Hi Tweeters

Just got word, via Peter Whelan, who writes the weekly bird column in the
Globe & Mail (the Marketing Div. of which is pleased to have us think of as
'Canada's National Newspaper'-instead of 'Toronto's National Newspaper ;-),
that young birds have fledged extraordinarily early this year in the
southern Arctic areas of the Yukon/S Alaska. A very hot spring and summer
has juvenile shorebirds already on their way south.

Coincidentally, I just learned yesterday that the first juv. Semipalmated
Sandpiper (SESA)--invariably the first arriving juvenile shorebird species
in Vancouver BC--showed up at Iona Is. sometime over a week ago at least
*two weeks* early. Wish I could give you all a date, but that's how we do
things here in Vancouver BC. The 13-yr Vancouver BC average SESA juv arrival
date is July 21, the WESA juv date is July 24 with the *usual* window about
10 days wide for both.

Be interesting to see how consistently early the other shorebird species are
at those Washington & Oregon locations for which there is better coverage.

Michael Price
Vancouver BC Canada
michael_price at mindlink.bc.ca