Not shown in this extract from their web page is the gigantic cliff face across the lake, an extension of the McIntyre Bluff over Vaseux Lake. We decided that before setting out, this would be a good place to do some early morning birding.
We hiked around to the left and over to the far side of the lake. We were rewarded with White-throated Swifts overhead. We'd seen them at McIntrye Bluffs, but not in the numbers seen here.
White-throated Swift - Gallagher Lake, Oliver BC
On the rocks at our level was this beautiful robin, the early bird searching for the worm.
American Robin - Gallagher Lake, Oliver BC
As we were walking back we saw this Killdeer. I'm quite certain this was a mating display hoping to entice a nearby female.
Killdeer - Gallagher Lake, Oliver BC
My plan for our trip back was to hit some birding locations near where we were, revisit White Lake Road and then merge onto Highway 3A near Twin Lakes. I planned for a birding stop in Princeton and one at Manning Park.
First up was River Road in Oliver, which ends and turns into a gravel road named Horsetail Road. I'd done this route two years ago with Chris and the group. It's better in late May, but it was worth a chance this early as well.
My hopes paid off quickly as we saw a couple of common Okanagan birds on River Road that we had not managed to photograph earlier.
Black-billed Magpie - River Road, Oliver BC
California Quail - River Road, Oliver BC
There wasn't anything happening on Horsetail Road, but on White Lake Road we were able to get a really good look of a perched Red-tailed Hawk.
Red-tailed Hawk - White Lake Road, Kaleden BC
We merged onto Twin Lakes Road and had to stop for this Mountain Bluebird on a wire.
Mountain Bluebird - Twin Lakes Road, Kaleden BC
After merging onto Highway 3A we headed West. I was trying to find the side road that went to the former Red Roost gift shop to see if the new owners were still feeding birds. I took one wrong turn that worked out quite well. I never did locate the correct turn-off.
Western Bluebirds - off Highway 3A, Kaleden BC
Here's a close-up of the male:
Western Bluebird - off Highway 3A, Kaleden BC
We drove on to Princeton where I took a side trip up Highway 5 and then past the local dump to visit the Swan Lake Bird Sanctuary. This small park also features displays of natural local grasses and plants, all labelled for the uneducated. I've also seem some interesting butterflies here in past years. In fact the first thing we saw was this one:
Western White Butterfly - Swan Lake Bird Sanctuary, Princeton BC
As we were walking in we saw this mule deer.
Mule Deer (Doe) - Swan Lake Bird Sanctuary, Princeton BC by Mary-Jean Payeur
There was a Northern Flicker calling incessantly and drumming very loudly. Then we heard a much softer tapping on a nearby tree and found this beauty.
Pygmy Nuthatch - Swan Lake Bird Sanctuary, Princeton BC
It was a Pygmy Nuthatch. We're not sure if it was trying to excavate a nest hole or was merely drilling for bugs.
Pygmy Nuthatch - Swan Lake Bird Sanctuary, Princeton BC
Mary-Jean felt that this was the perfect book-end for our journey, as the Pygmy Nuthatch in Kelowna was the highlight bird on our first day.
We got one more look at the Mule Deer family as we left.
Mule Deer - Swan Lake Bird Sanctuary, Princeton BC by Mary-Jean Payeur
We still had one more stop to make on the way home. We bought lunch in Princeton and agreed to wait until Manning Park to eat. I was hoping to see Clark's Nutcracker there, a bird that I missed seeing last year at all. (No luck this time either).
The visitor area at Manning has numerous picnic tables and there are usually critters begging for food. The usual Columbian Ground Squirrels were there and doing their best to earn handouts from the visitors.
Columbian Ground Squirrel - Manning Park BC
Other unexpected beggars were Common Ravens. One was particularly fond of the leftover Avocado that Mary-Jean bestowed on it. The bird was too close for my lens, but I got this shot of one a bit further away.
Common Raven - Manning Park BC
One frustration for me on the trip was seeing many Violet-green Swallows high up in the sky, but none close up. My luck changed near the washroom at Manning Park
Violet-green Swallow - Manning Park BC
That was our last stop before I dropped Mary-Jean off at Cultus Lake. It was a memorable five days for both of us.
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