100 Mile House to Lillooet

Moutain Bluebird

Breakfast at Horse Lake prior to setting off on the next stage of our tour was enjoyed al fresco and in glorious sunshine. Further scans of the Lake produced 8 Lesser Scaup, 4 Common Loon, 7 Western Grebe, 1 Horned Grebe and 2 Bonaparte Gull, plus more incredible views of a Bald Eagle diving for fish. The nearby Paper birch and Spruce also yielded Mountain Chickadee, Cassin’s Vireo and both Chipping and White-crowned Sparrow.

Prior to setting off down Route 97 for tonight’s stop in Lillooet we visited the 100-Mile Marsh. This marsh is actually situated along a central migration route and includes a great variety of ecosystems from arid sage and cactus benchlands of the Fraser, to sub alpine forests in the east. I think we only scratched the surface of this vast area during our visit today but managed Blue-winged, Cinnamon and Green-winged Teal, American Wigeon, Ring-necked Duck, Canvasback, Lesser Scaup, Harlequin Duck, and Muskrat on the lake, plus Northern Flicker, Savannah Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird and Purple Finch in the surrounding area. Red-tailed Hawk and Bald Eagle were also recorded.

This leg of our journey to Lillooet started from 100-Mile House southwesterly on route 97 to Clinton where, thanks to Dee’s navigation skills, we took an amazing detour across a mountain track towards Pavilion. The road itself ranged from tarmac to dirt track and at some stages we were actually rising at 14% or declining at 12%. The views were sensational, looking down on occasions to a steep drop into oblivion; we also recorded our first Mountain Bluebirds plus Sharp-shinned Hawk, Merlin, Northern Harrier, Rock Dove, Steller’s Jay, American Pipit, Fox Sparrow, Song Sparrow and Brown-headed Cowbird. On occasions the detour was hair-raising but well worth the risk, we also took 45kms off the journey!

We rejoined the main highway, this time Highway 99, at Pavilion and are accompanied once again by river and rail, the Fraser River and the Canadian National respectively. As I post overlooking a cloudless sky and the fast running Fraser River it’s time for a full-English breakfast and the next stage of our tour towards Whistler!

Blue River to 100-Mile House

Western-wood Pewee

No Internet or cell phone for the last 36 hours has been spooky to say the least, especially for a techno freak like me, but I’m glad to say that our current stopover has a full wifi service.

Over the past two days we’ve gently made our way southwest, stopping over at Clearwater on the Sunday night and arriving about 20km short of 100-Mile House earlier today. Tonight we’re laid up overlooking the beautiful Horse Lake, at Cariboo Bananza Resort in the intriguingly named town of Lone Butte, where we’ve already recorded Common Loon, Red-necked Grebe and Mule Deer.

Last nights stopover was on the outskirts of Well’s Gray Provincial Park next to a fast running Creek and a walk during the early evening boosted our species count with a Three-toed Woodpecker, Western-wood Pewee and Golden-crowned Kinglet, on the same walk we also encountered Red and a more rare Black Fox. Why is it that each RV Park we visit seems to have stories that occurred the day before, on this occasion it was a Black Bear with two cubs that was on site, suffice to say, no signs today.

This morning an early walk before moving on produced Blue Grouse and Common Yellowthroat but considering this is a renowned Moose area they still have yet to show. Having said that, the hunting season started today and so if you were a Moose you probably wouldn’t show either!! I’m still at a loss to understand why a small number of these animals are still allowed to be hunted in Canada each Fall!

Rare Black Fox

Our progress over the past 48hrs has seen us leave the dizzy heights of the Rockies behind us and into more colourful and tree lined surroundings with less dramatic mountains and some beautifully stunning lakes. We’ve also left behind the North Thompson River and Canadian National Railway, which have recently been our constant companion. The temperature has risen too and the weather a balmy 20C today, although reports have reached us concerning flooding down towards the Vancouver area, our final destination on Saturday.

As for today’s sightings, the several lakes we’ve stopped to overlook have produced good numbers of American Wigeon, Lesser Scaup and Cinnamon Teal but the bird of the day has to been Northern Goshawk which over flew the RV as we approached Lac des Roches Lake, giving some sensational views.

