British Columbia and Yukon Region
Summary of Observations - Winter 1998-1999
(report submitted to North American Birds)

Compiled by Michael G. Shepard

Click HERE to view the Fall 1998 summary
Click HERE for a list of other observation summaries

The winter weather was most interesting as the cool La Nińa waters of the eastern Pacific contrasted with an anomalously warm pool off Japan. The end result of this pattern was the generation of a strong westerly storm track slamming onto the southern sections of the coast. Indeed, it was the stormiest winter on the coast since that of 1971-1972. Heavy rains fell on the lowlands and the deepest coastal mountain snowpack in many years had accumulated by the end of the period.   Interior precipitation was also bountiful over the southern 3/4 of British Columbia, especially so in the mountains. About the only thing people didn't complain about was the temperature which remained above normal in most areas. Larger lakes in the southern interior were mainly ice-free throughout the winter.  The Yukon was too far removed to be affected by all this, its weather being colder and snowier in Dec., still on the cold side but drier in Jan., and milder and generally dry in Feb.

A winter rarity in the interior, a single Pacific Loon was at the head of Okanagan L. Dec. 6 (DGC).  On the North Arm of the Fraser R. (off Sea I.) a Clark's Grebe was found Feb. 25 (MKM).   Extremely rare in nearshore waters, a juv. Short-tailed Albatross was photographed off Langara I. Jan. 19 (RL).  Northern Fulmars rarely enter the Strait of Georgia.  One observed off Newcastle I. Dec. 17 (GAP) was noteworthy.  Brown Pelicans lingered unusually late this winter, with the last reported in mid Jan. from Pedder Bay (GF).  The 1238+ Sooty Shearwaters at Rose Spit Dec. 23 (MH, PH) represented an unusually high number for this time of year.  Although increasing steadily in the interior of Washington, Double-crested Cormorants are still relatively rare in the B.C. interior.  A single bird was observed at various locations on Okanagan L. during Jan., last reported from Sandy Beach near Vernon Jan. 31 (DGC).

An imm. Ross's Goose was at Campbell R. Nov. 24 - Dec. 2 (JI, VH, ES).  Another Ross's Goose was at Como L., Coquitlam from late in 1998 through the end of the period (m. obs.).  An unusually far north Wood Duck, observed during the Williams L. CBC Jan. 2 (JiS, PR et al.), provided the first winter record for that area.  A flock of 21 Mallards tallied at McIntyre Cr. wetlands during the Whitehorse CBC Dec. 26 was a record high winter count (CE). This is still the only known regular winter location of Mallards in the Yukon.  Blue-winged Teal are rarely reported in BC during the winter.  Six were tallied on the Vaseux L. CBC Jan. 1 (ILR).  A male Tufted Duck visited Lost Lagoon, Stanley Park Feb. 25 (EW).  A White-winged Scoter at Duck L. Dec. 5 (BK, MAB) was a rather late fall straggler.

Two ad. Golden Eagles, rare in winter in the Yukon, first seen Nov. 22 near Deep Cr. at L. Laberge were seen again Dec. 4 (CE).  Two were spotted 2 km south of Christmas Cr. about 50 km north of Haines Junction Dec. 25 (LF).  Another was over Whitehorse Feb. 4 (BD, BMu).  The deaths of four Golden Eagles in the greater Whitehorse area this winter will remain a mystery for the moment.  One of them was a radio-tagged individual that had been followed into the Yukon (CM). At least one of the eagles appeared to be emaciated, and the dead birds have been sent out for further assessment.  Perhaps the only regular winter raptor that far north, a Gyrfalcon was at Inuvik Dec. 1 (CE).

The Prairie Falcon, first reported from west Delta Nov. 13, was still present Feb. 14 (RT, DEA).  Although more regular in the interior of the province, late season records are few.  The single bird in the Creston Valley Dec. 5 (BK, MAB) was noteworthy.

Sixteen Sharp-tailed Grouse were Inuvik Dec. 1 (CE).  The introduced Wild Turkey is locally distributed in the province.  The high count this fall was of 82 birds in the Creston Valley Dec. 5 (BK, MAB).  The Penticton CBC Dec. 20 produced a world-record 3533 California Quail (RJC et al.).

Golden-plover sp. are casual in winter in BC.  A single Pacific Golden-Plover was reported from Delta Feb. 27 & 28 (HM, JAM). The usual gang of large shorebirds continued to be present in the Vancouver area throughout the winter (m. obs.), with an Am. Avocet at Reifel I. (until Jan. 2), a Willet at the base of the Tsawwassen Jetty, a Long-billed Curlew at Blackie Spit, and up to five Marbled Godwits in the Boundary Bay.  A Wandering Tattler was at the Sandilands I. at the mouth of Skidegate Inlet in Dec., unusally late for this sp. (AC, BE).   

A single Sabine's Gull off the Iona South Jetty Dec. 1 (RT, MMe) provided an unusually late fall record.  Other rare gulls reported included an Iceland Gull in Delta Feb. 7 (RT), another (first winter) at Iona Island Feb. 14 (RT, DEA), and 1-2 Slaty-backed Gulls in Delta throughout the period (m. obs.).  An adult W. Gull photographed at Vernon Feb. 6 (DGC) furnished the first record for the Okanagan Valley.  On Jan. 24, DEA witnessed a spectacular flypast of Com. Murres in Juan de Fuca Strait off Rocky Pt.  An estimated 25,000 to 28,000 birds were tallied.  This is one of the largest concentrations of murres ever recorded for the province.

