>This is significant, Don. Not only is this likely the first (maybe
>second) Bay-breasted Warbler seen on Van. I., but it seals Tofino's
>reputation as a migrant trap. A few people (names never mentioned)
>have the opinion that the site is just lucky or something because it
>gets the odd weird bird, but this should convince even the harshest
>skeptics i.e. songbirds, not just shorebirds and ducks.
>

Yes, let's begin the vagrant trap discussion again, for the third time. The
last two times it came around, I was living in Vancouver and not seeing any
vagrants (well maybe a few) and wondering why California did so well. Now I
am in California seeing a good number of vagrants and I have learnt a lot
about where, when and how to look for them. Before living here in the west I
lived in Toronto and often birded some well known migrant traps like Point
Pelee, Long Point, Presque'ile etc. My experience at these different places
has really changed my understanding of migrants, vagrants, effects of
weather etc.
The main realization that I have made, which seems obvious now, is
that a migrant trap and a vagrant trap are two ****different**** things, but
that certain sites may fit both definitions. A migrant trap attracts
migrants, and lots of them! A vagrant trap attracts a good number of
rarities and concentrates them. Many of the places right around Half Moon
Bay are good vagrant traps, but not good migrant traps. I have had days
where the rarities have outnumbered the regular migrants at one of these
places! Right at the coast the overall number of western migrants (Yellow,
Townsend's, Wilson' etc) is not all that high. To get good numbers you can
go a few km. inland and see many more of these birds, but you would have to
be extremely lucky to see any vagrants (eastern warblers and the like)
there. Places like Point Pelee and Long Point are mainly migrant traps where
huge numbers of migrants concentrate. The diversity of species you can see
at these places is high since rarer migrants will be concentrated and more
common than at other places. Overshoots from breeding sites further south
are best considered rare migrants rather than vagrants. Pelee is famous for
its diversity of warblers, but not for rare finds, even though these occur
due to the sheer number of observers that cover the site. Long Point further
east on Lake Erie is much more of a vagrant trap than Point Pelee, but it is
also a migrant trap. Islands tend to be good vagrant traps, but are often
not good migrant traps. Triangle Island, B.C., which is north of the north
tip of Vancouver Island, had a good number of vagrants last year (i.e.
Northern Mockingbird, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Blackpoll Warbler, Boreal Owl,
Great Crested Flycatcher, Ash-throated Flycatcher etc.) but usually had few
migrants there overall.
Vagrant traps are not necessarily 'full of birds', like a migrant
trap. So, if you are looking for a vagrant trap along the coast of
Washington state or Vancouver Island, you could easily miss it! Some of the
little willow groves here in Half Moon Bay look dead, dead, dead..then you
go in and do a little spishing and a Prothonotary Warbler pops out, or a
Philadelphia Vireo, or a Northern Parula, you get the picture. Before I
moved out here, I had the impression that the good coastal sites would be
full of birds (like Toronto or Point Pelee) and you had to scrutinise them
carefully to pick out the rarities, its just not the case usually. Keep this
in mind when looking for a vagrant trap.
The well known vagrant trap here is Point Reyes and it may be a bit
unusual in a way. It is a large peninsula that sticks into the ocean with
few trees, mainly conifers. The birds that land there are forced to land on
these small conifer patches and are easily located by the visiting birders.
Here in San Mateo County there are lots of trees by the coast so the
vagrants have a choice, yet they are invariably found in willows, not
conifers. The willow patches are dense and difficult to cover, so you have
to work harder here than in Point Reyes for the rarities, but they are here
as well. The weather has a noticiable effect, low overcast (coastal fog) is
what you need overnight and in the morning to ground birds. On sunny days,
few birds may be found in POint Reyes, the effect is not as drastic here in
San Mateo County though, some rarities do land when the days are clear. The
coast is the 'end of the line' from a continental perspective, individuals
that have a western component to their migration or east winds will force a
nocturnal migrant over the ocean. It will have to make its way back to shore
in order to land, and more likely than not, it will land near the coast
rather than continuing further inland, particularly a tired bird. Peninsulas
will then act as a concentration point for these birds as they are sticking
further into the ocean. The fog helps in concentrating these birds since it
will obscure their ability to see anything other than the immediate coast,
forcing them to land there rather than inland. There are other factors that
affect vagrants and migrants as well.
In my opinion, Tofino is a vagrant trap, but one that is not 'well
worked'. What has to be done there is to figure out what weather brings in
the birds as well as where they tend to land. I would search in Red Alder
stands right at the coast, do a lot of spishing, and follow chickadee and
bushtit flocks to see if anything is in with them. With regular coverage and
active seeking of vagrants, I think that Tofino could really blow everyone
away eventually. Its probably far better than anyone thinks. I think that
the same is true for the Washington coast. I know that many folks have gone
out and looked very diligently for a vagrant trap, but I think once again
its a question of locating the site, identifying the weather and the habitat
choice and behaviour of the birds once they are there. You can miss a good
vagrant trap. I often wonder if I would have ever realized that there were
so many rare birds around Half Moon Bay, if I didn't know they were here, my
guess is that I would not! So Washington birders, keep looking.

>*SNOW BUNTINGS*!!!! Oh, oh. They have been around here for a few weeks
>but that is early for such a "tropical" site as Tofino. This is just
>as much an omen of a harsh winter as fat bands on a Woolly Bear
>caterpillar. Get that antifreeze tuned up now!

Jack, there is a Snow Bunting right now at Point Reyes, this could be
worse than you think. Look at the bright side though, Canada may be cold,
but at least its in one piece! Serge, I guess you will have to keep hearing
that 'awful Quebec French' on the radio and TV :-)





Alvaro Jaramillo
Half Moon Bay, CA

alvaro at quake.net
http://www.quake.net/~alvaro/index.html