Tonight we’ve enjoyed a good meal, an excellent campfire and some truly amazing sights of the Milky Way, (no light pollution here), and the moon rising over Lake Horse was just magical. The bats have been around too tonight but I’m unsure as to what species they might be.

Valemount to Blue River

After leaving our RV site at Valemount we backtracked slightly on Yellowhead Highway 5 to visit the nearby Starratt Wildlife Sanctuary and Cranberry Marsh.

We took the 6.2km circular route, visiting the two observation decks and from here had good views of Northern Shoveler, Cinnamon Teal, Ringed-necked Duck, Bufflehead and American Black Duck.

The remainder of the walk took place in some strong winds, almost bending the Paper Birch and Englemann Spruce to breaking point, this made the birding hard work but we managed a few further species of note with American Robin, Pine Siskin, Cassin’s Vareo, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk and our first Lincoln’s Sparrow.

From Valemount we continued on Highway 5 surrounded by some stunning scenery, the colours of the trees, shrubs and heathers simply awesome. We stopped briefly to look down on the North Thompson River where we’d sighted a Bald Eagle, amazingly followed by Golden Eagle and immediately understood why these two birds were in close proximity. Looking down on to the river it was awash with literally hundreds of young Salmon, almost turning the water pink!

We arrived at Blue River at around 3pm, which I actually thought was 4pm, after two days of Pacific time I’d forgotten we’d gained an hour, and as we crossed an open rail crossing there sitting mid track, having a snooze, was our first Black Bear of the tour! We watched in amazement as the lights of a Canadian National goods train came slowly around the corner, the Bear nonchalantly moving aside to let the train pass, and within an instant he’d vanished.

Before locating our overnight parking we took advantage of the Blue River, River Safari, in what turned to be an amazing hour in a high-speed boat. The boat takes you through what we discovered is the worlds only inland temperate rainforest and took us through the mountain glaciers and jade-coloured waters. Here we were treated to three more Black Bear, Belted Kingfisher and stunning views of adult and young Bald Eagle, it was truly an unforgettable one-hour!

We eventually arrived at the Blue River RV Park at around 6pm and for the first time since arriving in Canada had our first Campfire, burgers and beer, another awesome day.

Wk 1 Calgary to Valemount

It’s really hard to believe that tonight’s stopover at Valemount completes the first week of our tour, and almost 1000kms travelled too thus far through four National Parks, Banff, Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho. The highlight once more has been the stunning scenery, some of which just takes your breath away. The view from Bow Summit was simply stunning and has to be the most spectacular so far, and from a birders prospective the Cedar Waxing which accompanied the views was the icing on the cake.

From a wildlife perspective this visit has not produced anything like what we encountered in May 2009 with almost all the lakes encountered producing very little wildfowl, or anything else for that matter. We are still yet to connect with any Bears or Moose and the mammal species we have seen thus far have been hard work, but the expectation remains high for our second week with some Bear hot spots on route.

The weather has played it’s part too with temperatures down almost 10C on the norm for this time of year, the low cloud and rain that dogged us on our arrival seems to have returned overnight but the forecast looks good so we live in hope.

Having said all of the above lets not give the wrong impression, on a number of occasions the sun has come shinning through, quickly raising the temperatures to 18C on one occasion, and the birding has produced some spectacular moments. Bald Eagle, Golden Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Merlin, Swainson’s Hawk and Northern Harrier all on the same day is a stunning haul.

Today we continue southwest towards Well’s Gray Provincial Park and depending on our progress our overnight stay will be Clearweater.

Lake Louise to Jasper

Bow Mountain Summit

This was the first time we’d seen Lake Louise in all it’s beauty, when we visited last year it was completely frozen over and there was about 3 inches of snow lying too. If I’m being completely honest, although the lake looked beautiful in today’s bright sunshine, I preferred it in its winter setting.

Unable to visit Lake Moraine on our previous visit last year, the road was closed due to snow, we finally got to see this spectacular lake, some say more beautiful than Louise but personally I think not! The 15km drive to Moraine was stunning and we managed a mammal first for Canada while stopping for photographs in the form of Pika. This intriguing little mammal looks more like a miniature guinea pig with big ears and can only be found high in the alpine, usually amidst boulder strewn fields and slopes. The birding today was slightly disappointing, the only species we could muster was Gray Jay, Chipping Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junko, Yellow-rumped Warbler and of course the ever present Raven, but today was really more of a sightseeing tour.

