September is a transition month for our local birds as the birds of summer give way to the birds of winter. Whereas our late August birds are definitively part of summer, by early October, those birds have departed and the birds of winter have magically replaced them. It is the wonder of bird migration. The month is one of the most anticipated in the birders year as millions of birds are on the move, some departing, some arriving and some just passing through. This also offers the possibility of a rare bird appearing to spice up our lives.
During the first two weeks of September, most of the summer passerines such as warblers, vireos, Swainson’s thrushes, western tanagers, black-headed grosbeaks, common nighthawks, swifts, barn swallows and purple martins will be recorded for the last time until they reappear in April and May. Many of these species have long migration flights to Mexico, Central America and even Amazonia. Concurrently, those species that find the balmy winter climate of the Salish Sea to their liking are replacing them, and in September we begin to notice the presence of familiar winter birds such as dark-eyed juncos, varied thrushes, fox sparrows and ruby-crowned kinglets. Some of these species are returning from northern regions and some returning from the higher elevations of our coastal mountains. On the water, loons, grebes, cormorants, ducks, gulls and alcids reappear to spend the winter with us after the ocean was largely devoid of birds through the summer months.
Apart from the birds of summer and the birds of winter, September is a good month for transient species that pass through our area during migration. Most important of these are the raptors, and there is a largely unseen movement of hawks through our local mountains. Sunshine Coast birders will be making trips up the logging roads to record the red-tailed hawks, Cooper’s and sharp-shins, merlins, kestrels, harriers and other rarer species as they migrate southwards. On a good day in September and October, many birds can be recorded in a few hours.
To report your sightings or questions, contact [email protected] or 604-885-5539.
