I made the short drive south from Wayne Lake to the Swan Lake Bird Sanctuary. At this time of year you could add Butterfly Sanctuary to the name as they are very common. This sanctuary is a small oasis of native grasses and plants located within 1/2 KM of the Princeton Garbage dump.
The lake is about a kilometer back from the road and features two bird blinds, one at ground level and one perched on a hill above the lake. This photo gives a feel for the grassland area.
Swan Lake Bird Sanctuary
I mentioned Butterflies, here a couple I photographed and identified. The first photo also includes a damselfly, which might be a Vivid Dancer. I'm more sure about the butterfly being a Common Ringlet.
Vivid Dance and Common Ringlet - Swan Lake Bird Sanctuary, Princeton BC
Another frequently seen butterfly is the the Spring Azure, a cute little powder blue butterfly.
Spring Azure Butterfly - Swan Lake Bird Sanctuary, Princeton BC
As I climbed the hill heading towards the lake, I could see a sparrow perched on a small bush. I was pretty sure it was a Vesper Sparrow, but it was at a distance. I took a couple of shots with the super zoom on the Nikon and this was the best result. It looks somewhat different from the one I saw at Wayne Lake, but I believe they are both Vesper Sparrows.
Vesper Sparrow - Swan Lake Bird Sanctuary, Princeton BC
I reached the upper blind and spent some time in there looking for birds in the Lake and in the surrounding area.
Here's some American Coot chicks seen down on the lake.
American Coot (Imm) - Swan Lake Bird Sanctuary, Princeton BC
Down in the reeds below the blind there were numerous Yellow-headed Blackbirds carrying on. The males were declaring their territory and the females in various stages of nesting or chick rearing.
Yellow-headed Blackbird - Swan Lake Bird Sanctuary, Princeton BC
As I was entering the sanctuary, I'd met with the couple who are caretakers of the Sanctuary. They told me to watch for Eastern Kingbird and Willow Flycatcher in the bushes around the blind. I saw and photographed both species.
The blue in the background of this photo is the lake.
Willow Flycatcher - Swan Lake Bird Sanctuary, Princeton BC
Eastern Kingbird - Swan Lake Bird Sanctuary, Princeton BC
I made my way back to the car and headed east. It was just after 2:30 in the afternoon and I was planning my next birding stop. My plans changed when I came to a halt in a long line of traffic just outside of Hedley. There had been a serious car/motorcycle accident and I didn't move for about 90 minutes. My thoughts were on the victims of the accident. The motorcyclist was airlifted to Kelowna and the car occupants were taken by ambulance to Princeton.
I was booked into the Crowsnest Winery in Cawston for two nights and arrived there in time for a pizza dinner. After dinner, I took a walk around the area and saw some common birds. There were numerous Killdeer in the area but I didn't get a good photo of any of them.
I did see a Rufous Hummingbird perched on a wire:
Rufous Hummingbird - near Crowsnest Winery, Cawston BC
The Brewer's Blackbirds were also cooperative.
Brewer's Blackbird - near Crowsnest Winery, Cawston BC
The males of this species are very good at looking sinister and threatening.
Brewer's Blackbird - near Crowsnest Winery, Cawston BC
There were some California Quail around and I got one photo, somewhat better than I'd managed in April in Kelowna.
California Quail - near Crowsnest Winery, Cawston BC
It was getting late and I'd been up since 5:30 AM, so one last photo of the moon and I called it a night.
Moon from Crowsnest Winery, Cawston BC
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