• On the south coast, Yellow-billed Loons were reported from a number of locations.  Along the east coast of Vancouver Island, the Little River (Comox) continued through the month.  The one or two immatures in the Baynes Sound area were seen from time to time, the last being near Chrome Island January 26 (Heather Pratt, Jamie Fenneman, Nathan Hentze, Carlo Pavan).  The only Lower Mainland reports were of an immature off Jericho Beach, Vancouver on January 20 (Rick Toochin), and what was possibly the same bird at nearby Tower Beach January 28 (Kyle Elliott).  In the interior, one was tallied at the south end of Vaseux Lake January 1 during Vaseux Lake's CBC (Lesley Robertson, Elke Fischer, Judy Toms).  Rare on the west coast of Vancouver Island, an Eared Grebe was off Jordan River January 18 (Derrick Marven).
• More Turkey Vultures than usual remained on southern Vancouver Island this month.  David Allinson suggested that a minimum of 12 birds was present.

WATERFOWL

• Trumpeter Swans put on an excellent showing in the Cowichan Valley with an estimated 600 birds present in the fields along Richards Trail January 8 (Derrick Marven). 
• The Tsawwassen jetty American Black Duck was still present this month. 
• On January 8, Quamichan Lake hosted 200 Canvasbacks and a rather high total of 6 male, 2 female Redheads (Derrick Marven).  A rare visitor to BC, a male King Eider, apparently a third year bird, was discovered off Longbeak Spit, Denman Island January 11 (Patrick Fawkes et al.).  It remained through the end of the month.  A few Red-breasted Mergansers remained in the interior.  At least 8 were on Osoyoos Lake off Haynes Point January 18 (Chris Charlesworth, Ryan Tomlinson, Don Wilson).  Not often seen on Vancouver Island north of Duncan, a Ruddy Duck female was at the Courtenay Airpark Lagoon, last reported January 21 (Nathan Hentze).

FALCONS

• The overwintering Gyrfalcon at Kelowna was present all month.  The individual at Boundary Bay was last reported January 19.  Another was at the north end of Nanaimo January 22 (Guy Monty).  A Peregrine Falcon near Dawson Creek January 5 (Mark Phinney) provided the first winter record of the species for NE BC.  Now of nearly annual occurrence in the Lower Mainland, a Prairie Falcon was along 64th Street, Delta January 9.

CRANES, SHOREBIRDS

• In winter, a few Sandhill Cranes can usually be found in the Fraser Delta and the southern tip of Vancouver Island.  They are very rare elsewhere at this season.  A single bird was south of Parksville from January 20 onwards (John Brighton, Guy Monty).
• The rather large group of 61 Long-billed Dowitchers at the Brydon Park Lagoons January 5 (Daniel Bastaja) was noteworthy for this time of year.  The high count of overwintering Western Sandpipers was 7, at Roberts Bank January 16.

GULLS

• The straggler Heermann's Gull that spent much of the late fall and early winter at White Rock was last reported January 1, 2002.  Extremely rare in most of North America, an adult BLACK-TAILED GULL was found in Ucluelet January 5 (Rick Toochin, Mitch Meredith, Jamie Fenneman).  The first winter Iceland Gull originally found at Goldstream Park December 9, was still present January 1.  An adult was at the mouth of Vernon Creek January 26 (Don Cecile), possibly the same bird there last winter.  An adult SLATY-BACKED GULL appeared along Kuskanax Creek, Nakusp on January 5 (Gary Davidson), and was apparently present all month.  Glaucous Gulls were widely reported in the first part of the month with a high of four (3 adults, 1 first winter), in the Kelowna area January 6 (Chris Charlesworth et al.).

OWLS, HUMMINGBIRDS

• A Great Gray Owl was along Mission Creek, Kelowna, throughout the month.  Another was along the White Lake Road near Okanagan Falls January 5 (Danny Tyson, John Luce).  Very few Northern Hawk Owls were reported this winter.  One was along Lund Road in the Prince George area January 27 (Sandra Kinsey).
• Two male Anna's Hummingbirds were in the Kelowna area.  The immature at Toovey Road, first seen in November was last reported January 10.  The other one was in Bridgewater Estates, last reported January 23 (Hugh Wilson et al.).
• The immature Lewis's Woodpecker in the Prospect Lake area of Saanich was last reported January 13. 

