Brambling - Jan 11th

Had a hectic weekend planned, something to do with laying down a laminate floor in the master bedroom, in fact, i was to meet my buddy just after noon on a sunny beautiful Friday to begin the job, before that however a visit to Nikon Richmond (which was a good thing for a change), a quick scan of Queen Elizabeth park for the elusive Pine Grosbeaks, of which none were seen, no worries, it was off to West 17th ave in Vancouver (close to my old stomping grounds in my single years) and a back alley and a backyard feeder where a very rare Eurasian species by the name of Brambling was paying a visit, for just how long?
Who knows, i had a pretty good idea however that it was still around and the small group of birders i met confirmed that yup, it had just been seen 15 minutes ago, ace.
It was a bit of a wait however as i would find out so i entertained myself with the other local birds paying the feeders a visit.

Pine Siskin

House Finch

As well, i couldn't help but notice the half naked man looking out at the birders from a neighboring house at one point, i made sure my lens wasn't pointed in his direction LOL.

Finally, very close to the time i had to wrap things up to meet my buddy the splendid bird popped into view, the bright light was near noon and harsh shadows were in play but just getting a few shots off from a couple of angles before it flew off high into some distant trees was enough to make me raise my arms in victory afterwards and let out a big whoohoo.

 

Brambling

In all, i waited 1 1/2 hours for the bird to pop up but it was worth it, this bird doesn't show up every year - my field guide (NatGeo natch) says that it's "casual in fall and winter in Canada and northern US".

A Lifer for me regardless.