 Welcome to Fishpot Lake, a true jewel of The North Cariboo in BCs Central Interior! Fishpot makes a great base for birding as its located in The Nazko Valley, an area local naturalist Manfred Roschitz describes as a major migration corridor. Spring migration is an incredible time to bird the area. Wildfowl begins to arrive during March and April. There are numerous waters to explore in the area. Ask Marc & Vicky for directions to nearby Coglistiko Lake. Expect a good variety of wildfowl. Watch for Bonapartes Gulls moving through. Some will settle to nest around inland lakes. The forest will come alive with Woodpeckers, Sapsuckers, Flycatchers, and, some beautiful Warblers. Stellers and Gray Jays should be present. Scan Fishpot Lake for Loons, Grebes, Ducks, Mergansers, and, you may see American White Pelicans, and, flocks of Scoters ( 3 species are possible, though Surf Scoter is the most common ). Walking around the lakes you may flush a Spotted or Solitary Sandpiper, or, a Greater or Lesser Yellowlegs, not forgetting the noisy Killdeer. Lookout when you are driving and make sure you do not hit a Ruffed Grouse! They often plod along the roads, seemingly quite oblivious to traffic. Once the Spring Migration has settled down, June to September sees a wide range of breeding species settling in the area. Nearby meadows can hold American Kestrel, Northern Harrier, and, the amazing Sandhill Crane. Ospreys and Bald Eagles normally nest close to Fishpot so you can enjoy their antics at any time of the day. Other birds in the area include Blue and Spruce Grouse, Common Nighthawks, Calliope and Rufous Hummingbirds, and, Great Horned and Great Gray Owls. Some lakes towards Quesnel have breeding Black Terns. In the evening relax back at your cabin and enjoy the amazing haunting calls of Common Loons. Out-of-place birds can turn-up here. For several years a group of Common Grackles visited Fishpot! Look out for other species moving through, e.g. Mew Gulls in late-Summer (August), Grebes, and, Loons. Fall Migration gets underway in August -September with numerous mixed flocks of songbirds foraging together as they move through the area. Wildfowl, loons, grebes, and numerous other species begin their migration to wintering grounds. Winter begins in late Oct - early Nov, and the green paradise becomes a white paradise. Its a spectacular snowscape, and birds cluster and entertain at the Fishpot feeders. Enjoy close-up views of Brown Creepers, Boreal Chickadees, Gray Jays, Woodpeckers, and, check the surrounding woods for winter finches, Grosbeaks, Red, and, White-winged Crossbills. Come and enjoy birding in The Nazko Valley. Nearby, The City Of Quesnel also offers some excellent birding spots. Drive S to Williams Lake and enter a different biogeoclimatic zone. Species in this area include Lewis Woodpecker, Bobolink, Prairie Falcon, Mourning Dove, Western Kingbird, White-throated Swift, Clarks Nutcracker, and, other gems of the grasslands and dry steppes. This area has many of the famous Okanagan Valley specialities. Ask Marc & Vicky for more information, or they can put you in-touch with local birders who will be happy to answer any questions you have. Enjoy your birding! Following is a checklist of birds for the area noted above: |
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Accipiters Sharp-shinned Hawk Coopers Hawk Northern Goshawk Bittern, Herons, Egrets American Bittern Great Blue heron  Blackbirds, Orioles Red-winged Blackbird Yellow-headed Blackbird Rusty Blackbird Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Bluebirds, Thrushes Mountain Bluebird Townsend's Solitaire Swainson's Thrush Hermit Thrush American Robin Varied Thrush Veery Chickadees Black-capped Chickadee Mountain Chickadee Boreal Chickadee  Cranes Sandhill Crane Creepers Brown Creeper Crows, Magpies & Jays Gray Jay Steller's Jay Common Raven American Crow Dippers American Dipper Falcons American Kestrel Merlin Peregrine Falcon Gyr Falcon Finches, Siskins, Crossbills Pine Grosbeak Purple Finch White-winged Crossbill Common Redpoll Hoary Redpoll Pine Siskin Evening Grosbeak Flycatchers Olive-sided Flycatcher Western Kingbird Eastern Kingbird Alder Flycatcher Willow Flycatcher Pacific-slope Flycatcher Western Wood Peewee Says Phoebe Dusky Flycatcher Hammonds Flycatcher Least Flycatcher  Geese, Swans & Ducks Canada Goose Trumpeter Swan Tundra Swan American Wigeon Mallard Northern Shoveler Green-winged Teal Greater Scaup Harlequin Duck Bufflehead Common Goldeneye Barrow's Goldeneye Hooded Merganser Common Merganser Pintail Wood Duck Eurasian Wigeon Lesser Scaup Blue-winged Teal Red-breasted Merganser Greater White-fronted Goose Snow Goose Gadwall Cinnamon Teal Ruddy Duck Redhead Canvasback Black Scoter Surf Scoter White-winged Scoter Long-tailed Duck Goatsuckers Common Nighthawk  Grebes Red-necked Grebe Pied-billed Horned Grebe Eared Grebe Western Grebe Grosbeaks, Buntings Lazuli Bunting Evening Grosbeak Snow Bunting Grouse Ruffed Grouse Spruce Grouse Sharp-tailed Grouse Blue Grouse Hummingbirds Calliope Hummingbird Rufous Hummingbird 
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Jaegers, Gulls, Terns Bonaparte's Gull Black Tern Mew Gull Ring-billed Gull Common Tern Arctic Tern Herring Gull Forsters Tern Kingfishers Belted Kingfisher Kinglets Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Larks Horned Lark Loons Common Loon Red-throated Loon Pacific Loon Nuthatches Rebreasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch Ospreys, Hawks & Eagles Osprey Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk Cooper's Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Golden Eagle  Typical Owls Great Horned Owl Northern Pygmy Owl Great Gray Owl Northern Saw-whet Owl Northern Pygmy Owl Short-eared Owl Long-eared Owl Barred Owl Snowy Owl Northern Hawk Owl Boreal Owl Pelicans American White Pelican Phalaropes Wilsons Phalarope Pigeons & Doves Rock Dove Mourning Dove Pipits American Pipit Plovers Killdeer Rails & Coots - Sora Virginia Rail American Coot Sandpipers, Phalaropes Greater Yellowlegs Solitary Sandpiper Spotted Sandpiper Common Snipe Lesser Yellowlegs Sapsuckers Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker Red-naped Sapsucker Red-breasted Sapsucker Shorebirds Long-billed Curlew Long-billed Dowitcher Shrikes Northern Shrike Sparrows, Longspurs Spotted Towhee Chipping Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Song Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Golden-crowned Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Sparrow American Tree Sparrow Clay-colored Sparrow Fox Sparrow Lincolns Sparrow Starlings European Starling Swallows Tree Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Bank Swallow Cliff Swallow Barn Swallow Violet-Green Swallow Swifts Black Swift Vauxs Swift Tanagers Western Tanager  Vires Solitary Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Warbling Vireo Warblers Orange-crowned Warbler Yellow Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Townsend's Warbler American Redstart Wilson's Warbler Tennessee Warbler Magnolia Warbler Blackpoll Warbler MacGillivrays Warbler Northern Waterthrush Common Yellowthroat Waxwings Bohemian Waxwing Cedar Waxwing Woodpeckers Three-toed Woodpecker Black-backed Woodpecker Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Wrens Winter Wren Marsh Wren  |