PASSERINES

• A PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER was at Blenkinsop Lake, Saanich January 24 through the end of the month.  This is the first winter record of an Empidonax flycatcher on southern Vancouver Island.
• Taking advantage of the warm weather, individual Barn Swallows were at Iona Island January 5 & 9, with two there January 10-14 (Rick Toochin et al.).  Two were at Swan Lake, Saanich January 5.  Yet another was at Reifel Island January 13.  It is interesting to note that there were far more observations than usual of this species in Washington and Oregon.  A few Blue Jays remained west of the Rockies.  The last report for Springfield Marsh, Lavington was January 27 (Wayne Weber) and Curteis Point, North Saanich January 18.  The WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, discovered in Port Coquitlam on December 30, was present throughout the month.
• Duncan's Sherman Road Mountain Bluebird remained until at least January 18.  With the mild weather continuing, good numbers of Hermit Thrushes are likely still hanging out in southern BC.  High counts included three at Langford Lake January 1, five at Jordan River January 18 (Derrick Marven), and five at China Creek, Alberni Inlet on January 27 (Rela Cripps, Brian Slater).  On the coast, Townsend's Solitaires were apparently much more numerous than usual this winter.  The individual at China Creek January 27 (Rela Cripps, Brian Slater) provided a noteworthy winter record for the west coast of Vancouver Island.  The Cowichan Valley Northern Mockingbird was apparently present all month along Modeste Road.
• In the interior, a few Ruby-crowned Kinglets persisted well into the new year.  Two were at Waterfront Park, Kelowna January 25 (Chris Charlesworth, Hank Vanderpol), with one there January 26 (Chris Siddle).  An American Pipit along Westside Road at Ridgeview Resort January 27 (Chris Charlesworth, Ryan Tomlinson), provided the first January record of this species for the Okanagan.
• An unusually large winter flock of 172+ Cedar Waxwings was near Buttertubs Marsh, Nanaimo on January 26 (Guy Monty).
• With all the warblers around this month, you would think that it is already spring!  In addition to the usual smattering of Orange-crowned, Yellow-rumped and Townsend's Warblers, several other species of rarer winter occurrence were reported.  A Palm Warbler at Waterfront Park/Rotary Marshes, Kelowna from January 21 onwards (Ryan Tomlinson et al.) provided the first January record of the species in the Okanagan.  Two Northern Waterthrushes were at Reifel Island January 9-16 (John Ireland et al.), with at least one present through the end of the month.  A female Common Yellowthroat was at 208th Street and Allard Crescent, Langley January 5 (Daniel Bastaja).  The immature male Common Yellowthroat found near the north end of Osoyoos Lake in December, was apparently present all month.  A Wilson's Warbler was in the Cowichan Valley near the corner of Lakes Road and Beverly Street January 6.
• On January 19, the Nanaimo River estuary hosted an American Tree Sparrow (rare on the island) and an unusual aggregation of hundreds of Golden-crowned Sparrows (Guy Monty).  Small numbers of Swamp Sparrows were scattered through the southern part of the province.  Individuals were along the Iona Causeway January 13 (Rick Toochin), at Langford Lake January 19 (David Allinson), Reifel Island January 20, and in the Somenos Marsh area during the last half of the month (Derrick Marven et al.).  As usual small numbers of Harris's Sparrows were reported.  An immature was in the Munson's Pond area of Kelowna January 19 onwards (Hank Vanderpol et al.), and another immature frequented the Bishop Bird Sanctuary, Coldstream, last observed January 27 (Wayne Weber).  Two were in Fernie all month (Kevin Knight).
• The Kelowna GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE, first observed in the spring of 2000, was apparently  present (although rarely seen) all month.  An immature male Yellow-headed Blackbird at Vanderhoof January 1 (Todd Heakes, Sandra Kinsey, Laird Law, Nancy Krueger) was a great find.  This is the first winter record of the species for north-central BC.
• The Common Redpoll irruption continued, with numerous large flocks reported from various parts of the province.  The highest coastal count was of 90 at Duncan January 19 (Guy Monty).  In the interior, a group of 300+ was tallied along Black Sage Road near Osoyoos January 18 (Chris Charlesworth, Ryan Tomlinson, Don Wilson), and 250+ were at the head of Okanagan Lake January 20 (Chris Charlesworth, Chris Siddle, Gary Davidson).  Amongst the large Common Redpoll flocks, small numbers of Hoary Redpolls were encountered at numerous interior locations.  On the coast, where the species is extremely rare, one was at Everett Crowley Park in east Vancouver January 15  (Rick Toochin), and another at Sea Island January 29 (Martin McNicholl).  At least one was in the Duncan area.  The first was at Somenos Marsh January 13 (Derrick Marven, Chris Cook), while a female was reported from the school district offices at nearby Beverly Street January 19 (Guy Monty).

Click HERE to view the December 2001 summary
Click HERE to view the February 2002 summary
Click HERE for a list of other observation summaries