BCFO Conservation & Education Fund. Participants must be members of BCFO ( join or renew HERE ) and must have registered & paid for the AGM & Conference. (register and pay HERE)
You can register for the Extension Trip HERE (log-in with your member password, emailed to paid-up BCFO members on April 1)
Leader: Mark Phinney: Wildlife biologist and BCFO director, based in Arras. Experienced birder with considerable experience in leading birding trips.
Trip Overview: Leave Dawson Creek Sunday June 15 after the Conference (2:00pm) head to Clayhurst and then Boundary Lake (upland sandpiper, palm warbler, waterbirds), then to Fort St John (stop at Fish Creek if time in evening). Motel in FSJ.
Early Monday morning June 16, bird around Charlie Lake and Beatton Park for a couple hours (Canada, Bay-breasted & Cape May Warblers, Winter Wren, others) then head north to Pink Mountain (2-3 hours drive each way; Rock Ptarmigan and more). NOTE: Pink Mountain is at 1700m elevation, dress accordingly! Bird for a few hours, then return. May stop at a couple spots north of Fort St John depending on time & weather. Dinner in FSJ, night in same motel.
Tuesday morning June 17 search for any birds we’ve missed around Fort St John. Possible trip into sewage lagoons if permission can be obtained. Participants can depart on their own time.
Currently, Air Canada and WestJet each have several flights per day leaving YXJ. Roads (especially to Pink Mountain) will be scouted prior to the trip and registrants will receive updates. Vehicles with clearance and AWD / 4WD are recommended. Carpooling will be necessary. If participants do not have suitable vehicles, there is an option to rent a pickup or SUV in Fort St John for the day and carpool, but it probably won’t be cheap.
OPTIONAL: Alternative to the Extension Trip: no cost but DIY unless someone volunteers to lead or provide assistance: For those in search of ptarmigan – a DIY trip to the Tumbler Ridge area may be possible. White-tailed Ptarmigan are the most often seen (though all are possible) and there are no guarantees. This would require a vehicle with some clearance and some hiking (briefly strenuous to reach the flat alpine zone). Maps or instructions (or possibly a local birder) can be provided.
