By early October the avifauna of the Sunshine Coast is moving rapidly into winter mode with most of the summer migrants gone south and our winter residents arriving to replace them. Perhaps the single most iconic statement of the change in the air is that the first snow geese flocks began overflying the Sunshine Coast on Sept. 28, with more flocks overhead every day. All Pacific coast snow geese summer and breed on Wrangel Island in eastern Siberia and winter from the Fraser Delta to the Central Valley of California. They overfly the Sunshine Coast and the Salish Sea twice a year mainly in early October and late April. During November a spectacular flock of over 20,000 birds can be seen daily on Westham Island in the Fraser Delta.
Other evidence of approaching winter is the reappearance of familiar birds at sea-level and at bird feeders. Dark-eyed juncos and varied thrushes summer and breed above the 800m elevation in our local mountains but drop down again to sea-level beginning in late September. There are still large numbers of American robins on the Coast at present and they are in the process of stripping berries from trees such as crab apple and holly. By mid-winter, there are very few robins left on the Sunshine Coast. Bald eagles are also reappearing for the winter after their annual September hiatus when they relocate up-coast to wherever the salmon are running.
Of our summer visitors, yellow-rumped warblers are still common in early October as they migrate southwards. They are late fall migrants and early spring migrants and are only absent from our area from mid-October to mid-March. Largely unseen, a very significant raptor migration is taking place along the mountain ridge of the Sunshine Coast. Raptors of about 12 species use the thermals along the ridge to save energy as they migrate southward. A trip up the Wilson Creek Forest Service Road to one of the mid-elevation clearcuts allows good views of the ridge and with patience and careful scanning, the raptors can be observed.
The Sunshine Coast Natural History Society begins its winter program of monthly presentations this Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the Arts Centre in Sechelt with Larry Cowan speaking on the birds of Peru.
Contact Tony at tony@whiskeyjacknaturetours with your questions or sightings.
