On 17th March 1971, 50 years ago this week, I recorded my first Sunshine Coast bird observations in a battered black notebook. The first three entries were: 17th March – Red Crossbill, 19th March – Evening Grosbeak (8), 20th March – Tree Swallow.
I had been interested in birds since I was a toddler in England, but in February 1971 I had the opportunity to acquire a pair of binoculars for $25 from a French draft dodger who was being deported back to France. For the first time in my life I now had the single basic tool for watching birds, and I was off to the races on an adventure that continues to this day.
I began watching birds the day I first owned the binoculars in February, but it was a month later on 17th March that I began to systematically record my sightings. The world of birding has changed beyond all recognition since 1971 with birders now connected to each other and a myriad of online resources and gadgets that can be taken into the field. When I began to watch birds in West Porpoise Bay in 1971 I was operating in a complete vacuum, with thoughts that I might be the only birder in the whole of B.C.! I had my binoculars and Peterson’s Field Guide to the Birds of Western North America and it just seemed natural to begin building a list of all the bird species I observed. I quickly became addicted to my new pursuit and remember that in April 1971 I was dejected every evening when darkness descended and birding came to an end until the morning.
In the late 1970s the Sechelt Marsh was created by forward-thinking citizens and councillors, and in 1979 the Sechelt Marsh Protective Society was formed (stand up Barry Janyk and Wayne Diakow). The society held monthly meetings and presentations and quickly became the centre of naturalist and birding activity on the Sunshine Coast. Our first Christmas Bird Count was in 1979 and the 42nd was in December 2020. The local birding community has continued to expand and there is now a solid core of expert birders. Much activity is online these days and you may be interested in googling “e-bird Sunshine Coast.”
The Sunshine Coast is a great location to be a birder with our varied biogeography from high mountains to ocean, and our four distinct seasons yielding an ever-changing panorama of bird species. Since 1971 about 310 different bird species have been recorded and about one new species is added yearly on average.
The first swallows of the year, violet-greens, were reported by Kaiden Bosch on 4th March at Sakinaw Lake, the first yellow-rumped warblers on the 7th by Solveigh Harrison and Mari Petznek, and the first turkey vultures by Chris Allen on the 8th. The birds are heading our way! To report your sightings or questions contact [email protected] or 604-885-5539. Good Birding.