Long-eared Owls are rare outside the southern interior of the province, and particularly rare on Vancouver I.  A single bird along the Somass R. Dec. 13 & 14 (SM et al.) was the first record for the Alberni Valley.  Another bird appeared at the Nanaimo R. Estuary for about a week, first seen Jan. 7 (GM).  Anna's Hummingbirds continued to be seen in the Okanagan with at least three in the Westbank/Kelowna area in Dec. and Jan. (EC, CC, ILR et al.).   Once again, three Anna's wintered at Queen Charlotte City  (BE, PH, CK, DY).  Quite surprising was a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that was found in Prince George during the Dec. 20 CBC (fide MPh).  This sp. normally winters far south of British Columbia.

A Say's Phoebe overwintered near Duncan (JB, LB, m. obs.), last observed Feb. 10.  This is the first winter record for Vancouver I.  A Ruby-crowned Kinglet at Rose Spit Dec. 23 (MH, PH), provided the first record for Graham I. N. Mockingbirds were reported in Richmond, Metchosin, Sechelt, Kaslo, and most surprisingly, in Prince George on the Dec. 20 CBC (CA et al.).  The bird resided in a downtown chimney and remained until at least Jan. 27 (m. obs.).  A few warblers lingered late into the winter season.  A Wilson's Warbler at Iona I. Dec. 16 (RT) was particularly noteworthy.  More unexpected was a Magnolia Warbler at Port Alberni Dec. 20 (CB, SM). Very rare west of the Rockies, a male Com. Grackle was at the Douglas L. Ranch Jan. 10 &11 (WCW et al.).   The Yukon’s first winter record for Red-winged Blackbird was of a single bird at a Teslin feeder; it was not seen after Jan. 4 (AJ, MG).

Although much more frequently reported in recent years than prior to 1980, wintering Swamp Sparrows are still rare in the interior of B.C.  DGC et al. found this sp. at the head of Okanagan L. through much of the period.  Three were there Jan. 3. The Brambling invasion that started in late Oct.continued into the winter.   The table below summarizes the observations.  First discovered in late Nov. but not seen through most of the winter, a Purple Finch returned to a Whitehorse feeder Feb. 6-7 providing the first Yukon winter record for this sp. (HG).  On Jan. 16 CE & PaS tallied 1827 Com. Redpolls along the South Klondike Hwy between Whitehorse and Fraser.

Summary of British Columbia Brambling Observations, Fall and Winter 1998-1999
Oct. 28 - Nov. 1	Tofino	RP
Oct. 29 - Nov. 3      joined by a second bird Nov. 3	Williams L.	JW, AR et al.
Nov. 1	Masset	MH, PH
Nov. 1	Ridley I.	fide RRW
Nov. 24 - 26	Sicamous	BMc et al.
Nov. 26 - Dec. 1 (female)	Lavington	PM et al.
Dec. 1 - Apr. 5 (ad. female)	Campbell R.	HA et al.
Dec. 3 - Jan. 16 (male)	Blackie Spit	MPL et al.
Dec. 3 - 28	Prince George	MPh et al.
Dec. 9 - Apr. 8	Port Clements	AL, BL et al.
Dec. 20 (different bird from early Dec.)	Lavington	PJ
Dec. 26 (male)	head of Okanagan L.	JoS, PeS

Sub-regional Compilers: Burke Korol (BK) - Kootenays, Max Gotz (BMG) - Whistler, Bryan Gates (BRG) - Victoria, Cameron Eckert (CE) - Yukon, David Allinson (DEA) - Victoria, Don Cecile (DGC) - Vernon, Helmut Grünberg (HG) - Yukon, Hank vander Pol (HVP) - Victoria, John Chandler (JC) - Vancouver, Jack Bowling (JCB) - Prince George & weather summaries, Larry Cowan (LC) - Vancouver, Peter Hamel (PH) - Queen Charlotte Is., Phil Ranson (PR) - Cariboo, Richard Cannings (RJC) - Okanagan, Michael Shepard (MGS) - Southern Vancouver I., Steve Baillie (SJB) - Nanaimo, Sandy McRuer (SM) - Alberni Valley, Tony Greenfield (TG) - Sunshine Coast.

Other Cited Observers
Al Cowan (AC), Ada Johnston (AJ), Adelia Lowrie (AL), Anna Roberts (AR), Boris Dobrowolsky (DB), Brian Eccles (BE), Brian Lowrie (BL), Bob Murkett (BMu), Bob McVicar (BMc), Cathy Antoniazzi (CA), Chris Bibby (CB), Chris Charlesworth (CC), Carol Kulesha (CK), Carol McIntyre (CM), Dave Younger (DY), Eileen Chappel (EC), Ed Silkens (ES), Evelyn Whiteside (EW), Allen Poynter (GAP), Gary Fletcher (GF), Guy Monty (GM), Heather Asplin (HA), Hue MacKenzie (HM), Jo Ann MacKenzie (JAM), Laurie Rockwell (ILR), Jim Barnstead (JBa), Jim Ibb (JI), Jim Sims (JiS), Joyce Sinclair (JoS), Jean Waite (JW), Lynn Barnstead (LB), Lloyd Freese (LF), Marc-Andre Beaucher (MAB), Margaret Garolitz (MG), Margo Hearne (MH), Martin McNicholl (MKM), Mitch Meredith (MMe), Mark Phinney (MPh), Mary Peet-Leslie (MPL), Phil Jones (PJ), Pat McAllister (PM), Pamela Sinclair (PaS), Perry Sinclair (PeS), Reisa Latorra (RL), Rory Patterson (RP), Robin Weber (RRW), Rick Toochin (RT), Vicki Hansen (VH).

Click HERE to view the Fall 1998 summary
Click HERE for a list of other observation summaries