Chapter 2: February

I tried to conjure up a Pygmy Nuthatch at Alderwood Park a few more times while there was still insufficient daylight to venture father afield before or after work, but it was not to be. A Red-breasted Sapsucker working its wells on the same pine trees offered some consolation. They can be a tricky bird to catch up to on the SemiPen some winters. For good measure, I also tried twice more for Black-crowned Night Heron and Rusty Blackbird at Nicomekl Portage Park, dipping on both. 

Red-breasted Sapsucker not on a pine tree at Kwomais Point (February 4, 2024). 

Winter is the season for gulls and Metro Vancouver offers some of the worst gulling in North America! I have several reasons for this contentious claim: 

(1) We are in the heart of the Glaucous-winged x Western Gull hybrid zone. Up to 75% of some Western and Glaucous-winged Gull colonies in Washington comprise hybrids¹, which is likely representative of the gull scene around Metro Vancouver. The range of phenotypes shown by these hybrids and their back-crosses make identification problematic. 

(2) There are so many Glaucous-winged and Olympic Gulls that other large Larids constitute <1% of any flock. Actually, 1% might be generous and 0.1% might be more typical. 

(3) There are no locations where large gull flocks can be reliably observed at close range. Most gulls gather in large, densely packed flocks in the middle of fields around the Delta landfill or way out on the mudflats of Boundary Bay, where viewing conditions, for lack of a better word, suck. 

The SemiPen is no exception to terrible gulling. In fact, finding a pure American Herring Gull can be challenging. There are no fields on the SemiPen, so gulling must be done at the beach. The best gull spot is the mouth of the Campbell River, where gulls sometimes gather in modest numbers to loaf and bathe during evening low tides. My first gulling attempt here produced a single Iceland Gull, but not the hoped for American Herring or Western Gulls.

The best and most unexpected bird in February was a calling Barn Owl flying over my neighboorhood on the rainy night of the 4th. A crummy recording of that bird can be listened to here. 

¹ Howell, SNG and Dunn, J. 2007. Gulls of the Americas. Boston, NY: Hougton Mifflin Company.