NARBA (North American Rare Bird Alert) has been reporting for quite a few days that a Code 4 Red-flanked Bluetail was being seen in Queen’s Park, New Westminster, British Columbia. I traveled there on January 25th and found my way to Queen’s Park. Several people with binoculars or big cameras were wandering about, quite obviously in search of the same bird that I had come to see. One of them, a local resident, Ken Kennedy, took me under his wing and guided me to the area where he had seen the bird on prior days. Sure enough, within minutes the little wanderer showed up and I was delighted to get views of him, making this my North American Bird # 714. Not only that, but along came a birder from Seattle, Hank Elliot, who took some great pictures of the Red-flanked Bluetail and he has allowed me to publish a couple of them on my blog.
Primarily an Asian species, the Bluetail has been seen previously in the western Aleutians, but seldom, if ever, as far south and east as Vancouver. This one appears to be a young male, not quite as blue as an adult male, but showing more blue than the female of the species. I stayed overnight at Haddon House B & B in nearby Burnaby, which I highly recommend. Johannes, the proprietor, directed me to a wonderful neighborhood restaurant for dinner, Hart House, and it was delicious. I particularly recommend the Parsnip Soup Voloute. Not to be outdone in culinary prowess, the next morning Johannes prepared a bountiful breakfast spread including one of the nicest omelettes that I have demolished in a long time.