The drive from Lake Louise to Jasper is by far the longest, completing 237km passing the Saskatchewan River Crossing and on into Jasper National Park at the Columbian Ice Fields. The weather across this section can change in an instant but luckily only a few snow flurries hindered us on our way.

Cedar Waxwing

During the journey we stopped at Bow Summit (pictured top left) and took the short walk to the top, ending up around 7,000ft. Bow Summit is the height of land between the Bow River system, flowing southeast to Banff, and the Mistaya River flowing northwest. The view was simply awesome and is of a glacial-fed and brilliantly turquoise Peyto Lake. I was also delighted to make contact with a large flock of around 100 Cedar Waxwing swirling from tree to tree and showing beautifully in the bright sunshine, could this get any better!!

We stopped for lunch overlooking the Saskatchewan River and encountered our first Golden Eagle of this visit as it glided majestically over the top of the RV giving some stunning views before moving off down river.

There are many small lakes on route to Jasper and each one was scrutinised but produced surprisingly little in numbers. Lesser Scaup, Blue-winged Teal and Common Loon were the only bird species of note. Other notables were Elk, Mountain Goat, Red Squirrel a plenty and Mule Deer.

Jasper is our furthest point north and we now turn southwest and begin to descend on route to Valemount where we hope to stop tonight.

Golden to Lake Louise

Northern Harrier - Female

After heavy rain overnight, which had settled as snow about 500ft above us, the cloud began to break giving some stunning views of the surrounding snow capped mountains.

Prior to leaving Golden Eco Ranch Dee and I had one last walk around the grounds and down to the River, seeing more evidence of Coyote, and even more Bear Pooh! At the river we watched an Osprey looking for breakfast, and catching too, as he hit the water with amazing speed before heading off with his catch.

On the way back a Northern Harrier was quartering the meadow and a Merlin was perched in the same spot as yesterday evening, high up in a dead pine. As with each morning thus far the local Ravens were calling and a Northern Flicker could be heard deep within the Pinewoods. Arriving back at the RV for departure we’d also added White-crowned Sparrow and Yellow Warbler.

Stopping in Golden for provisions, and also seeing our 2nd Pileated Woodpecker which passed overhead, we spent a short time on an observation deck overlooking a local lake. Here we had Red-winged Blackbird, Snipe, Real Canada Geese and Green-winged Teal. We eventually hit Highway 1, which follows the Kicking Horse River to our first stop of Emerald Lake around midday. Dee and I had visited and walked the perimeter of this stunning Lake last year but decided that it was something worth doing again, and of course Dave was not with us at this stage last year.

The walk is 5.2kms and took us around 3hours with our constant stop start. The Lake itself lives up to expectations and becomes a deep Emerald Green in the sunlight. Unfortunately at this altitude, around 5,000ft, and the make up of the Lake, rock powder which supports very little plant life, the Lake is devoid of any wildfowl. The surrounding Pinewoods however produced Chipping Sparrow, Clarks Nutcracker, Stella’s Jay, American Tree Sparrow, Least Chipmunk, and Red Squirrel.

A brief stop at the Spiral Tunnels to watch a train snaking through this amazing construction before our final destination of Lake Louise, arriving at around 7pm, produced very little more for the day, except for several Elk which were posing for photographs at the roadside. Minus 2C is forcast tonight!

Radium Springs to Golden

Red-tailed Hawk

From the Canyon RV Park, Radium Springs we set off for the town of Golden around mid morning, stopping for a swim in the famous hot springs before hitting highway 95. I’m pleased to say that the weather was much improved with long sunny periods and only the occasional shower, it was quite warm too at times.

Thankful that the low cloud that had dogged us for our first few days had lifted, it wasn’t long before we began to spot various Raptors as we made our way slowly along. On almost every bend American Kestrel and Merlin could be seen, enough Merlin to last you a lifetime in the UK!

