Warblers on trip to western Canada including the Rockies and Vancouver Island

MacGillivray's Warbler, Lighthouse Country Regional Trail, Qualicum Bay, BC, Canada, Jun 29, 2024

Back from a trip to Canada to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary and although it was not a birding trip I was able to get at least some birding in most every day. We flew from Boston to Calgary and then drove up into the Canadian Rockies where we spent four days before flying over to Vancouver Island where we stayed for six days before a red eye flight back to Boston. The flight out was a little delayed and the airline we were using for the flight out and within Canada had multiple labor strikes that threatened to cancel our flights but strikes were averted right before our flights. We stayed our first night in Calgary as we didn’t arrive there until late in the night. 

Wilson's Warbler, Moose Meadows, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 24, 2024

Northern Waterthrush, Moose Meadows, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 24, 2024

Townsend's Warbler, Moose Meadows, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 24, 2024

Yellow rumped Warbler 'audubon's', Castle Junction, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 24, 2024

Yellow rumped Warbler 'audubon's', Castle Junction, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 24, 2024

Castle Junction, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 24, 2024

Peyto Lake, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 24, 2024

On the first day of the trip we took the long drive from Calgary up to Banff NP and then further north toward Jasper and then down through Yoho NP to Golden and finally to our lodging in Radium Hot Springs. The first warbler for the day turned out to be a Wilson’s Warbler at Banff followed quickly by Northern Waterthrush, all before leaving the parking lot for our first hike. The first hike was at Moose Meadows and eventually I turned up two more species with Townsend’s Warbler and Yellow rumped Warbler (Audubon’s subspecies). The several other stops for the day as we made our way through Banff NP up the Icefields Parkway toward Jasper and then down through Yoho NP to Golden and finally to our lodging in Radium Hot Springs didn’t produce any new species so I ended the day with a total of four warblers. 

MacGillivray's Warbler, Sinclair Trail, Radium Hot Springs, BC, Canada, Jun 25, 2024

On the second full day we stayed closer to our lodging to get a break from all the driving we did the day before. I was out before dawn on a cool morning (low 40’s) and headed to the nearby Sinclair Trail where I found my first MacGillivray’s Warblers and Orange crowned Warbler for the trip (plus a couple other species). We then walked a few other trails nearby plus took a paddle through some wetlands on kayaks. With the variety of habitats over the course of the day I found a total of eight species of warblers with the other new ones for the trip being Common Yellowthroat and Yellow Warbler. 

Yellow rumped Warbler 'audubon's', Emerald Lake, Yoho NP, BC, Canada, Jun 26, 2024

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Emerald Lake, Yoho NP, BC, Canada, Jun 26, 2024

Townsend's Warbler, Emerald Lake, Yoho NP, BC, Canada, Jun 26, 2024

Emerald Lake, Yoho NP, BC, Canada, Jun 26, 2024

Tennessee Warbler, Boom Lake, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 26, 2024

Tennessee Warbler, Boom Lake, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 26, 2024

We got an early start on Wednesday when we headed out to make it up to Yoho NP early in then morning before the crowds arrived. Our first stop was up to Emerald Lake and we did indeed arrive before the crowds. We walked along the entire lake and turned up five species of warblers. We then made a few other stops in Yoho NP before heading down to a few more stops in Kootenay NP. One stop at the Boom Lake Trail produced a new warbler for the trip with a singing Tennessee Warbler. This added a new warbler for the trip and became the ninth warbler species for the trip. Overall for the day I had five species of warblers. 

American Redstart, Sinclair Trail, Radium Hot Springs, BC, Canada, Jun 27, 2024

Yellow Warbler, Saw Mill Pond, Radium Hot Springs, BC, Canada, Jun 27, 2024

The final day in the Rockies turned out to be the worst as far as weather was concerned with occasionally rain all day. At least it was not constant and I got a few walks in early just down the street from our lodging. Not many photo opportunities due to the rain although I did get a few.  After trying to decide where to go to try to beat the rain we decided on making a stop near the town of Banff which would split the drive up on the way to Calgary where we would stay the night before a morning flight on Friday. Once again the threat of a strike at WestJet added some stress to the day (thankfully the strike was averted once again around dinner time). The walk at the Fenland Nature Trail turned out to be quite productive, even with some very light rain with nine warbler species tallied. Overall the day turned out to produce my highest warbler count for the trip with ten species. 

