British Columbia, Canada’s westernmost province, boasts a higher bird species list than any other province in the country. British Columbia is massive. It is larger, in area, than Oregon, Washington and California combined, though we will only be exploring a relatively small area in the southern quarter of the province. Our travels will take us from one of Canada’s largest and most diverse cities, Vancouver, up into the Okanagan Valley, where vineyards and orchards sit next to glistening lakes and arid, desert-like habitats. Near Kamloops, rolling grasslands predominate in the valley bottom and vast areas of boreal forest can be quite easily accessed.

For those interested in birding in Canada, southern British Columbia is home to many species that cannot be found elsewhere in the country. Species like Hutton’s Vireo, Bushtit, Anna’s Hummingbird, Canyon Wren, Lewis’s Woodpecker, Sage Thrasher, Flammulated Owl and Western Screech-Owl are found regularly nowhere else. For birders from the United States, B.C. offers the chance to encounter a number of rare and sought-after birds of a northern flavor, such as Great Gray Owl, American Three-toed Woodpecker, Boreal Chickadee and Spruce Grouse. A nine-day tour such as this one could produce as many as 200 species of birds, as well as a nice assortment of mammals.