On Saturday, May 16 a group of 12 enthusiastic birders took part in a record breaking Campus Walk – lead by Darren Irwin the team spotted almost 30 species on their walk – a new record for our museum walking series!
Darren Irwin, the walk leader, runs the Irwin lab in UBC’s Zoology Department and is Acting Director of the Beaty Biodiversity Museum. Darren’s research is directed toward understanding how new species of birds arise, how geographical variation within species is produced, and how behaviours evolve.
The campus walk group was composed of a range of experiences and ages (the youngest was only 3 years old, but knew his bird songs better than most of the others!). It was perfect birding weather–moderate temperature, not much wind, overcast skies.
As with all Campus Walks, the group started at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum looking at the trees next to the museum, then they headed across Main Mall where they came upon a nice little flock of migratory warblers. They also saw Wilson’s Warblers, Yellow Warblers, and Black-throated Grey Warblers there.
Continuing down Main Mall they spotted Starlings and Swallows among other things. After turning left near the library and making their way down to the patch of coniferous forest near the Asian Centre they had a great view of Violet-green Swallows (one going in and out of a nest cavity on a wooden building). Then they were treated to a very loudly singing Pacific Wren, followed by a good view of a male Northern Flicker in a nest cavity, as well as a great view of a Brown Creeper just a couple meters away.
The walk then circled around MOA, getting a wonderful view of a displaying Rufous Hummingbird on the way, and then up through the Rose Garden, spotting some more good views of Swallows (Barn, Tree, and Violet-green) before returning to the Beaty. Reflecting on the long list of species the group was surprised at just how much biodiversity can be found on a campus.
Here is the species list Darren reported from this campus walk:
cormorant sp. (Phalacrocorax sp.) 1
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 1
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) 5
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon)) 10
Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna) 2
Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) 1
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) (Colaptes auratus [cafer Group]) 1 Male in nest cavity
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus) 2
Northwestern Crow (Corvus caurinus) 5
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) 3
Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina) 10 one female was going in and out of a nest cavity on a building.
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) 5
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 10
Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus) 10
Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) 2
Pacific Wren (Troglodytes pacificus) 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) 3
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 10
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 20
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia) 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) 3
Black-throated Gray Warbler (Setophaga nigrescens) 1
Wilson’s Warbler (Cardellina pusilla) 1
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) 3
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) 5
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 1
Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus) 10
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 10
This walk was part of the Campus Walk series that explores the biodiversity on campus. There is a different theme each month, walks so far have covered a range of topics from local geology, to native trees, mushrooms, edible plants, and of course birds. Campus walks run the third Saturday of the month included with museum admission or membership
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For more photos please see Flickr site