BRITISH COLUMBIA 
at Swan L., Victoria 3 Nov (CSa). An imm. 
Blackpoll Warbler was a nice find at Burnaby L. 
2 Sep (DP). Black-and-white Warblers showed 
up in Nanaimo 4 Aug (N.R.B.A.) and at Grant 
Narrows in Vancouver 3 Aug (MN, SN). A fe- 
male-type American Redstart remained at the 
Englishman River estuary, Vancouver 1. 2 Sep-4 
Oct (GM, RM). An ad. male Prothonotary War- 
bler banded at the VL.B.O. 28 Aug was a first 
for the Okanagan Valley (DB, m.ob.). A North- 
ern Waterthrush was banded at the R.P.B.O. 11 
Aug (fide RS). 
At Boundary Bay, near Vancouver, a Clay- 
colored Sparrow was seen 9-10 Sep (VR.B.A.). 
A great find on Vancouver I., a Lark Sparrow 
was at the Englishman River estuary 17 Sep 
(CSt). Rare in winter in the interior, a Savan- 
nah Sparrow visited a Kelowna feeder 4 Jan 
(CC, RT). A Grasshopper Sparrow frequented 
a feeder in Victoria 6-9 Nov (BMc, MMc, 
m.ob.). The Okanagan’s 2nd Le Conte’s Spar- 
row was found in an overgrown apple orchard 
in Kelowna 12 Oct (CC et ah). Three sub- 
species of Fox Sparrow — Red, Slate-colored, 
and Sooty — were noted in a single Duncan 
yard 3 Nov (DM). In Kelowna, a Red Fox 
Sparrow was at Sutherland Hills Park 26 Oct 
(CC, RT). A Swamp Sparrow seen at Somenos 
Marsh in Duncan 16 Nov (DM) was a nice 
find, as was another at the Reifel Refuge in 
Ladner 10 Nov (CCl). Harris’s Sparrows also 
had a good winter in British Columbia, with 
singles at Burtch Rd. in Kelowna 27 Nov 
(GW, m.ob.), in Lantzville 14 Dec (N.R.B.A.), 
in Vernon 28 Dec (CG), at the Reifel Refuge, 
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Ladner 10 Nov (CCl), in Abbotsford 27 Dec 
(EK), and at Cowichan Dock Rd. in Duncan 
21 Oct (DM). A Rose-breasted Grosbeak vis- 
ited a feeder in Broadmeade area of Victoria 
16-19 Sep (Victoria R.B.A.), and another was 
at Port Renfrew 9 Aug (N.R.B.A.). In the inte- 
rior, a Rose-breasted Grosbeak visited feeders 
at Christina L. 19 Feb (OS). 
A female-type Bobolink at the Port Alberni 
Airport 12 Aug made a nice find for the island 
(NJ). In the interior, a wintering Yellow-head- 
ed Blackbird was seen on Kelowna’s C.B.C. 20 
Dec (DK). Rusty Blackbirds appeared at a 
scattering of locations in s. coastal areas, in- 
cluding one at Maplewood Flats, n. Vancou- 
ver 8 Jan (RL), one at Whiffen Spit, Sooke 1 
Nov (N.R.B.A.), and one in cattle fields in 
Delta 1 Nov (MT, ST). A Common Crackle 
appeared at a feeder in Kaslo 14-18 Oct (fide 
AB), while an early Common Redpoll was 
seen in Penticton 24 Sep (LN). The winter 
proved to be a fair one for Common Redpolls, 
which were reported throughout s. portion of 
the province. A Lesser Goldfinch patronized 
a feeder in Abbotsford from Jun through at 
least 21 Aug, providing one of a very few 
provincial records (VR.B.A.). 
