Hermit Thrush

on the 18th there were two Hermit Thrushes foraging in the edge of the melting snow by the car park at Strathcona Paradise meadows -- I just love the Catharus thrushes

Icefields Parkway

the long drive with the crowds up the Icefields Parkway was in perfect weather with sun and some drifting cloud and nice and warm -- The VC at Lake Louise produced a perched Violet-green Swallow, you just have to take what you can get; then on to the Bow Summit where the Clark's Nutcracker in the car park was doing the usual things like taking food from the hand and stashing it; the walk up to the snow line failed to produce any rosyfinches but singing Hermit Thrushes, Slate-coloured Fox Sparrows, Slate-coloured Junco's of the Rocky Mountain form, some presumably first-summer males ? nice views of Peyto Lake
Travel Tip: we paid for 2 days when entering Banff NP as we were simply asked how long we would be there; when we go to the Jasper NP as we were there 6 days we were told an annual pass was cheaper BUT this also included Banff and a load of other National Parks so if you are in the area for a week or so its cheaper to get an all encompassing annual pass and it runs to the end of the month you buy in the following year so 13 months -- now there is a good reason to go back next May!!!

Spray Lakes and Kananaskis Valley

the people at the Lake Louise visitor centre suggested the Spray lakes round out of Canmore was the best place to look for our, so far, missing Moose so a quick recky on the late evening of the 4th revealed a superb site with so few people compared to the Banff area; the next morning we were up there bright and early; an American Osprey nest on the track side, Spruce Grouse scuttling off into the trees, 50+ Chipping Sparrows, Hermit Thrush, Audubon's warblers, Common Loons, Spotted Sandpipers with a nest, Ruddy Duck with a pair of Barrow's Goldeneye, my first birds since the drenched Scottish bird, Cooper's Hawk, 3 Bufflehead, singing Swainson's Thrushes (one in typical tree summit pose here), Northern Flicker, Tree and Violet Green Swallows all made for a good start -- how many people would identify this female Barrow's in the UK?

Hermit Thrush

three different birds out of about six seen in total