Great day birding yesterday with 'young' ryan johnston, and partner Vanessa. Ryan started birding around here at age 13, I believe, and now lives in Vancouver. He is doing a Big Year this year for himself. His stories were of strange happenings and characters during Christmas Bird Counts and Little Big Days around here in years past. So fun to hear.
It was that-kind-of-funny because we had just been evoking his name this past CBC season as a young birder that had taken to birding quite well and seemed to have continued.
Yesterday, he picked out a calling Spotted Towhee for us, a Brown Creeper, a pair of American Three-toed Woodpeckers, and many more. I must have added about 10 species to my year list!
At present, he is number one on eBird for BC species submitted. Yay! We were able to show him Blue Jays by following the sights of a kerfuffle happening in a big fir tree up from the end of Baker Street - three Jays were worrying a pair of American Crows breaking off twigs for a nest. The Jays flipped and flapped and called but the crows basically just ignored them non-plussed.
We hope ryan has fun this year and hope he will return to get the Grackles in Fernie or any other BC rarities we can scrape up for him. Thanks ryan!
Here is his blog's initial post.
http://lastofthecurlews.blogspot.ca/2008/12/inaugeral-post.html
Here is his flickr page.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28359221@N08/
Dianne Cooper
No comments:
Post a Comment