Today we have the birds of British Columbia by reader Paul Handford. His captions and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge his photos by clicking on them,
I suspect that “endless mountains and forests” come to mind for many when envisioning what British Columbia, in Canada’s far west, but, as well as those dominant aspects of BC’s landscape, the south-central portion of the province, between the Coast and Rocky mountain ranges, is pretty dry, given that it sits in the rain-shadow caused by the Coast Ranges that capture much of the moisture from the moist air-masses that roll in off the Pacific Ocean.
Accordingly, this part of BC supports a mix of dry grassland and sagebrush at lower elevations— much of it along the river valleys— with woodlands and forest higher up. So it’s a diverse region, and very beautiful— as is all of BC.
These pics are from around our home in the hills on the outskirts of Kamloops, and the surrounding area.
Bohemian waxwing, Bombycilla garrulus. S. Thompson river valley:
Lazuli bunting, Passerina amoena. Valleyview trails:
Western tanager, Piranga ludoviciana. Barnhartvale:
Clark’s nutcracker, Nucifraga columbiana. Barnharvale:
Common Raven, Corvus corax. Dallas-Barnhartvale Nature Park:
Steller’s jay, Cyanocitta stelleri:
Chipping sparrow, Spizella passerina:
Dark-eyed Junco, Junco hyemalis:
Vesper sparrow, Pooecetes gramineus:
Pine grosbeak, Pinicola enucleator:
Red crossbill, Loxia curvirostra:
Tree swallow, Tachycineta bicolor:
Beautiful pictures! I love those soft backgrounds.
Ahh – splendid.
Lovely photos! That Bohemian waxwing has beautiful coloring.
Thanks for the nice photos!
These are all gorgeous birds. I too was impressed by the Bohemian waxwing, which is just elegant.
Thanks neighbour. Great photos.
Beautiful birds! And BC is beautiful country. My wife and I have been both to the mainland and to amazing Vancouver Island. When we lived in the San Juan’s, we could see beautiful British Columbia from our terrace—Vancouver across the water and the Canadian Cascades at the horizon.
Really beautiful photos! Thanks.
What stunning pictures! For a Californian like me, it’s fun to see the blend of the familiar southern birds (tree swallow, junco, tanager) with the excitingly northern elements of your avifauna (Bohemian waxwing, pine grosbeak, red crossbill).
I don’t know if it’s just the angle of the photo but you can really see the dino-reptilian resemblance in the face of that Red Crossbill.
Beautiful. The chipping sparrow is one of my favorites. We occasionally see them here in the Carolinas, and they seem pretty comfortable around us humans.
Excellent photos, thanks!
I loved these! I thought the composition of the picture of Lazuli bunting was fantastic with the branch and berries. Backgrounds are very nice.
Lovely photos. 🕊️🦜🕊️
My sister lives in Kamloops. I’m in Victoria.
Amazing photos. Thanks!
These are superb—well done. And I’m impressed that you were able to capture the Vesper Sparrow displaying his little chestnut shoulder patch. I almost never see that.
Here in Ottawa, Ontario, we’re currently being invaded by Bohemian Waxwings—thousands have been reported—after they were virtually absent all winter. These birds will soon move on, but it’s been wonderful seeing this lovely species in such numbers.
Gorgeous, thank you.
Especially love the Lazuli bunting and tree swallow pics! Thanks!