Oliver - River Road and Horsetail Road
My first stop was River Road in Oliver. It's very close to the lodge and joins into a gravel road named Horsetail Road, part of which overlooks a marsh.There's very little traffic normally, but this morning there was a tractor with a mower cutting the grass alongside the road. I hung back to let it get far ahead of me and spent the time looking and listening for birds.
The first one I heard was a Willow Flycatcher, which are very common at this location.
Willow Flycatcher - Horsetail Rd. Oliver BC
What would the Okanagan be without seeing Magpies? Here's a good shot of this attractive, but annoying bird.
Black-billed Magpie - Horsetail Rd. Oliver BC
I was hoping to see Bullock's Oriole sometime during this stay. I just caught a glimpse of this one before it flew off. I believe it was a female as there was no black on the head.
Bullock's Oriole (F) - Horsetail Rd. Oliver BC
I also saw Eastern Kingbird and Gray Catbird here, but I took better photos later in the day at other places. One species I hoped to see were Bank Swallows, but the bank where I had seen them in previous years was dry and unoccupied.
Oliver - Road 22
As you head south from Oliver on Highway 97, the crossroads are numbered sequentially, getting higher as you head south. With the explosive growth of the wine industry, some wineries have named themselves after the road they are on - Road 13 Winery being an example.Road 22 is near the border between Oliver and Osoyoos, and if you head East you will cross the Osoyoos River and reach Black Sage Road. The Black Sage bench is the self-declared best wine growing area in Canada.
Road 22 is also a great birding location. There is a marsh right by Highway 97, a small natural area operated by the Nature Trust of BC on the West side of the river, and a driveable gravel road on the east side of the river.
I stopped at the marsh area and had a quick walk around. It was quiet except for some Brewer's Blackbirds.
Brewer's Blackbird - Road 22, Oliver BC
Back in the car heading for the conservation area, I spotted an unusual bird on the telephone wire. It was one I was hoping to see - a Bobolink. It is related to the Blackbirds and has one of the longest migrations among songbirds. It winters in Argentina and migrates North to the prairie states and provinces. It is seen in the South Okanagan as well.
I saw this bird as a lifer in 2014, there were good numbers at Road 22 that year. In 2016, I only saw this one on the wire on this day and the following day.
Bobolink - Road 22, Oliver BC
There wasn't much going on at the natural area, so I crossed the bridge and drove out onto the River dike. It was noon by this time and many of the birds were heard but not seen. I finally got a decent photo of an Eastern Kingbird, taken from the car as I was driving the dike.
Eastern Kingbird - Road 22, Oliver BC
I heard many Yellow Warblers but was unable to see any clear enough for a good photo. I did get one of a Cedar Waxwing.
Cedar Waxwing - Road 22, Oliver BC
While I was doing this a car came along with a Ministry of Environment sign on it. The very nice people told me that they had heard Yellow-breasted Chat on Black Sage Road, directly to the east from where I was. This bird is the largest of the Warblers, and also the hardest to see. I saw one in 2014 at this location for about two seconds, no photos.
I drove around to Black Sage Road and could hear one calling down below me. I was wearing shorts and tee shirt, but headed down into the thick brush anyway. I managed to get within 20 - 30 ft but could not locate the bird. I gave up and headed back to my car, and then looked down at my legs. They were red and breaking out in small bumps. Apparently there may have been Poison Ivy or Poison Oak down there.
I headed into Osoyoos to get a sandwich at Subway, and then went to a pharmacy where I bought some anti-histamines.
Osoyoos - Haynes Point Provincial Park
My next stop was this park on the western edge of Osoyoos Lake. it is primarily for campers and boaters, but there is a small marshy area with a boardwalk. This was my third visit here and I'd had some luck the first two times.
My first sighting was a Yellow Warbler. As usual it was elusive, but patience paid off and I got a couple of good shots.
Yellow Warbler - Haynes Point Provincial Park, Osoyoos BC
Later on, I heard a Pewee calling and was able to locate it for quite a nice shot.
