In order to assure everyone's safety during the field trips, descriptions of each field trip include a difficulty level. Each participant should be able to access a bus under his/her own power.

Codes for Field Trip Difficulty Levels:
Level 1—Easy walking, mostly level paths
Level 2—Paths can be narrow with uneven terrain
Level 3—Obstacles in paths requiring agility or steeper grades
Level 4—Very steep, insecure footing or longer hikes requiring good physical condition

North Shore Mountains and Shorelines
Vancouver's North Shore Mountains dominate the city's northern skyline and top out at nearly 6000 feet. One of the jewels is Cypress Provincial Park, where we'll visit Highview Lookout (bring your camera!) for Band-tailed Pigeon and a possible Northern Pygmy- Owl before continuing up to the conifer-lined trails around dazzling Yew Lake. High on our list will be Red-breasted Sapsucker, Black and Vaux's Swifts, and passerines like Varied and Hermit Thrushes, Olive-sided, Hammond's and Pacific-slope Flycatchers, Hutton's and Cassin's Vireos, Townsend's, Black-throated Gray, and MacGillivray's Warblers, Steller's and Gray Jays and possible American Three-toed Woodpecker. With considerable luck, Sooty Grouse could also be seen in this gorgeous montane environment.

The Conservation Area at Maplewood Flats, operated by Wild Bird Trust of B.C., is another Vancouver gem. Intertidal flats, freshwater marshes, and ponds host massive flocks of dabbling ducks, shorebirds and gulls in migration, while meadow, forest and brushy areas harbor Violet-green Swallow, Bushtit, Warbling and Red-eyed Vireos, Swainson's Thrush, Western Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, "Sooty" Fox Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, and up to five warblers. Purple Martins careen over their houses mounted on vertical posts above the water, while a few of these "dolphins" support Osprey nests.

Finally, we will visit Vancouver's famous and picturesque Stanley Park. Stops may include Lost Lagoon, Beaver Lake, Prospect Point, and Brockton Point, with ample opportunities for forest birds, waterfowl, and seabirds. Potential for 50 to 75 species. [Level 1 with short sections of Level 2. Estimated walking two hours at each stop (birder's pace)].

Southern Vancouver Parks and Sanctuaries
Locations for this visually-enticing trip highlight some of the best water- and shorebirding in southwestern British Columbia. We begin at Blackie Spit and Crescent Beach in Surrey, a sheltered location that lends itself to astounding assemblages of Whimbrel and some of the larger shorebirds, along with flocks of waterfowl, loons, and grebes. Lapland Longspurs may be found on the spit in September, as well as a variety of resident and migrant passerines (including Bullock's Oriole), along the inland shrub and tree-lined trails. Caspian Terns are often present with Common Terns also a possibility.

Across the bay is Boundary Bay Regional Park, known for astonishing avian spectacles during migration. The mudflats, freshwater ponds, and brackish lagoon should offer a variety of ducks including Eurasian Wigeon and Cinnamon Teal, while Peregrine Falcons regularly hunt shorebirds over the bay. Upland areas will offer migrating passerines, as well.

Our final stop is one of the premier birding spots in the Vancouver area at any time of year, the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary. Ponds, drainage control ditches, saltmarsh, fields, and extensive wooded dykes provide habitat for a wide assortment of birds. Over Labor Day week in 2007, 108 species were reported. Imagine the possibilities: ducks, loons, grebes, herons, hawks, rails, cranes, shorebirds, gulls, owls, hummers, and passerines galore. Potential for 80 to 100 species. [Level 1 with estimated walking two hours at each stop (birder's pace)].

Boundary Bay Dyke Trail and Iona Island
Boundary Bay is a shorebirder's absolute dream with vast tidal mudflats and upland agricultural fields that attract tens of thousands of shorebirds, as well as plentiful raptors, gulls, and waterfowl. On our two-mile stroll along the dyke, imagine searching through shoulder-to-shoulder shorebird flocks for American and Pacific Golden-Plovers, Semipalmated and Black-bellied Plovers and both yellowlegs. Marbled Godwit, Long-billed Curlew, Red Knot, Dunlin, Sanderling, Semipalmated, Western, Least, Baird's, Pectoral and Stilt Sandpipers, along with both dowitchers, are among the anticipated species. We'll also keep a sharp look-out for Sharp-tailed Sandpiper amidst the spectacle. Some years Buff-breasted Sandpipers arrive in numbers, and Ruff are seen, too. At Boundary Bay it's best to expect the unexpected.

The day ends with a visit to Iona Beach Regional Park and Iona Island sewage lagoons. Visits to Iona and the sewage lagoons have produced 49 shorebird species, including many spectacular rarities like Spoonbill Sandpiper. In addition to Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, we'll be looking for Red-necked Phalaropes,Wilson's Snipe and Solitary Sandpipers in the ponds and lagoons, passerines among the rows of trees and shrubs, and Wandering Tattlers and Surfbirds on the South Jetty. Iona is also one of the few places to see Yellow-headed Blackbird in the Vancouver area. Potential for 70 to 90 species. [Level 1 with estimated walking up to three hours at each stop (birder's pace)].

Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay Ferry and Mini-Pelagic Field Trip
After the indoor workshop, practice your new-found knowledge aboard BC Ferries, as Michael Retter and some great local pelagic birders call out gull, sea duck, and seabird IDs as fast as they fly by. A myriad of great birds is to be found near the ferry terminal and in breathtaking Active Pass. We will have chances for three loons, Red-necked and Western Grebes, all three cormorants, and all three scoters. In addition, there will be excellent chances to study gull plumages with the likelihood for seven or more species, including Bonaparte's, Western, Heermann's, Glaucous-winged, Mew, Thayer's, and California Gulls. Caspian Terns, Common Murres, Pigeon Guillemots, Rhinoceros Auklets, and Bald Eagles are also possible. Potential for 20 to 30 species. [Bus and Ferry Trip, Level 1].

Sky Lark Fields and Island View Beach
After the exciting ferry ride, the birding continues on Vancouver Island with a stop at the bulb fields of Central Saanich for Sky Lark, introduced here in the early 1900s. Though established and countable, Sky Lark populations are declining on Vancouver Island and mostly extirpated in the San Juan Islands of Washington, so this would be your best opportunity to observe their larking flights and hear their melodious calls on this side of the "big pond." An additional stop at Island View Beach Regional Park will allow ground-based viewing for pelagic species, including Harlequin and early-migrating Long-tailed Ducks. Drift logs and rocks make Vancouver Island shorelines quite different from the mudflats of the lower mainland. Rock- and kelp-loving shorebirds, gulls, and Northwestern Crows should be seen, as well as birds like Bewick's Wren, Common Yellowthroat, and numerous sparrows around the logs or in the tree, shrub, old saltmarsh, and backdune components of the park. Potential for 20 to 30 species. [Level 1 with estimated walking time one hour at each stop].

Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary and Victoria/Oak Bay Shoreline
The 125-acre Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary is an urban oasis that offers marsh, a freshwater lake, open meadows and some conifer forest, with more than 60 species recorded in September. It is home to dabblers and divers, Sora and Virginia Rail and American Bitterns. Early northern sparrows, Chestnut-backed Chickadee (the only chickadee species on Vancouver Island), three different wrens, and Bushtits are likely. Anna's Hummingbirds are numerous with closeup views at the Nature House feeders. Among the migrating warblers should be Yellow, Wilson's, and both lutescens and orestera subspecies of Orange-crowned. Willow and Pacific-slope Flycatchers and up to six swallows, including Purple Martin, will delight with their aerial acrobatics.

Afternoon brings stops at marine hotspots along the 7.5-mile (12 km) Shoreline Drive in picturesque Victoria and Oak Bay. The breakwaters at Ogden Point, Clover Point, and Cattle Point have all produced numerous exciting rarities in migration with rocky and gravel bed habitats, as well as kelp and mussel beds. Black Turnstones, Black-bellied Plovers, and Black Oystercatchers are common. Pacific Golden-Plover, Whimbrel, Wandering Tattler, and Surfbird are possible and up to seven gull species can be studied.We will also scan for alcids and sea ducks offshore, and hope for distinguishing looks at Pelagic, Brandt's, and Double-crested Cormorants. On clear days, you will be rewarded with views of the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, including Mount Baker, and possibly Mount Rainier. Potential for 60 to 80 species. [Level 1, with a few short sections of Level 2 on 1.5-mile Swan Lake Trail. Estimated three hours afoot (birder's pace) at Swan Lake, with 45 to 60 minutes at each shoreline stop].

Shorebirding and Forestbirding from Victoria to Sooke
This "westshore sweep" starts at the 600-year-old western red cedar/Douglas-fir forests and salmon spawning streams of Goldstream Provincial Park, where targets include Varied Thrush and American Dipper. Steller's Jay, Winter Wren, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, and both kinglets can also be found amidst the conifers, red alder, and red osier dogwood.

Further afield we will visit Whiffin Spit Park, a breakwater between the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Sooke Harbor. A renowned migrant trap, Whiffin Spit is another superb location for rarities. A walk along the spit should reveal herons, shorebirds, sparrows, Lapland Longspurs and Western Meadowlarks, while sea ducks and other waterfowl frolic in the protected waters of Sooke Basin. From the spit, we will also scope the strait with the Olympic Mountains looming in the distance. As one of the closest points to Washington State, Whiffin Spit can also be an amazing place to see raptors and other migrants staging for their southerly flights.

Next is Royal Roads University and Hatley Park National Historic Site, home of the famous Hatley Castle. The juxtaposition of habitats makes Hatley a prime birding spot where we will search forest, field, shrub, and aquatic environs. We will aim for Varied Thrush, Red-breasted Sapsucker, and Pileated Woodpecker, while migrant flycatchers, vireos and warblers flit about. Downslope from Hatley Castle is Esquimalt Lagoon, which may offer our best chance for Eurasian Wigeon and Barrow's Goldeneye. The shoreline gravel is excellent for terns, gulls, and rocky-coast shorebirds. On the open coast of the lagoon we'll also scan for alcids and other pelagic species and hope for a rarity. Potential for 75 to 90 species. [Level 1 with estimated hiking at each site of up to two hours (birder's pace)].