It is early May and already we have experienced July-like temperatures. Particularly in the second week of May, some of our best-known summer residents arrive to spend the season with us, species such as the gaudy western tanager, the excellent singer black-headed grosbeak, the immaculately plumaged cedar waxwing, and the species that everyone hears but few ever see, Swainson’s thrush. Other less obvious species also arrive: the olive-sided flycatcher and western wood peewee, and the last two warblers, Wilson’s and yellow. After May 15, only four species remain to arrive, willow flycatcher (extremely common), red-eyed vireo (scarce), black swift (sporadic) and the final arrival of the year, common nighthawk, which usually appears in the first week of June.
Throughout April, flocks of snow geese were much in evidence as they noisily migrated high overhead with perhaps the final flock of the spring on May 2. On the land and water, broods of young birds can be observed with families of Canada geese and mallards seen at locations such as the Sechelt Marsh and the head of Porpoise Bay. Grace Fryer reported a family group of two adult and three killdeer chicks in a sheep field on Mason Road in West Sechelt. Killdeer parents are famous for performing a distraction display, dragging their wing along the ground as if mortally wounded, to lure predators, including humans, away from their eggs or young. At my home on Redrooffs Road, I investigated an almighty ruckus created by some robins and eventually watched a red-tailed hawk fly away escorted by the angry robins.
May 14 is the second Global Big Day organized by Cornell University (see ebird.org/globalbigday). Last year, birders around the world submitted their records for May 9, and an incredible 6,085 species were reported on the one day (out of 10,000 species worldwide). Local birders will be participating and there will be a special event at Ruby Lake Resort (watch for the ads).
To report your sightings or questions, contact Tony at [email protected] or 604-885-5539.