Western Wood-pewee - Haynes Point Provincial Park, Osoyoos BC
My last catch was a Gray Catbird. I'd struggled to get any kind of shot earlier in the day, but this one was willing to show itself.
Gray Catbird - Haynes Point Provincial Park, Osoyoos BC
By this time it was 2:30 and I still had a lot of ground to cover. Next stop was the Nighthawk border crossing west of Osoyoos.
Nighthawk Road near Osoyoos
There is a road off of Highway 3 that leads down to a small border crossing. I had learned about this area from one of my birding tours with Chris Charlesworth. Possible sightings included Common Nighthawks sleeping on fence posts and Lark Sparrows on the overhead wires. I saw the latter last year in June. There was one other possible bird, but I didn't give it much thought.
I drove down to the border and turned around. I'd seen nothing on the wires or fence posts. I stopped at a pull-out that we had used on the tour to eat my lunch. I saw a bird nearby that looked like a Flicker and got out to investigate. I found it across the road in the brush and snapped a few photos. It was no Flicker, it was a Sage Thrasher. This bird is expected in this area, but it was my first ever sighting - lifer number 419.
Sage Thrasher - Nighthawk Road near Osoyoos BC
It's worth two photos:
Sage Thrasher - Nighthawk Road near Osoyoos BC
It was now 3:30 and time to move on.
Keremeos and Yellow Lake Rest Area
Once back on Highway 3, I continued west on Highway 3 into Keremeos. I then took the 3A turn-off and started back west towards Okanagan Falls. I took a turn off by the Keremeos Cemetery as I'd seen Western Kingbird there two years ago. I knew about this area thanks to an excellent book named Birdfinding in British Columbia by Russell and Richard Cannings.
No luck with the Kingbirds, but as I was about to turn around I saw a family of California Quail about to cross the road. It was far off the highway and I was the only car around.
There was a male, a female and 14 chicks. At first it was cute, but then I noticed that one chick was struggling mightily to keep up. The parents did wait for it, I hope it survived. Here they are getting ready to cross. To me, you can see the parents concern.
California Quail - Keremeos BC
And they are off:
California Quail - Keremeos BC
It's easy to see why there are so many California Quail in the Okanagan.
On my way back down the side road I saw this Western Meadowlark.
Western Meadowlark - Keremeos BC
My next stop was the Yellow Lake rest area. I did not expect to see much, but was pleasantly surprised by another Pewee.
Western Wood-pewee - Yellow Lake Rest Area, Kaleden BC
Vaseux Lake Boardwalk and McIntyre Bluffs
It was almost 6:00 PM by the time I reached the turn-off for the Vaseux Lake Boardwalk. This has been a good spot for me dating back to the early 1990's. I met a person in the parking lot who said he'd seen nothing and warned about Poison Ivy on the trails.
He did not warn about the mosquitos, which seemed to be everywhere, with me still in shorts and tee shirt. I quickly walked the trail to the observation tower, made a quick turn and headed back as fast as I could.
And then the magic happened. I heard an unfamiliar bird making quite a fuss. I finally caught a glimpse of it and saw that it was large and yellow, perhaps a Bullock's Oriole.
Then I got a good look, snapped a few photos and realized it was the bird I had heard earlier in the day - a Yellow-breasted Chat. This is a grail bird for many birders as it rarely shows itself. And here I was, being eaten alive by mosquitos, snapping really good shots of this bird!
Yellow-breasted Chat - Vaseux Lake Boardwalk, Oliver BC
Yellow-breasted Chat - Vaseux Lake Boardwalk, Oliver BC
This was not a lifer, but it was the first time I'd photographed this bird. I may never get shots like this again.
Since I was on a roll, I drove across the highway and up to the McIntyre Bluffs. Perhaps a Canyon Wren would land in front of my car, or I'd see a Lewis Woodpecker perching close-by.
Reality did set in, but I did see an Osprey perching on a dead tree with the bluffs in the background.
Osprey - McIntyre Bluffs, Oliver BC
My final shot of the day was this scenery shot of Vaseux Lake, taken with my IPhone. This area is also very special from a geological standpoint.
Vaseux Lake - Oliver BC
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