Canada Goose

Scientific Name: Branta canadensis

Range / Habitat: Wet environments year-round in the middle latitudes of US. Summers up through Canada and Alaska, winters extending down to souther US and parts of Mexico. Introduced in parts of Europe and New Zealand.

Field Notes: Large, noisy waterfowl with long neck and high rump profile in water. Head, neck are black with white cheek patch. Back brown, belly and rump white. Brent Goose has shorter neck and white neck ring, not cheek patch.

Personal Notes: These birds are ubiquitous in Minnesota, so much so that we never photographed them until we were about to leave. We were startled to find them in New Zealand, where introduced and much more wary than in the States.

Gouldian Finch

Scientific Name: Erythrura gouldiae

Population Estimate: 2-10K, Endangered status

Range / Habitat: Endemic to tropical savannah and woodlands in northern Australia.

Field Notes: Unmistakable in range as above. Many are bred in captivity.

Personal Notes: Seen at a small zoo in Victoria, BC

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Scientific Name: Poecile rufescens

Population Estimate: 6.9M

Range / Habitat: Year-round in conifers along the Pacific coast of North America, from California up to Alaska.

Field Notes: Small passerine with bold black and white head markings of other chickadees. Back is rufous, which distinguishes it from Boreal, Black-capped, and Mountain Chickadees. Flanks may be either rufous or dull grey.

Personal Notes: Seen in various places throughout Vancouver Island. Richard got a great photo of this small, flitty bird.

Brant Goose

Scientific Name: Branta bernicla

Population Estimate: 560K

Range / Habitat: Breeds in the Arctic tundra of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Siberia. Winters along both coasts of the US, western Europe and some parts of east Asia, mainly Japan.

Field Notes: Medium-sized goose with black head, neck, and chest. White, partly broken collar. Canada Goose has longer neck, white cheek patch and lighter brown back.

Personal Notes: Seen off Finlayson Point, Victoria, BC. Also known as Brent Goose.

Black Oystercatcher

Scientific Name: Haematopus bachmani

Population Estimate: 9-11K

Range / Habitat: Found year-round on rocky coasts and marine intertidal areas from Aleutian Islands to Baja California.

Field Notes: Large black shorebird with large red bill and stout, dull pink legs. Eyes yellow, ringed with red. American Oystercatcher only overlaps in Baja area and has white chest and belly with brown back.

Personal Notes: Seen off Finlayson Point in Victoria, BC.

Surf Scoter

Scientific Name: Melanitta perspicillata

Population Estimate: 250K - 1.3M

Range / Habitat: Breed throughout Alaska through central Canada to Labrador. Winterfrom the Aleutian Islands down to Baja California on the Pacific coast, and along the Atlantic coast of the USA as far south as South Carolina.

Field Notes: Large, stocky diving duck, all black with no white in wings. Male as above with white patch on forehead and larger white triangle on nape (not seen above). Bill large and swollen with white, red, yellow, and a black patch near base, appearing mainly orange at a distance. White-winged Scoter with white in wings but no white patches on head / neck. Bill largely black with orange tip and males with comma-shaped patch around eyes. Black Scoter all black, no white, large orange knob at base of bill.

Personal Notes: Seen at Finlayson Point, Victoria, BC.

Bonaparte's Gull

Scientific Name: Chroicocephalus philadelphia

Population Estimate: 260-530K, Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Breeding habitat near bogs or lakes in coniferous forest across western Canada and Alaska. Winters in the Great Lakes, southern Mississippi River Valley, northern Mexico, Caribbean.

Field Notes: Slight, graceful hooded gulls. In breeding plumage (top photo), bill is all black and slender, legs orange / red. Little Gull has more extensive dark hood, no white eye crescents, short / pale wing tips. Black-headed Gull has orange base of bill. Franklin's Gull and Laughing Gull are larger with dark legs.

Personal Notes: Seen on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island. The first good spot after our birding guide ditched us. The day was turning around…. Later seen in non-breeding plumage (bottom photo) on the Salton Sea in California. 

Pelagic Cormorant

Scientific Name: Phalacrocorax pelagicus

Population Estimate: Unknown, but Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: A seabird of the northern Pacific. Found in maritime habitats off California (USA) in the east, round Canada, Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, Russia to the southern tip of Japan. Also found north of the Bering Sea. It's name is misleading, since it prefers inshore areas to open ocean.

Field Notes: Small, slender cormorant with thin / long neck and bill. All black with glossy green sheen. Subtle red patch on gape. Breeding adults have large white flank patch (not shown here). Double-crested Cormorant is larger, with a thicker bill, and conspicuous pale / orange facial skin and blue eye. Brandt's Cormorant larger with heavier bill, buffy throat patch, and thicker neck.

Personal Notes: Seen off the eastern coast of Vancouver Island near the Campbell River. I love my Matee for slopping through the low tide muck to get these photos and rescue the day!

Harlequin Duck

Scientific Name: Histrionicus histrionicus

Population Estimate: 190-380K, Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Breeds in cold fast moving streams in northwestern and northeastern North America, Greenland, Iceland and western Russia. Winters are spent in rocky shorelines near breeding grounds. Rare migrant to northern Europe.

Field Notes: Medium-sized diving duck. White patch in front of eyes and round white ear spot in both sexes which make it unmistakable in range. Male as above.

Personal Notes: Seen at Anacortes in Washington but not photographed. Later seen on Vancouver Island, where these ducks were plentiful and beautiful. Most recently seen in the Lake Myvatn area of Iceland. As psychiatrists we love the scientific name....

