Ethan Moon

Bohemian Waxwing party.
(Kamloops BC, February 19)

#birding #bohemianwaxwing #bombycillagarrulus #birds 🪶

Birders flock to see rare bird in Vancouver | Watch News Videos Online Watch Birders flock to see rare bird in Vancouver Video Online, on GlobalNews.ca

Birders flock to see rare bird in Vancouver globalnews.ca/video/115927...

#birding #birds #taigaflycatcher #ficedulalbicilla 🪶

Crowds gather in Vancouver park to photograph bird never before seen in Canada Birders are flocking to Vancouver’s Sunset Beach Park this weekend to take in an incredibly rare sight—the first time on record a particular species of bird has ever been seen in Canada.

My moment of fame: www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/ar...

Such a privilege to be the first to notice this humble little Taiga Flycatcher.

#birds #birding #ficedulaalbicilla #taigaflycatcher #rba #vancouverbc 🪶

Taiga Flycatcher with a dark background and blurry moss-filled trunk in the foreground.

Taiga Flycatcher on the ground. It's a plump small grey bird with a weak eye ring.

A small grey bird, Taiga Flycatcher forages in the ground.

Distribution for Taiga Flycatcher.

Mega-rare Christmas miracle bird shows up in Vancouver! A presumed female Taiga Flycatcher found by @ethanmoon.bsky.social is a first for Canada! This bird's typical winter range is a tropical band from central India to eastern China and south to peninsular Malaysia. Birds never cease to surprise.

A Northern Flicker perched on a branch. Superficially resembles the Yellow-shafted subspecies, but has red mixed into the moustachial stripe (Red-shafted trait), instead of being all black. "Hybrids" between subspecies are called intergrades.

Male Northern Flicker intergrade.
(Vancouver BC, December 20 2025)

#birds #birding #northernflicker #colaptesauratus 🪶

Hundreds of Larus gulls in flight and on the ground, foraging for food scraps on trash mountain. Landfills have become well-trodden stopover locations for Larus species of the west coast, used by both resident Olympic Gulls and migratory Glaucous-winged Gulls and Cook Inlet hybrids from as far north as southern Alaska, perhaps further. These generalists also spend time foraging in nearby farm fields and Boundary Bay.

Landfill frenzy.
(Delta BC, December 14 2025)

#birds #birding #christmasbirdcount #larus #larusthayeri #larusglaucescens #larusglaucoides #larusglaucoidesthayeri #larusoccidentalis #glaucouswingedgull #westerngull #olympicgull #thayersgull #cookinletgull #americanherringgull #larussmithsonianus 🪶

An Olympic Gull (Western x Glaucous-winged hybrid) about to take flight with a clump of moss in its bill. Grass pulling is an intraspecific behaviour indicating aggressive intent to nearby trespassers, "This is what I will do to you." I have seen gulls pull grass, moss, garbage, leaf litter and dock lines--whatever loose objects or materials are within grabbing distance.

Moss (not grass) pulling.
(Vancouver BC, Dec 6 2025)

#birds #birding #olympicgull #glaucouswingedgull #westerngull #larusoccidentalis #larusglaucescens #larus #gulls #seagulls #gullable #gullible 🪶

An adult Olympic Gull (Western x Glaucous-winged hybrid) stands on some park grass, bejewelled with black and blue bands on the left leg, and blue and metal bands on the right. Report coloured gull bands in the Pacific Northwest region to the Salish Sea Gull Project: https://salishseagullproject.shinyapps.io/submit-observation-form/

Banded Olympic Gull.
(Vancouver BC, Dec 2 2025.)

#birds #birding #gulls #seagulls #olympicgull #glaucouswingedgull #westerngull #larusglaucescens #larusoccidentalis 🪶

A first cycle Thayer's Gull standing on a rock.

Thayer's Gull.
(White Rock BC, November 2025)

By the way, there's a new post about the range of American Herring Gull on my blog (link in profile).

#birds #birding #larusglaucoidesthayeri #larusglaucoides #thayersgull #gulls #seagulls #gullible #gullable 🪶

Tundra Swan standing near shore.

Tundra Swan.
(Vancouver BC, November 17 2025)

A 1st cycle Bonaparte's Gull in flight. The inner rectrices (tail feathers) have been replaced in the preformative moult, leaving behind an incomplete tailband.

Bonaparte's Gull.
(White Rock BC, November 8 2025)

#bonapartesgull #chroicocephalusphiladelphia #gulls #seagulls #gullable #gullible

A Snow Bunting stands low to the rocky ground--round and majestical.

Snow Bunting.
(Vancouver BC, October 30 2025)

#birds #birding #snowbunting #plectrophenaxnivalis 🪶

A juvenile Little Blue Heron perched on a branch. Juveniles are all white (like this one), but will eventually moult into a mostly grey plumage. This is the sixth record for British Columbia.