Red-tailed Hawk is probably as common here as our very own Common Buzzard and at least 6 were seen before we stopped for lunch on the roadside near Brisco. Our lunch spot looked down on a number of lagoons which branch off the Columbian River, but temping as they were they were inaccessible due to the Canadian Pacific railroad which runs alongside the road for the whole length of today’s stretch. Before moving off we watched more Merlin and also some large flocks of smaller birds, which I believe, were Red Crossbill.

We stopped off at several observation points to take in the breathtaking views and at one stage walked down to stand on the rail tracks which overlooked a magnificent lagoon, Dee and I had passed through this very same spot last year when travelling on the Rocky Mountaineer. Our first Butterflies were recorded; one completely white, the other resembling a Clouded Yellow but more research is required on both. The Lagoon provided very little but Great Blue Heron and Ring-billed Gull were seen.

A short while later Dee spotted our first Bald Eagle of the trip, perched high in a dead tree looking magnificent in the bright sunshine, a couple of Osprey were also observed floating across the river nearby and before reaching Golden we also managed Swainson’s Hawk and a definite on the Red Crossbill.

Golden Eco Adventure Ranch is our overnight stay and once again upon arrival we were warned regarding Grizzly and Black Bear which had been seen very recently. After hitching up to electric and water we decided to set off for a walk along the Columbian River, shall I say with our wits about us!! Amazing views of an Osprey fishing, a second Bald Eagle, Merlin, Great Blue Heron, plus White-crowned and White-throated Sparrow were the birding highlights, but I have to say that the Bear Poo we discovered was even more fascinating, a huge black mound with lots of berries within.

To end a fantastic day my first Pileated Woodpecker flew right overhead as I walked to the shower block, roll on tomorrow!!

Canada Update

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

As hoped we managed to fit in an excellent 2 hour visit to Inglewood Bird Sanctuary Calgary before picking up our RV later in the afternoon (Saturday). Our walk around produced a couple of Canada firsts for me, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Wilson's Warbler, a stunning and distinctive bird with unmarked wings and amazing yellow plumage. Dee took some good shots of Mule Deer and went chasing a Black Squirrel and Dave, who's also travelling with us in his RV went nuts with his new camera!

Also seen of interest were Wood Duck, Northern Flicker, Belted Kingfisher, Osprey, Californian Gull, Greater Yellowlegs, Downy Woodpecker, White-crowned and White-throated Sparrow and Swainson's Thrush.

After picking up our unit and supplies we spent out first night at Ghost Dam, around 64km from Calgary on route to Banff. Here the RV site overlooks the dam and sits alongside highway 1A. A short walk before dinner in drizzle surprisingly produced 2 more Wilson's Warbler, plus Red Squirrel and a good number of Herring Gull, but the weather was not kind!

Setting off on the Sunday morning for Banff the weather had worsened with low cloud and persistent rain, so the drive up, entering Banff National Park about 10am, produced nothing of interest on the birding front, the surrounding Rockies totally obscured by low cloud.  However, it was lovely to be here once more, the town where we were married last year. Arriving back at the RV, which we'd parked next to the Bow River, I did manage a Spotted Sandpiper feeding on the river's edge, more Red Squirrel and a good number of Raven which are prolific here.

We set off, using the quieter back road from Banff towards our next destination of Radium Hot Springs, picking up 5 Barrow's Goldeneye at Mule Lake, but once again the weather was appalling with low cloud and persistent rain, ruling out any chance of soaring Raptors.

Having said that we did discover an Osprey nesting on a bridge near the Canadian Pacific Railway at Castle junction which provided some excellent views. Our journey on this stage took us on the Banff-Windermere Highway (93S). Completed in 1922, this scenic 94km drive was the first motor road to cross the Canadian Rockies. At one stage we pass from Banff National Park into Kootenay National Park and also cross the Atlantic/Pacific Continental Divide, we are also now in British Columbia having crossed from Alberta.

We arrived at Radium Hot Springs at around 5.30pm and parked up for the night at The Canyon RV Park, a lovely riverside park set in a valley. The park has a good population of American Robin which seemed to be stripping a nearby tree of berries, and as we reported in to reception there were many signs warning of a roaming Black Bear with two cubs, your in Bear Country now we were reminded.

 Dee and I had a pre-dinner walk around the site and managed Red-naped Sapsucker, Black-capped Chickadee and Cassin's Vario. As I write this post while having breakfast from the RV dinette Dave has just spotted an American Dipper feeding in the creek which runs alongside us!!

