Our six month trip to Australia is over and we are back at home. Before returning to Nakusp, we spent a week at the coast visiting family.
There is a striking difference between bird species that winter along the coast as opposed to those in the West Kootenay region. The mild temperatures, open water and thus an abundant food supply is, of course, the reason.
I won’t list all the species I saw on the coast but just mention some of the more obvious differences.
There are quite a few duck species that breed in the interior and winter on the coast. There were huge rafts of Scoters along the coast, including three different species: Surf, White-winged and Black.
The first two are common species and may occur in flocks of many hundred. The third, the Black Scoter, is uncommon and I saw only a dozen or so among the large flocks.
All three species breed in the Arctic regions with a few, particularly White-winged, sometimes nesting in B.C.
Other coastal species included Harlequin and Long-tailed Ducks. Long-tails are another of the Arctic breeders, but Harlequins nest throughout the interior of B.C., usually along fast moving rivers and creeks. They do occasionally nest on the Kuskanax.
Another Arctic breeder that frequents B.C.’s coastal waters is the Brant. This small goose is very common along the coast, particularly in early spring when huge numbers feed in the coastal shallows and river estuaries.
Each year in March, Parksville holds the annual Brant Festival to celebrate the passing of the geese.
Gulls are also very common on the coast. In the Arrow Lakes Valley we have a few California and Herring Gulls for much of the year; they are briefly much more common during the kokanee spawn in the fall. On the coast they are several species, some of which are extremely numerous.
Glaucous-winged and Mew Gulls were probably the two I saw more often last week, but I also saw lesser numbers of Thayer’s, Herring, Ring-billed and Glaucous Gulls.
It’s not only water birds that occur on the coast more regularly than the interior. I encountered Fox Sparrows and Golden-crowned Sparrows numerous times in the woodland edges.
In the interior, the Fox Sparrow is a sub-alpine species that breeds in the meadows at higher elevations. We very rarely see them in the valleys, and they do not remain through the winter.
Golden-crowned Sparrows are uncommon here at all times of year. When they do occur it is usually mixed in with the large flocks of White-crowned Sparrows that pass through in April.
The next couple of months are perhaps the most exciting time for birders in Canada. The migrants are coming and you can expect something different every time you step out the door, so keep your eyes open!
