Birdwatching in British Columbia Birding contacts and birdwatching information Local Birdingpal Contacts Local Birdwatchers Please note that most Birdingpals are serious birdwatchers. It is a privilege to contact them, and your message should reflect it. A local Pal does not get paid, but should he/she offer to take you out birding, using their own vehicle, it would be courteous to pay for the fuel. A lunch and/or a small gift would also be appropriate, something as simple as a souvenir of your country, or a pin from your local birding club. Initial Last Name Area Available Language D Carsen Brentwood Bay/Victoria Anytime English/Bird songs D Nicholson Cranbrook Anytime English In terms of birding around Cranbrook, our local checklist has 260 species. Depending on the time of year a good total for a couple days of serious birding could be upwards of 140 birds. The area has birds typical of the southern interior cordilleran zone. During migration we get species that are boreal or arctic breeders in addition to the resident and local breeders. The area is also referred to as the Serengeti of North America because of the healthy populations of large mammals. One cannot help but see Whitetail, Mule Deer and Elk, and with some work Bighorn Sheep, Mountain Goat and Black Bear can be seen. I am an amateur naturalist, and in addition to local birds am also very familiar with local butterflies, moths and dragonflies. A Murray Delta Anytime English/some French Author of A Nature Guide to Boundary Bay. Keen birder, live near Boundary Bay, Fraser River Estuary, major Important Bird Area in Canada. Knowledge of many birding areas in BC. R Rutledge Duncan Anytime English/French I live on Vancouver Island, one hr. North of Victoria and 10 mins. from Somenos Marsh. For Raptor lovers we have a Raptor exhibit 10 mins. away as well. There are many sites to visit for water birds and woodlands birds as well. R Rawluk Fort St. James Anytime A Van Woerden Fraser Valley Anytime T Manson Hope Anytime English I live in the closest town, (Hope), to the West side of Manning Provincial Park. I am willing to take birders on alpine day hikes in the Cascade Mountains within the park, or no elevation gain walks around good birding habitat within the same general area. Hope is about a 30-50 minute drive from the borders of the park. Hope is a 2 hour drive east of Vancouver, and Manning Provincial Park is considered to be one of the prime birding areas in British Columbia. C Phippen Kamloops Anytime English My husband and I are biologists located in the City of Kamloops. The Kamloops area is rich with waterfowl, Curlew, Kingbirds, Catbirds, Orioles, Hummingbirds, many Grouse species, Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles, Osprey, a number of Hawk Species, Meadowlarks and any bird that enjoys dry, grassland habitat. There are a number of provincial parks nearby and fantastic bird viewing areas. R Cannings Kelowna Anytime English/French I have lived in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia for my entire life and love to show off its beauty. I especially enjoy searching for all of the valley's 12 breeding owl species. L Redford Likely Anytime R Weaver Mackenzie Anytime English My wife and I have lived in Mackenzie nearly 18 years, and both work with the Forest Service. Mackenzie is situated approximately 2 hours north of Prince George, and is about half way between Prince George and Chetwynd. We are a popular stop over for many Alaskan bound travelers , with the town having full services. We both are very active with the Mackenzie Nature Observatory (MNO), a local Naturalists club. MNO is a full member of the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network, an initiative through Bird Studies Canada. Our banding station operates from late July to late September, and we welcome all birders to be involved with our research. The area is a natural flight corridor, as we have the Rocky Mountain Trench and its associated waterways (lakes, rivers, marshes) nestled up against the Rocky Mountains, making the area very productive for bird encounters We even have roaded access to Alpine!! Drop a line anytime; we’d love to hear from you. G Davidson Nakusp Anytime English Nakusp is a small town in rural British Columbia on the shores of Arrow Lake. May and June are the best times to visit, August and September also quite good. A Kirkley Nanoose Bay Anytime English/French I am a member of the local naturalist club and live in an area with many bird species. Our Christmas count usually locates 100 species. R Wege Nelson Anytime N Robins Parksville/Oceanside/Nanaimo Anytime English I am a birder who leads bird walks twice a week with the Backyard Wildbird Store. I live in Parksville which is an area filled with seabirds from November to May. From May to November the forests in the area are alive with songbirds. Check the www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com for up to date sightings in the Parksville and area. R Mooney Parksville/Oceanside/Nanaimo Weekend English Visit my site: http://westcoastbirding.blogspot.com/ G Roy Pender Island Anytime English/French Located in the Gulf islands in southern British Columbia. Noted for seabirds, Bald Eagles, Ospreys, Ducks etc. L Cowan Pitt Meadows Weekend W Brick Port Alberni Anytime