Around the northern hemisphere, one of humanity’s timeless archetypes is the observation of the twice-yearly migration of the wild geese. On the Sunshine Coast, the geese fly northwards in April and southwards in October. In April they chase the springtime northward and in October they flee ahead of the advancing winter.
Many thousands of geese overfly our area, generally in flocks ranging up to a few hundred individuals, up to 20 flocks per day, and spread over a period of one to two weeks. For reasons unknown to me (weather?) the timing is quite variable, sometimes as early as late September and sometimes not before mid-October.
The vast majority of the geese flying over are snow geese and they can be identified (in good light) by their white bodies with jet-black wingtips. Other species that overfly our area in varying numbers are Canada geese, their smaller lookalike, cackling geese, and greater white-fronted geese. Geese are usually quite vocal when migrating, sometimes referred to as goose music. This seems counter-productive in terms of energy conservation but they clearly have their own agenda on this, and it perhaps relates to sociability during their long (boring?) migrational flights. With practice the various species can be identified by their vocalisations.
As of Oct. 8, the fall goose migration has yet to appear on the Sunshine Coast, with the exception of a single juvenile snow goose at the Wilson Creek estuary. Expect it any day now! In most winters a few representatives of all four species of goose linger on the Sunshine Coast and are often seen together on fields, golf courses and playing fields.
While we still await the geese, the raptor migration is happening. This is an unseen event for most people but Sunshine Coast birders are well aware of it. Many raptors make long migrational movements and they make great use of thermals to mitigate the energy cost by flying over and along mountain ridges where the air is rising. The mountains of the Sunshine Coast are such a ridge, and reliable places to observe the migration are from the powerline above the gravel pit in Sechelt and vantage points in the clearcuts along the Wilson Creek Forest Service Road. I will report on this migration in a later column.
Another harbinger of the approaching winter is the pygmy owl. This species relocates out of the mountains to sea-level in October and is quite vocal at dawn and dusk. I heard one on Redrooffs Road on Oct. 6. Sue Hayer located a Lapland longspur on Ocean Avenue in Sechelt on Sept. 28 that was subsequently seen by other observers.
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