Day 4 - June 5, 2016

Sunday was our day of rest after 6 rounds of golf in 3 days. While Pat went to church, Martin, Fritz and I took a nature tour around Predator Ridge. There is a protected natural area around a small lake, aptly named Birdie Lake.

The first creature we saw as we set out from the cottage was a Western Painted Turtle in the rough on the golf course.


Western Painted Turtle - Predator Ridge Resort, Vernon BC

At the far end of Birdie Lake there is a viewing platform that puts you right in the marsh environment. This Yellow-headed Blackbird was very close, but was quite unaware of our presence.


Yellow-headed Blackbird - Birdie Lake,  Predator Ridge Resort, Vernon BC

I impressed the guys by getting a Song Sparrow to appear with a little bit of pishing.

Song Sparrow - Birdie Lake,  Predator Ridge Resort, Vernon BC

Birdie lake has a good population of American Coots, some with chicks. At this age the chicks have orange/red on the head and are quite downy.


American Coot and Chicks - Birdie Lake,  Predator Ridge Resort, Vernon BC

At this age, they are still very dependent on their parents for food.


American Coot and Chicks - Birdie Lake,  Predator Ridge Resort, Vernon BC

In the lake there are some shallow spots where large rocks reach the surface. They provides a nice spot for the turtles to sun themselves while remaining safe near the water. The turtles and coots seemed to get along.

American Coot Chick and Western Painted Turtle - Birdie Lake,  Predator Ridge Resort, Vernon BC

We returned to the cottage for lunch, and then had a couple of hours before our twilight tee time. I took the opportunity to explore around the cottage. One of the first things I saw was this white fluffy thing floating about 20 feet in the air. I assume it is some kind of wind-borne seed similar to milkweed.

 

Equally beautiful (or more so) was this Western Tiger Swallowtail in the bushes at the front of the cottage. I was able to get a much better shot than the one on the golf course the previous day.

Western Tiger Swallowtail - Predator Ridge Resort, Vernon BC

I could hear a Warbler calling in the area and with a little bit of pishing I was able to get this Yellow Warbler to show itself.

Yellow Warbler - Predator Ridge Resort, Vernon BC

I went back to our deck overlooking the golf course and saw a Violet-green Swallow perched nearby.

Violet-green Swallow - Predator Ridge Resort, Vernon BC

Around 4:30 we teed off on the Ridge course. About midway through the round I heard the familiar call of Common Nighthawks. They become active at twilight, probably a good time to feed on airborne insects. Sometimes these kind of experiences inspire me and I started playing better golf.

Here is a half-decent photo of a pair, taken in between golf shots. The one on the right shows the white markings on the under-wing quite well.

Common Nighthawk - Ridge Course - Predator Ridge Resort, Vernon BC

So ended day 4, we had one more round to play in Vernon the next morning, and then it was two and a half days of birding before I headed for home.