We eagerly await the return each year of the billions of migrant birds that flood back to Canada and the Sunshine Coast, bringing such favourites as hummingbirds, swallows and warblers to spend the summer with us.
Among the billions of expected returning birds are always a few surprises just as you would expect when millions of humans are on the move. It is easy to miss a sign, miss a turn, go too far on the freeway etc. and in these circumstances you end up in an unexpected place. It is the same for birds, so during migration season there are always occurrences of unexpected birds, the phenomenon of the rare bird.
Birders love all their birds, but it is always a thrill to find something unexpected, and in many ways it is what keeps committed birders forever on the lookout for that special moment when they discover a rarity.
Kaiden Bosch, a young birder who has all the necessary skills to find rare birds, has been out and about a lot in the last month, and has found a few notable birds. The latest was a green heron at the Sechelt Marsh on May 9.
Green herons are quite rare on the Sunshine Coast, being at the northern extent of their range here, and the last record of one was seven years ago. The bird stayed at the marsh for three days and was seen by a few other birders.
Meanwhile in Gibsons, a bird that is very rare in B.C. with few recorded occurrences, showed up for the third year in a row at Barry Janyk’s feeder.
Costa’s hummingbird is a bird of the desert southwest, but for whatever reason this one finds its way to Gibsons each year. Local birders were speculating whether the bird would reappear this year and it showed up on May 1, one day later than last year.
In Pender Harbour, also on May 1, David Twentyman and his wife were enjoying dinner on the deck when he was amazed to see six white pelicans flying overhead.
Pelicans are a highly distinctive bird with their huge throat pouches. This is only the fourth record of this species on the Sunshine Coast and the last spring record was as far back as 1970. White Pelicans nest in the Chilcotin at Stum Lake and these birds must have been displaced westward from their usual migration route through the Okanagan. More white pelicans were reported in the Nanaimo area at about the same time.
On April 24 at the Wilson Creek estuary, John Hodges found a mockingbird, another local rarity.
On Truman Road in Halfmoon Bay the house wren that has nested in this area for the last few years also returned again. There were also a couple of reports of single sandhill cranes flying overhead.
To report your sightings or questions contact [email protected] or 604-885-5539.