Rhinoceros Auklet

Scientific Name: Cerorhinca monocerata

Population Estimate: 1.3M

Range / Habitat: Species of the North Pacific. Breeds in California and off the Pacific coast of the US up to the Aleutian Islands. Also breeds off the coast of parts of Japan, North Korea, and Russia. In winter, normally pelagic in waters offshore from breeding areas.

Field Notes: Medium-sized, stocky waterbird. All dark gray, except for white belly. Breeding adult has vertical white projection at base of thick orange bill, and two thin white plumes on face.

Personal Notes: Seen off Finlayson Point in Victoria, BC.

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Scientific Name: Zonotrichia atricapilla

Population Estimate: 5M

Range / Habitat: Breeds in the tundra and shrubland of western Canada and Alaska. Winters along the Pacific coast of the US where common in urban areas.

Field Notes: Stocky sparrow with unmistakable head plumage, as above.

Personal Notes: Seen in Victoria, British Columbia.

Pacific Wren

Scientific Name: Troglodytes hiemalis

Population Estimate: Unknown, but Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Found in moist forests year-round on the northern Pacific coast of North America. Summers throughout Canada, winters in the southern US.

Field Notes: Small, dark wren with short tail (usually cocked) and light eye stripe. Energetic and complicated song.

Personal Notes: Seen at East Sooke Regional Park on Vancouver Island. Some sources consider this to be a subspecies of Troglodytes troglodytes, found throughout much of the world.

Zebra Finch

Scientific Name: Taeniopygia guttata

Population Estimate: Unknown, but Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Grasslands in Australia, Indonesia, and Timor-Leste.

Field Notes: Unmistakable in range.

Personal Notes: Seen at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Glaucous-winged Gull

Scientific Name: Larus glaucescens

Population Estimate: 570K

Range / Habitat: Northwest coast of North America

Field Notes: Large gull with light grey mantle and wing tips. Note grey underside of wing extending to tip in the upper photo (distinguishes Glaucous-winged Gull from Glaucous Gull, which has all white wing tips).

Personal Notes:

Golden Eagle

Scientific Name: Aquila Chrysaetos

Population Estimate: 170K

Range / Habitat: The golden eagle has probably never been particularly common in Britain, as pairs require enormous territories. The British population is thought to number around 400 pairs at present. Most of these pairs are found in the Scottish Highlands, although more recently a few birds have returned to the Lake District, Cumbria (6). The species is extinct in Ireland, following persecution. The golden eagle's world range spreads through the Palaearctic region including mountainous parts of Europe as far south as northern Africa and south-east Asia. It also occurs in North America.

Field Notes: This huge bird of prey can be identified by its very long wings and long tail. When gliding or soaring it typically holds its wings in a shallow ‘V’. The plumage is dark brown rather than golden and the massive talons are bright yellow. The feathers of the head and nape of the neck are typically light yellowish or reddish-brown, giving the appearance of a ‘shawl’. Males and females are similar in appearance, but juveniles can be distinguished by the presence of white patches on the undersides of the wings and on both surfaces of the tail.

Personal Notes:

White-crowned Sparrow

Scientific Name: Zonotrichia Leucophrys

Population Estimate: 70M, Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Winters in Mexico and throughout much of the US, excepting upper Midwest and East. Summers in Alaska and northern Canada. Habitat is areas of brush among open / grassy land.

Field Notes: Sparrow with striking black and white striped head and clear breast. Immature still with pronounced head striping, but grey and brown instead. This bird has a broader range than the White-throated Sparrow, which has yellow lores and a white throat patch.

Personal Notes:

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Scientific Name: Dendroica coronata

Population Estimate: 130M, Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Summers in western US, most of Canada, and Alaska. Winters in southern US, Mexico and Central America. Preferred habitat is temperate forest.

Field Notes: Full-bodied black, white, and grey warbler. Characteristic yellow forehead, chin, armpits and rump (the latter seen only in flight). There are plenty of other similarly colored warblers but none with this particular distribution of yellow.

Personal Notes: This species has distinct regional morphs: the Myrtle (top) is predominantly Eastern U.S., while the Audobon's (bottom) is overwhelmingly Western

Barn Swallow

Scientific Name: Hirundo rustica

Population Estimate: 190M, Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Most common swallow world wide, throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and into northern Australia. Breeding is in the Northern Hemisphere summer with winters in the Southern Hemisphere. Nests in barns and other man-made structures. 

Field Notes: Iridescent blue on top, rufous chin, and light brown underneath with a long, forked tail. The Cliff Swallow can look similar but lacks the long forked tail, is generally white on the breast, and has a white forehead mark. Easily distinguished from other swallows in flight by its long forked tail.

Personal Notes: One of our best bird pictures to date!

Bufflehead

Scientific Name: Bucephala albeola

Population Estimate: 1.2M, Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Most winter in protected coastal waters, or open inland waters, on the east and west coasts of North America and the southern United States. Their breeding habitat is wooded lakes and ponds in Alaska and Canada, almost entirely included in the boreal forest or taiga habitat. Their distribution is limited to that of the Northern Flicker, as they use old flicker cavities as nesting sites.

Field Notes: Small diving duck. Adult males are striking black and white, with iridescent green and purple heads with a large white patch behind the eye. Females are grey-toned with a smaller white patch behind the eye and a light underside.

Personal Notes:

Townsend's Solitaire

Scientific Name: Myadestes townsendi

Population Estimate: 800K, Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Found year-round in the mountainous western United States. Its range will extend some to Canada and Alaska in the summer and to lower elevations and parts of Mexico in the winter.

Field Notes: Handsome grey, long-tailed songbird with rounded head, white eye ring and understated buffy wing bars. Can have some blue to its lower back, tail. Feeds on juniper berries.

Personal Notes: This bird used to fool us, but we're onto him now! Finally heard their beautiful song in Mount Helena Park.