Robert Lake
After parting with the guys, I left Vernon heading towards Kelowna. My first planned stop was Robert Lake, a small lake near the Kelowna Garbage dump. We'd been there in April with Avocet tours. At that time the water level was quite high and there were many species of ducks in good numbers there.I was hoping to see a late American Avocet, but as I drove up, I noticed the water level was much lower and the lake was about 1/4 the size it was in April.
The first birds I saw were a pair of Cinnamon Teal, looking like they were wondering where the water went. These birds are a good example of sexual dimorphism, where the male is much more colourful than the female.
Cinnamon Teal - Robert Lake, Kelowna BC
I then noticed a medium sized shorebird nearby and snapped off a shot. Then I noticed it was spinning in the water and realized it was a Phalarope, specifically a Wilson's Phalarope.
Wilson's Phalarope (F) - Robert Lake, Kelowna BC
Speaking of sexual dimorphism, Phalaropes do it the opposite way. The bird above is a female. It is larger and more colourful than the male shown below. With these birds, the male is the one who builds the nest, broods the eggs, and takes care of the young after they hatch. The female heads south as soon as the eggs are laid. She also tries to do this with as many males as possible.
Wilson's Phalarope (M) - Robert Lake, Kelowna BC
This video clip shows the feeding behaviour of Phalaropes. They spin in shallow water to create a vortex that catches small insects in the centre.
This last photo shows the female after she has done her spin to stir up food in the water.
Wilson's Phalarope (F) - Robert Lake, Kelowna BC
This last shot from Robert Lake shows the size comparison between the female Teal and the female Phalarope. It illustrates why it is difficult to estimate size of a bird seen by itself. The Phalaropes seemed quite large to me by themselves.
Hardy Falls
After buying some gas (there was a shortage due to the Fort St John fire) I set out for Oliver. I made one last stop at Hardy Falls just past Peachland in hopes of seeing an American Dipper. I would be disappointed once again on the Dipper, but had an extremely good sighting there.
Veery - Hardy Falls Provincial Park, Peachland BC
As I was walking along the path to the falls I heard a bird calling nearby. I didn't recognize the call, but located the bird quite easily and took a few photos, hoping for a good one for later ID. The bird flew out of sight and then I heard a very musical song that I recognized. It was a Veery, a member of the Thrush family. The song was similar to the elusive Swainson's Thrush, but a different pitch. I'd seen and heard them in Calgary before, but this was my first good photo.
It may be that the bird had just arrived on the site and was calling for others that it had migrated with. I heard Veery at one other location a couple of days later, but had no sighting.
My luck now returned to normal and the only other bird I saw was this Mallard, posing attractively in the creek that runs off from the falls.
Mallard - Hardy Falls Provincial Park, Peachland BC
One last sighting of a Red Squirrel and I was off to Oliver for some rest. The next day would be all out birding.
American Red Squirrel - Hardy Falls Provincial Park, Peachland BC
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