A juvenile Little Blue Heron, far from home.
(Burnaby BC, October 24 2025.)

#birds #birding #littleblueheron #egrettacaerulea 🪶

A Golden-crowned Sparrow perches on some barbed wire. The species portion of its scientific name Zonotrichia atricapilla means black-headed or -capped, referring to the lateral stripes on breeding adults. This is similar to the Black-capped Chickadee's scientific name Poecile atricapillus, and more apt for the latter.

Golden-crowned Sparrow.
(Vancouver BC, October 22 2025)

#birds #birding #goldencrownedsparrow #zonotrichiaatricapilla 🪶

Whoops. I'll fix that arrow button in the next update.

#gullable #gullible

A drab looking Mountain Bluebird perched on a post, lowered tail revealing a bluish rump.

Mountain Bluebird.
(Vancouver BC, October 22 2025)

#birds #birding #mountainbluebird #sialiacurrucoides 🪶

A male Harlequin Duck standing on a tidal rock.

Male Harlequin Duck.

(Victoria BC, October 9 2025)

#birds #birding #ducks #harlequinduck #histrionicushistrionicus 🪶

A Black Turnstone side profile. Can you guess how they got their name?

Black Turnstone.

(Sooke BC, October 9 2025)

#birds #birding #blackturnstone 🪶

For reference, this is a White-crowned Sparrow in juvenile plumage. Notice how streaky it is.

A hatch year (HY) White-crowned Sparrow perched on the tip of some pine needles. This individual is in its formative plumage, which replaced many of the poor quality juvenile feathers it grew in the nest. Once this bird moults into its 1st alternate (breeding) plumage, it will become almost impossible to distinguish from an adult. I have noticed some of my local White-crowns (pugetensis subspecies) retain some brown feathers in the hind crown, allowing me to age them as second years (SY).

A young White-crowned Sparrow.

#birding #birds #whitecrownedsparrow #zonotrichialeucophrys 🪶

An adult California Gull in flight. Dusky head markings are part of the basic (nonbreeding) plumage.

Adult California Gull.
(Vancouver BC, September 30 2025)

#birds #birding #californiagull #laruscalifornicus #gull #seagull #gullable #gullible 🪶

A Myrtle Warbler ("myrtle" subspecies of Yellow-rumped Warbler) on a tree branch, holding a stink bug in its bill.

Yellow-rumped warbler.

#birds #birding #yellowrumpedwarbler #myrtlewarbler #setophagacoronata

A Long-billed Dowitcher looking towards the camera, with its undulating reflection cast on the water below.

Long-billed Dowitcher.

#birds #birding #longbilleddowitcher #limnodromusscolopaceus 🪶

Lincoln's Sparrow.

#birding #birds #lincolnssparrow #melospizalincolnii 🪶

A young Olympic Gull (Western Gull x Glaucous-winged Gull hybrid) stands on the edge of an urban water feature, with water frothing from a fountain behind. This bird is starting to replace body feathers in the 1st prealternate (prebreeding) moult. The Lower Mainland is right above the intersection of the breeding ranges of Glaucous-winged Gull to the north and Western Gull to the south. The resulting hybrid swarm produces a vast array of phenotypes--birds with a unique set of characteristics--as multiple generations of mixed gulls interbreed.

Overlooked Olympic Gull.
(Vancouver BC, Sept 23 2025)

#birding #birds #gulls #seagulls #gullable #gullible #olympicgull #westerngull #glaucouswingedgull #larusoccidentalisxglaucescens #larusoccidentalis #larusglaucescens 🪶

This 1st cycle Ring-billed Gull confused me. It resembles a Short-billed in build, but the plumage aspect is Ring-billed. The dark grey chevron pattern on the scapulars is also interesting. This is a good reminder to myself to look out for individual variation that deviates from expectations.

A more typical first cycle Ring-billed Gull.

2 Ring-billed Gulls of different stature.
(Vancouver BC, September 12 2025)

#birds #birding #ringbilledgull #larusdelawarensis #gulls #seagulls #gullable 🪶

A juvenile Sabine's Gull in flight, with tri-coloured wing pattern on full display. In Greater Vancouver, Sabine's Gulls are usually seen flying out at sea or high above as they migrate between their Arctic breeding grounds and wintering locations in South America. All age groups have a distinct tri-coloured winged. Definitely one of the easier gulls to identify.

Juvenile Sabine's Gull.

#birds #birding #gulls #seagulls #sabinesgull #xemasabini #gullable #gullible

A Savannah Sparrow perched on a leafy Blackberry branch, cast in a warm light.

Savannah Sparrow.

#birds #birding #savannahsparrow #passerculussandwichensis