[BillGyles]

Here is a Short-billed Gull from Blue Heron Beach a couple of days ago.

Short-billed Gull by Bill Gyles, on Flickr

[Smithers]

_H3A0648-Tufted Duck Immature Male by Patrick Covello, on Flickr

When I first took this picture at Tsawwassen ferry terminal, I wasn't sure what it was. When I had a look at home, I realized that it was a Tufted Duck. I believe it is an immature male.

Pat

[NewWestBirder]

Young-ish ? Northern Shrike (Lanius excubitor) by Randy, on Flickr

[Smithers]

Little Blue Heron Juvenile_H3A3016 by Patrick Covello, on Flickr

Another rare one. A Juvenile Little Blue Heron in Coquitlam. I happen to have photographed a (blue) adult in Florida some time ago.

Pat

[NewWestBirder]

Spotted RedShank by R Varga, on Flickr


This rarity has been creating a lot of excitement in the Lower Mainland, just like the Little Blue Heron that Patrick submitted. Caught this image at the Britannia Shipyard site in Richmond.

[NewWestBirder]

Sharp-shinned Sandpiper by R Varga, on Flickr

LOL. This is perhaps my lamest contribution ever. A big group was at the Britannia Shipyard site in Richmond, on Spotted Redshank watch, when someone saw a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper and pointed in a general direction. I didn't see it, but started to blindly take images of the general area, only seeing I had captured it, if you can call it that, once I got the image home on a big screen. I'm submitting only because the year end is coming soon, and to add to our numbers. I am going to quickly delete once the new year comes in. More LOL.

[NewWestBirder]

Horned Lark by R Varga, on Flickr

Captured this image on the beach at Boundary Bay Regional Park, Tsawwassen.

[NewWestBirder]

Marbled Godwit by R Varga, on Flickr

I see this bird was still on our "have to get" list, so glad to be able to cross this one off. This was out at Blackie Spit.

PS: Was out at Garry Point Park (Richmond) the other day. 4 Snow Buntings landed about 10 meters in front of me, at perfect angles with the sun (behind my back) for some great photos. Drew my camera up, hit the shutter button, and .....NOTHING! and why? LOL. No battery in the camera...forgot to replace it after charging, and didn't check. Talk about feeling stupid! Oh well, I'm sure more buntings will come along sometime.

[Smithers]

_H3A2696-Northern Shrike by Patrick Covello, on Flickr

A Northern Shrike at Colony Farm.

Pat

[Smithers]

Ooops, I forgot about Randy's Northern Shrike.

Pat

[stumblingpiper]

Whew! Great work everyone! This has been a tough year for me to get out birding, but glad to see all the contributions! Wow. There are some great shots. Randy, I don't mind the Sandpiper ... haha. We need those kind of photos to help keep it real. Here's the updated list!

Remaining to capture!
viewtopic.php?p=92439#p92439

Our current list is 232 ... nice job! I'm going to see if I can add at least one or two more before the end of the year, but it will be pretty tough, I think! Thanks for all the great shots this year!
James

[NewWestBirder]

(Female?) Taiga Flycatcher (Ficedula albicilla) by Randy, on Flickr

What a thrilling find to end the year, and make a final contribution to our tally. This is the ultra rarity that has been drawing loads of attention down to Vancouver's West End, and Sunset Beach.

[NewWestBirder]

How rare you ask? First recorded sighting in Canada, and second recorded sighting in North America. The person who first spotted it a few days ago must have been on a terrible high after that.

[NewWestBirder]

And finally, hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season, and wishes from me for a Happy New Year, with lots of great birding in 2026.

[stumblingpiper]

Wow, Randy! Great year for you and an awesome lifer! ... thanks for all the posts
(and my thanks to all the contributors).
(Maybe that Taiga Flycatcher will be around on the 1st and we can add it to next year! lol)
Our final tally (unless we get the late posters again [maybe??]) was 234, our 5th best year out of 7.
A couple of common we missed: Canada Jay?! (haha) and Bohemian Waxwing.

... Here are our numbers from the previous five years:
2019 - 273 (Year 1)
2020 - 260 (Year 2)
2021 - 282 (Year 3) - Our Big Year!
2022 - 232 (Year 4)
2023 - 241 (Year 5)
2024 - 231 (Year 6)
2025 - 234 (Year 7)

I'll kick off our 8th year in a couple of days. Happy New Year everyone!
James