The Sunshine Coast’s full complement of summer birds was completed on May 30, when two residents from the Trail Road area of Sechelt reported the vocalizations of common nighthawk. Thanks to Grace Fryer and Kai-lee Klymchuk for the report. (It’s possible they heard the same bird at the same moment, as they both live in the same neighbourhood). Listen for the loud, nasal, “peent’’ sound, mostly in the later evening. Nighthawks may also be seen zig-zagging across the evening sky, as they forage with a wide-open gape for unsuspecting insects. Look also, for the obvious white bands on the wings.
I live in an open, mixed forest on Redrooffs Road, Halfmoon Bay. It’s a very birdy habitat, and in May I identified exactly 50 species from the property. All were land/forest birds except for the glaucous-winged gulls, Canada goose, and the noisy black oystercatchers heard on the ocean across Redrooffs Road. Virtually all my bird identification is by ear, and any walk into the garden, or onto the deck, can often accumulate a list of 10 species in less than a minute, with the species varying somewhat by time of day. The most readily listed birds right now are such prolific vocalizers as warbling vireo, white-crowned sparrow, spotted towhee, western and willow flycatchers, robin, Swainson’s thrush, western tanager, pine siskin, and yellow-rumped and black-throated gray warblers. Vocalizations include both song and other sounds such as location calls and alarm calls.
All these species probably nest in the immediate area, so are heard constantly. Many other species are itinerant and visit my vicinity on a less regular basis. These include purple finch, goldfinch, cedar waxwing, black-headed grosbeak, and other flycatchers, vireos and warblers. Five species of woodpecker visit, and also chickadees, nuthatches and brown creepers. Then there are ravens, crows and Steller’s jays, and other miscellaneous species are bald eagle, merlin, nighthawks, Anna’s hummingbird, herons and kingfisher.
One species that has recently become regular in many neighbourhoods and gardens is the house wren. This species began colonizing the Sunshine Coast in the late ‘90s and only became common in the last 10 years. It is now widely reported in gardens and clearcuts. It has a loud, enthusiastic song, and is easily attracted to nest-boxes.
Notable species reported recently on the Sunshine Coast are northern waterthrush at the Sechelt Marsh, bushtits on Gambier Island, a brown pelican and a whimbrel on White Islets, and a Lewis’s woodpecker in Pender Harbour.
To report your sightings or questions contact me at [email protected] or 604-885-5539. Good Birding.