English V Knap Richmond Anytime A Lassman Squamish Anytime L Rockwell Summerland Weekend English Been birding for 35 years and the warden for the Trout Creek Ecological Reserve in Summerland since 1982. Past president of the South Okanagan Naturalist Club, participant in annual Christmas bird counts, owl and bird breeding surveys and the BC Breeding Bird Atlas, studying a population of Gray Flycatchers for 18 years, occasional wildlife technician for bird studies and contributing nest records to the BC Nest Record Scheme since 1980. I also conduct a Birding For Beginners course for local college and Parks and Recreation department. The Summerland area is approximately 50 km from Kelowna to the north and 15km from Penticton in the south. It is an area of dry forest and agriculture. Water birding is confined to the shores of Okanagan Lake, primarily during migration and the winter. L Pollard Surrey Anytime English Access to Boundary Bay, an Important Bird Area. J Bell Terrace Anytime English Terrace is a couple hours south of the alaskan panhandle and part of the Pacific Flyway. A variety of songbirds stay here to breed, and we are only a 30 minute drive from the Kitimat River Estuary which is a major attraction to both breeding and migrating waterfowl. Terrace is an ideal staging point for birders as we are located in the middle of various converging habitats: coastal wetlands, rugged mountains, subalpine, old growth conifers and deciduous flats are all close by. A day's travel northward will take you to the Boreal region. In Prince Rupert you can take the Ferry to the Queen Charlotte Islands to see magnificent sea birds, and thereare adventure tours in Prince Rupert that offer birding, wild grizzly bear watching and world class fishing. C Knox Vancouver Anytime B Scott Vancouver Anytime N Hagenaars Vancouver Weekend G Innes Vancouver Anytime English J Edmonds Vancouver Anytime English B.C is very popular with birders. There are many trips to go on and places to see resident or migrating birds. I am 50+ a member of the local Naturaist Society, I love to travel and if you require a contact person in downtown Vancouver or a Birdingpal to experienc explore or discover our birds please contact me. May 17th to May 21st is the Meadow Lark Festival in the Okanagan. Thousands of enthusiasts come from afar to celebrate this wonderful festival. D Matthews Vancouver Anytime English I am a Master bird bander (ringer) and birder in the Vancouver, BC, Canada area. S Lindenberger White Rock, Vancouver Anytime English/GermanHebrew/Spanish We have some really fine birding areas near us, both in BC and we're right on the Washington border, so that's within reach. M Habdas Vancouver Anytime English I am an computer and photography instructor with the Vancouver School Board and an active member of the Vancouver Natural History Society birding section. Visit my website at www.birdsphotography.com. J La Plante Vancouver(West) Anytime D Spence Victoria Anytime English/French Bed and Breakfast (Amore by the Sea) located on Albert Head Bird Sanctuary, just 20 minutes outside the city of Victoria. 'One of Victoria's best beaches.' G O'Neill Victoria Anytime English/French M Cuthbert White Rock Anytime English Naturalist and conservation volunteer near Vancouver BC and the Fraser River Estuary, top rated Important Bird Area in Canada and designated Site of Hemispheric Importance. Professional Guides Initial Last Name Area Available Language S McRuer Port Albani Anytime English B May Vancouver Anytime English Currently organizes general touring, hiking and photographic expeditions in the eastern Canadian Arctic. Organized and led 'artist's charters' aboard 25m wooden sailing vessel in the Queen Charlotte Islands (1987-93). OTHER ATTRIBUTES & INTERESTS: Geologist ... Curator of Geology at the University of Toronto, 1975-96. Designed first use of motorized compact rock & mineral storage in any Canadian university (1989). Avid Cyclist ... designed and built 3 custom bicycles, incl. the first touring bicycle to use 650B wheels (1975); rode 3 times across Canada solo;numerous other long distant tours in Canada, the USA, Italy and France. Twice competed (1987 & '91) in the 1400 km. Paris-Brest-Paris race in France and cycled extensively in the Alps, Dolomites, Pyrenees, Appenines and Cdn. Rockies. P Walshe Vancouver Island Anytime English Local Information Name Description Federation of BC Naturalists Club Vancouver Natural History Society Club British Columbia Wetland Society Club Chilliwack Field Naturalists Club Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve Club South Okanagan Naturalists Club Rocky Point Bird Observatory Banding George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary Birding Hotspots around the world Sites Wings over the Rockies Festival Meadowlark Festival Brant Wildlife Festival Boundary Bay Sites Bird Guide Sites Birdnotes.net Birding BCAdventure Sites Creston Valley Sites Jeffrey Newman's Cariboo region Bluewater Adventures Pelagic Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia British Columbia Local weather Yahoo Electronic maps MapQuest Find lowest prices for field guides, books, maps etc. Field guides recommended by Birdingpals Printable bird check list Neil Robins's guide to Vancouver Island Last update 13/07/2008
