The dog-days of August are a low point in the birding year on the Sunshine Coast, a hiatus from the frenetic days of June when the birds are in full song and displaying their breeding finery.
In August the woods are silent and the heat seems to induce a lethargy among the birds. Not all birds, as one of the regular sights and sounds is that of harried parents being trailed through the trees by noisy youngsters demanding an endless supply of food, like kids demanding ice cream.
Even in this near universal lethargy there is one family of birds that can still find the energy to sing. The vireos, with four members on the Sunshine Coast, are noted for their enthusiasm for singing at any opportunity.
Recently along the power line in Halfmoon Bay in the 30 degree heat of early afternoon, the air was silent until I heard the distinctive two syllable song of a Cassin’s vireo.
On Redrooffs Road I still hear the boring song of Hutton’s vireo. Hutton’s is the only member of the family that spends all year with us, as the other three are highly migratory. One of our common birds of summer is the warbling vireo, a drab little bird with a huge voice, now stilled. Warbling vireos have even been known to indulge in singing from the nest, a completely counterproductive habit that might attract predators to the nest.
One species of bird that is more noticeable in August than any other month is the common nighthawk. During August, after breeding solitarily in the mountains, nighthawks are frequently observed in flocks in the evening, often over the urban area of Sechelt. Here, they hawk insects often in conjunction with swifts and sometimes Bonaparte gulls. Nighthawks, one of the group of birds known as the aerial insectivores, are thought to be declining worldwide from unknown environmental factors, but likely related to insecticides.
Swallows are deemed to be the “birds of summer,” but by early August many of our violet-green and tree swallows have already departed southwards. These species arrive early (beginning in March) and leave early.
To report your sightings or questions email me at [email protected] or call 604-885-5539.
