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Okanagan
Specialties
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Trip Information Date: May 25 - 29, 2008 Duration: 5 days Leaders: Bryan Gates Limit: 12 people Cost: $1275 USD/CDN, Single supplement $225 USD/CDN (prices include 5% GST) From: Vancouver, British Columbia Featured birds: Trip Summary
See detailed itinerary below. Click here to download a list of birds from our 2004 Okanagan tour. This tour can be combined with our West Coast Voyage. |
The Okanagan Valley has the greatest breeding bird diversity of any site in Canada (and near the top for North American sites as well), and our itinerary is designed to give us the opportunity of finding many of the 194 species known to breed there. By this time of year, all the migrants have arrived and birds are in full song from the desert grasslands in the valley to the highland subalpine forests.
This is western birding at its best, with Eared Grebes, Wilson’s Phalaropes and Yellow-headed Blackbirds displaying in rich marshes; Western Meadowlarks and Brewer’s Sparrows singing from sagebrush at dawn; Cassin’s Vireos, Western Tanagers and Townsend’s Solitaires warbling from the pines; and the tiny Calliope Hummingbird dwarfed by the majestic Golden Eagle. Our daily travel schedule will vary according to weather and species behaviour. We will want to be out birding very early each morning, perhaps fortified by coffee, juice, fruit and a muffin, and will return for breakfast after the peak of bird activity wanes. There will be 2 late evening expeditions in search of nocturnal birds, for those interested. The tour will feature easy walking with some hill climbing and possible muddy sections. We will stop frequently, concentrating on birds, but observing other aspects of the natural ecosystems as well. There will be one or two long drives (4 to 5 hours), but we will stop periodically to break up these journeys. Around midday, weather permitting, we will enjoy a picnic lunch in an attractive and birdy location. If it is very hot, as it can be in the southern Okanagan, we may rest for an hour or so during the afternoon. For dinner, we will arrange to go to a local restaurant selected for its good food and comfortable atmosphere. Either before or during dinner we will discuss the day’s activities and review the list of birds seen and heard. At this time of year, Okanagan weather can be highly variable. Participants should bring clothing and footwear suitable for both warm, sunny conditions in the valley bottom, and cool, moist conditions in the high elevation forests. |
Itinerary Day 1 - Arrival Day
2 - Transfer to Osoyoos Day
3 - Black Sage Road, Road 22, Coteay Meadows Continuing north in the valley, we stop at likely spots for Calliope Hummingbird, Western Bluebird, Western Wood Pewee, Bullock’s Oriole and Black-headed Grosbeak. An impressive colony of Bank Swallows may attract a Merlin or two and may have one of their burrows taken over by an enterprising pair of Northern Flickers. Along the lower slopes of Camp McKinney Road we watch for Pygmy Nuthatch, Lazuli Bunting and Black-chinned Hummingbird, while higher up, toward the 4200 ft. Coteay Meadows, Townsend’s Solitaire, Three-toed and Black-backed woodpeckers and Mountain Bluebird will be our targets. Also expected here will be Hammond’s Flycatcher and Cassin’s Finch. After a picnic lunch in the cool mountain air, we return to the valley bottom west of Oliver in search of Chukar and possibly Clark’s Nutcracker and a Golden Eagle or two, arriving back at our hotel in time for a pre-dinner swim. Night in Osoyoos. Day 4 - Irrigation
Creek, Venner Meadows & Vaseau Lake After breakfast, we return to the lower, park-like forests, listening for Pygmy and White-breasted Nuthatches, Nashville Warbler and, who knows, maybe even a White-headed Woodpecker! Higher up the mountainside, in the moist forests of western larch and Douglas fir, we search for the handsome Williamson’s Sapsucker and Mountain Chickadee. The lush willow thickets of Venner Meadows hold Northern Waterthrush, Lincoln’s Sparrow and a variety of warblers, while nearby spruce forests have Spruce Grouse, Boreal Chickadees and Pine Grosbeaks. We will watch for moose here, as well. After a picnic lunch, we descend into the valley, stopping at Vaseau Lake. Around the lakeshore we look for Veery, nesting Red-necked Grebes, Marsh Wren and perhaps an American White Pelican. On the towering rock cliffs are more White-throated Swifts, Canyon Wrens and Rock Wrens, while California Bighorn Sheep feed around us. Nearby pines attract Lewis’s Woodpeckers. After dinner, we will call for owls at two or more appropriate sites. Western Screech, Great Horned, Barred, Flammulated and Northern Saw-whet are possibilities, with a remote chance of Boreal and Long-eared Owls. Night in Osoyoos. Day 5 - Richter Pass
and back to Vancouver |
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We will concentrate
on the "Okanagan specialties", species
that occur in Canada only in the Okanagan Valley, or are easiest to
find there. These include Sage Thrashers on the sagebrush benchlands,
Chukar, White-throated Swifts and Canyon Wrens around the spectacular
cliffs and Gray Flycatchers, Pygmy Nuthatches and White-headed Woodpeckers
(luck needed!) in the parklike ponderosa pine forests and Williamson’s
Sapsuckers in the western larch forests. Evening owling expeditions
could get us Flammulated, Western Screech, Barred and Northern Saw-whet
Owls as well as Common Poorwills. With luck, we may even find Long-eared
or Boreal owls.