MacGillivray's Warbler, Lighthouse Country Regional Trail, Qualicum Bay, BC, Canada, Jun 29, 2024

MacGillivray's Warbler, Lighthouse Country Regional Trail, Qualicum Bay, BC, Canada, Jun 29, 2024

MacGillivray's Warbler, Lighthouse Country Regional Trail, Qualicum Bay, BC, Canada, Jun 29, 2024

Orange crowned Warbler, Lighthouse Country Regional Trail, Qualicum Bay, BC, Canada, Jun 29, 2024

Wilson's Warbler, Lighthouse Country Regional Trail, Qualicum Bay, BC, Canada, Jun 29, 2024

Friday was mainly a day of traveling as we flew from Calgary to Victoria in the morning and then drove up to our new lodging in Qualicum Beach, about a third of the way up Vancouver Island. We made some non birding stops along the way and arrived late afternoon at our lodging and that is when I had the only warbler for the day when a Wilson’s Warbler popped out briefly. Although the forecast for Saturday called for just a few showers later in the morning the rain started up by mid morning and continued on and off throughout the remainder of the day. I beat the rain a bit by getting out before dawn and I choose the nearby Lighthouse Country Regional Trail. I spent about three hours there during which I turned up half a dozen species of warbler including my first Black throated Gray Warbler of the trip. Some of the birds cooperated enough for some photos. After finishing up my walk and heading back to the lodging some light rain started and continued at varying intensity the rest of the morning so we stayed in until midday when we drove north to visit some wineries and take a short walk if the rain would stop for a bit. Unfortunately the rain never stopped for long and our short walk got cut short by more rain. I did manage to add one more warbler species for the day with a Yellow Warbler at one of the wineries. 

Black throated Gray Warbler, McColl Rd, Bowser, BC, Canada, Jun 30, 2024

Black throated Gray Warbler fledgling, McColl Rd, Bowser, BC, Canada, Jun 30, 2024

Black throated Gray Warbler, McColl Rd, Bowser, BC, Canada, Jun 30, 2024

MacGillivray's Warbler, McColl Rd, Bowser, BC, Canada, Jun 30, 2024

Orange crowned Warbler, Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park, Parksville, BC, Canada, Jun 30, 2024

Orange crowned Warbler, Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park, Parksville, BC, Canada, Jun 30, 2024

Sunday turned out to be a much better weather day than the day before with a mix of sun and clouds all day. I was once again out before dawn and my first stop was to a location a few minutes to the north, McCall Road in the tiny town of Bowser. Although a bit quiet to start eventually the warblers showed themselves and I ended up with five species there with quite a few MacGillivray’s Warblers and several Black throated Gray Warblers (including fledglings). After nearly three hours there I headed back to our lodging and then we headed to Rathtrevor Beach in Parksville. After a walk on the beach I headed to some trails through the woods and had some warblers. We then headed to the Parksville Wetlands trail where I turned up a couple new warblers for the day with Common Yellowthroat and Yellow Warbler. We then slowly worked our way back to our lodging by early afternoon and stayed there the rest of the day. Overall the day produced eight species of warblers. 

Wilson's Warbler, Lighthouse Country Regional Trail, Qualicum Bay, BC, Canada, Jul 1, 2024

MacGillivray's Warbler, Lighthouse Country Regional Trail, Qualicum Bay, BC, Canada, Jul 1, 2024

On Canada Day we had a whale watch scheduled in Campbell River (about an hour north of our lodging) for 9AM so we had to be on the road by 7:30. I managed to get out a little before dawn once again to track down warblers as the month of July began. I headed to the Lighthouse Country Regional Trail again and stayed there for almost two hours and found half a dozen species of warblers. 

MacGillivray's Warbler, Lighthouse Country Regional Trail, Bowser, BC, Canada, Jul 2, 2024

MacGillivray's Warbler, Lighthouse Country Regional Trail, Bowser, BC, Canada, Jul 2, 2024

MacGillivray's Warbler, Lighthouse Country Regional Trail, Bowser, BC, Canada, Jul 2, 2024

MacGillivray's Warbler, McCall Road, Bowser, BC, Canada, Jul 2, 2024

Yellow rumped Warbler 'audubon's', McCall Road, Bowser, BC, Canada, Jul 2, 2024

For our last full day in Canada we decided to stay local again to relax a bit and keep driving to a minimum. The morning consisted of a number of walks covering several miles and finding seven species of warblers 

Common Yellowthroat, Hamilton Marsh, Coombs, BC, Canada, Jul 3, 2024

MacGillivray's Warbler, McColl Road, Bowser, BC, Canada, Jul 3, 2024

July 3rd would be a travel day back toward home with a ferry trip from Vancouver Island over to the mainland and then on to Vancouver Airport with a red eye flight back to Boston. Before we would have to start the trip home late in the morning I made a stops including Hamilton Marsh, Dudley Marsh and McCall’s Road. These stops produced seven species of warblers and I finally got some photos of Common Yellowthroats. 