Observers and contributors: David Allinson, 
Cathy Antoniazzi, Avery Bartels, Brent Beach, 
Jack Bowling, Mike Boyd, Jan Bradshaw (JBr), 
Howard Braun, Doug Brown, Murray Brown, 
Quentin Brown, Alan Burger, Andrea Burger 
(ABu), Ken Burton, Peter Candido, Richard 
Cannings (RCa), Russell Cannings (RuC), 
John Chandler, Chris Charlesworth, Don Ce- 
cile, Colin Clasen (CCl), George Clulow, 
Christopher Coxson (CCo), Gary Davidson, 
Jim H. Davis Mike Dauphinee, Adrian 
Dorst, Delmer Duncan, Chris Escott, Jerry Et- 
zkorn, Elke Fischer, Roger Foxall, Joyce Fras- 
er, Jeremy Gatten, Calvin Gehlen, Adam 
Gibbs, Carlo Giovanella (CGi), Ann Gibson, 
Sandra Gray, Nathan Hentze, Nigel Jackett, 
Jukka Jantunen, Jeremiah Kennedy, Ed 
Klassen, Don Krochinsky, Pam Laing, Judy 
Latta, Agnes Lynn, Rob Lyske, John MacDon- 
ald, Hugh MacKenzie, Jo Ann MacKenzie, 
Thor Manson, Derrick Marven, Mike Mc- 
Grenere (MMc), Barb McGrenere (BMc), Bob 
McKay, Michael McMann, Guy Monty, 
Richard Mooney, Nanaimo Rare Bird Alert 
(N.R.B.A.), Laure Neish, Mike Newey, Sylvie 
Newey, Steve Ogle, Stan Olson (SOI), Dan Pe- 
terson, Dirk Pidcock, Ilya Povalyaev, Phil Ran- 
son, Ralph Ritcey, Lesley Robertson, Adele 
Routledge, David Routledge, Chris Saunders 
(CSa), Bernard Schroeder, Brian Self, Gail 
Spider, Christopher Stephens (CSt), Olga 
Strukoff, Richard Swanston, Mike Tabak, 
Roger Taylor (RTa), Ryan Tomlinson, Mike 
Toochin, Sharon Toochin, Mike Tyne (MTy), 
Danny Tyson, Linda Van Damme (LVD), Koos 
Van Sittert (KVS), Vancouver R.B.A. 
(VR.B.A.), John Vooys, Don Wilson, Gwyn- 
neth Wilson, Mike Yip, Tim Zurowski. 
Chris Charlesworth, Avocet Tours 
725 Richards Road, Kelowna, British Columbia VI X 2X5 
(c_charlesworth@hotmail.com) 
Oregon & Washington | 
David Irons 
Douglas Schonewald 
Brad Waggoner 
F ollowing back-to-back seasons colored 
by mega-rarities and crazy weather, this 
season seemed uneventful. There were 
no Regional firsts, no flooding, no record 
snows, and no weather that produced epic 
fallouts, yet many seasonal records were 
rewritten. With all-time high counts in seem- 
ingly every paragraph, we are left to wonder: 
Why? Are we simply finding more birds? Are 
we getting better at collecting reports? Are 
there more birds than there used to be? The 
simple answer to these questions is surely yes. 
The pool of talented observers has never 
been deeper, and the Internet now allows us 
to share sightings and, more importantly, 
new and exciting places go birding — instant- 
ly. Indeed, many birds’ ranges are expanding 
in the Region, notably Glossy and White- 
faced Ibises, Red-shouldered Hawk, Black 
Phoebe, Western Scrub-Jay, Bewick’s Wren, 
and Lesser Goldfinch. For other species, 
such as Snow Goose, Baikal Teal, and both 
American White and Brown Pelicans, in- 
creasing global populations seem to correlate 
with greater numbers and more widespread 
distribution in our states. 
Collectively, these factors make our Region 
a challenge and a joy to chronicle as we face 
the daunting task of explaining why. Our 
commentary is occasionally speculative, and 
one might argue that the sample size of a sin- 
gle season’s data is too small to yield firm con- 
clusions. However, the accretion of our indi- 
vidual observations over several years and 
even decades allows us to identify and discuss 
the real changes that are happening before 
VOLUME 63 (2009) • NUMBER 3 
491 