Today Monday, and the plan is to have a dip in the famous Radium Hot Springs and then head off to Golden on route to Lake Louise and eventually passing into Yoho National Park. The weather, not kind to us thus far is an improving picture.

Canada Day 1

I thought I'd do a quick update while I'm dealing with the jet-lag and have the hotel wifi at my disposal, as later today we set off towards Banff and on into the Rockies, from there who knows when I'll be posting again!

Our flight from Heathrow with Air Canada was excellent once more arriving into Calgary at around 3.30pm local time. I love this airline, no nonsense, no fuss just good friendly service and good food. The flight across was smooth and we had some stunning views as we flew over Iceland and Greenland. I just can't but help imagine as I look down from 38,000ft the Whooper Swans migration to the UK from Iceland and the amazing Arctic Tern, which has been known to travel an average of 44,000 miles from it's breeding grounds in Greenland to the Weddell Sea on the shores of Antarctica and back, simply stunning!!

The current temperatures on this side of Canada are currently running well below the average for September (17C) and on arrival at Calgary earlier it was a chilly 6C with sunny intervals, as I look out of the hotel window at 4am local time it's 1C and quite misty. The plan today is to hopefully visit Inglewood Bird Sanctuary before picking up our RV later this afternoon, we visited Inglewood before flying back to the UK last year and our post in relation to that visit can be found here.

Frampton Marsh

Frampton Marsh 360 hide

Spent the day with other members of the Brandon Marsh Conservation Team and our guests visiting RSPB Frampton Marsh, Lincolnshire.

The reserve is part of the most mature saltmarsh in the Wash and is exceptionally rich in plants, birds and invertebrates. The upper levels, which have extensive zones of sea-lavender, sea aster and sea-purslane, are intersected by large creeks, one of which was the old course of the River Witham before the new cut was made in 1880.

The area supports a breeding black-headed gull colony, while common tern, redshank, oystercatcher, reed bunting, meadow pipit and skylark are all regular breeders. In winter the saltings attract wigeon, mallard, shelduck, teal and brent geese, with large flocks of finches and buntings, notably linnet and twite. The tidal mudflats form part of the wader feeding grounds, which give the Wash its international status. Large flocks of dunlin occur, as well as considerable numbers of grey plover, whimbrel, curlew, bar-tailed godwit and greenshank.



Little Stint

We arrived at the visitor centre around around 9.15am and were welcomed by one of the reserve volunteers who gave us an excellent introductory talk before we moved out onto the reserve. A very blustery day but it remained dry and quite warm for nearly the whole visit.

The reserve boasts 3 hides, two of which have 360-degree views and there are over 3km of new footpaths to explore. We started by taking the footpath directly to the sea wall in the hope of catching some wader activity at high tide. Unfortunately after arriving we realised that it would have to be an exceptionally high tide, if not a tsumami, to reach the reserve as the sea remained about 3km out!



Curlew Sandpiper

Notwithstanding the walk down to the wall produced of interest 2 Common Tern, Greenshank, Little Egret, Meadow Pipit, Curlew and good numbers of Dunlin and Golden Plover. As we continued along the wall A Common Buzzard was seen along with Kestrel and Marsh Harrier.

On the surrounding creeks various Wildfowl were present with Teal, Gadwall, Mallard, Shelduck, Little and Great Crested Grebe, Wigeon, Pintail and Egyptian Geese. With the constant wind the best viewing of the day was from the hides with a good selction of waders. These included Black-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Redshank and more Greenshank.

Little Stint numbered at least 4 along with several Curlew Sandpiper and these undoubtedly where the birds of the day! Personally I missed out on the only Ruff seen but after arriving back at the nature centre did manage two final waders with two Green Sandpiper feeding close by.

Also worth a mention along with the sporadic Sand Martin, House Martin and Swallow was a single Swift which seemed to keep us company for around 20 minutes before heading off on his journey south.

A stop at Eyebrook Reservoir in heavy showers on the return to Brandon gave us a few additions to the day with Hobby, Red-legged Partridge, Shoveler and Pochard. An excellent days birding and some really awful jokes was enjoyed by all, but you know what they say? The old ones are always the best!