Overall for the trip to Canada I had eleven species of warblers with seven of those being new for me in Canada and three being new for the year for me. I have now seen 15 species of warblers in Canada.  

Belding's Yellowthroat and other warblers on a trip to Baja California Sur -December 1-4

Belding's Yellowthroat, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 2, 2021

Belding's Yellowthroat, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 2, 2021

Belding's Yellowthroat, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 2, 2021

Belding's Yellowthroat, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 2, 2021

Wilson's Warbler, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 2, 2021

Palm Warbler 'western', Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 2, 2021

Orange crowned Warbler, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 2, 2021

Yellow rumped Warbler 'audubon', Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 2, 2021

Common Yellowthroat, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 2, 2021

Sunset, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 2, 2021

After being home for just a couple weeks I once again headed south with the destination this time being the southern end of Baja California Sur in Mexico. The main reason for making this trip was to catch up with another warbler, the range restricted Belding’s Yellowthroat that only occurs in a few areas in the southern end of Baja. I did this short trip solo with no guide s I felt confident I could get the birds without one.  I arrived into San Jose del Cabo late in the afternoon and then settled into my lodging for the night.

The first full day found me before dawn at the Estero San Jose in search of Belding’s Yellowthroat. I arrived before dawn and found the trail along the estero flooded and impassable to the north. As it got light enough to see I found a muddy and slightly flooded path along a fence and wall at the former Holiday Inn resort. After getting a little wet I made it to sand spit and I could hear multiple yellowthroats calling but bypassed them until it was light enough to see them. There were a number of other warblers calling too. Once I started looking through the warblers I started finding many Orange crowned Warblers (the most numerous warbler species for the day). I also had multiple Wilson’s Warblers and Common Yellowthroats and eventually got some fleeting views of a couple Belding’s Yellowthroats.  A bit later in the morning I got better looks at the Belding's Yellowthroats and got some photos and recordings.  The species sounds slightly different than the wintering Common Yellowthroats that were all over the estero.  The species looks quite similar to the Altamira Yellowthroat that occurs only in small pockets in northeast Mexico (a species I saw back in February of 2019).   I also found at least three ‘western’ type Palm Warblers which came up as rare in eBird. Other warblers during my first stop of the morning included a Yellow Warbler and a few Yellow rumped Warblers (Audubon’s subspecies). I then started looking for a way to access the upstream part of the trail along the estero and during my walk along one of the roads nearby I had a male MacGillivray’s Warbler but had no luck getting a photo of it. Eventually I found a way in to the trails and almost immediately had a fairly cooperative Belding’s Yellowthroat which allowed great views and some good photo ops. I then walked south as far as I could go until I hit the flooded part of the trail. The entire area was fairly active despite it being later in the morning and quite warm. The only new sighting in regards to warblers were a couple Yellow rumped Warblers of the ‘Myrtle’ subspecies.

MacGillivray's Warbler, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 3, 2021

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 3, 2021

Yellow Warbler, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 3, 2021

Common Yellowthroat, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 3, 2021

Wilson's Warbler, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 3, 2021

Orange crowned Warbler, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 3, 2021

On my second day I covered the northerly part of the trail along the estero earlier and had some great luck over the course of three hours before I had to head back to get a Covid test.  After the test I headed back to the estero again late in the morning and although less active than earlier it still held decent diversity.  I had a total of eight species of warbler including a rare for the area American Redstart (try as I might I could just not get a photo of it). Other species were around in good numbers including at least three MacGillivray’s Warblers (which were super frustrating to try to get photos of). The most numerous species was once again Orange crowned Warbler. 

Belding's Yellowthroat, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 4, 2021

Belding's Yellowthroat, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 4, 2021

Orange crowned Warbler, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 4, 2021

 Palm Warbler 'western', Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 4, 2021

Sunrise over the estero, Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Dec 4, 2021

On my final day in Mexico I spent most of the morning at the estero once again with a start before dawn and ending late in the morning on yet another clear, warm day. I covered the entire area from the bridge downstream to the ocean including a walk out onto the sand spit separating the ocean from the fresh water.  Nothing exceptionally different for warblers but did have more great looks at multiple Belding's Yellowthroats as well as at least two Palm Warblers.

It was a very nice trip with many looks at Belding’s Yellowthroats as well as loads of other warblers. I’m sure I could have found even more if I explored away from the estero but I wanted to maximize my birding time and minimize my driving time so I think I made the right choice. 

Overall for the trip I found ten species of warblers with the Belding’s Yellowthroat being the only new species. Perhaps more accurately I had eleven species of warbler as I had both the Audubon's and Myrtle subspecies of Yellow rumped Warbler, which should have been split already.