Enthusiastic adults and kids participated in the 2008 Cortes Island Museum's Spring Migration Birding Event on Sunday, May 4th. The weather cooperated with a warm dry day, and the tide was quite low making it fun to spot shore birds.

The group started in the Whaletown area and leisurely explored a variety of bird habitats, enjoying a picnic along the way and ending up at the south end of the island. Peering through scopes and binoculars the participants identified 73 species of birds along the shorelines, woodlands, swamps, and fields of Cortes Island.

Spring is an exciting time of year for birders as migratory species stop briefly to rest and summer resident species return to nest and raise their young. A number of warblers were spotted during the day, but the most common was the Yellow-rumped Warbler flitting through thickets of salmon berries and alders. A Red-breasted Sapsucker poked its head out of a hole in a dead snag to the delight of everyone. Common Yellowthroats were heard near a swamp singing their beautiful “wichity-wichity-wichity” song, while Violet-green Swallows performed their beautiful acrobatic flight overhead.

Birds are identified either by sight or by their distinct calls or songs. Some are easy to identify, and others require careful study and consultation. Some, alas, remain a mystery but that probably is what keeps us interested and always learning. If you were not able to participate in this event the Museum also sponsors the Christmas Bird Count sometime between December 15th and January 5th.

Check out the Museum's new web-page www.cortesmuseum.ca and our Bird Watching Section where islanders add pictures and information regarding birds they have spotted.