Subject: Shorebirds Migration: (was: Weather/migration/long)
Date: Apr 15 11:51:30 1998
From: Michael Price - mprice at mindlink.bc.ca


Hi Tweets,

Murray Hansen writes:

>Love the "wind birds" and would really like to be around when--and where--they
>arrive for at least a short moment. The information I have is that the last
>week of April and the first week of May are the best times to explore.
>Anyone have any ideas about El Nino's effect on our shorebirds? All
>suggestions cheerfully and gratefully accepted!

Was told by Libor Michalak that there were approximately 1 million
shorebirds in five large flocks off the Roberts Bank Coalport Jetty in South
Delta about a week ago. Going on recollection, these would be migrant Dunlin
Calidris alpina and perhaps the northern wintering component of Western
Sandpipers C. mauri. As today, 4.14, is the average arrival date for Western
Sandpiper, but it's been a strange winter so far (warming up today, so maybe
our first spring day has finally arrived here), it's hard to tell when the
actual migration began.

The best time to see even more, barring calamitous weather pattern changes,
is the last week of April, with sometimes several *million* shorebirds
present there, probably 90% of all the Western Sandpipers there are, but
from mid-April on there's large numbers anyway. If you're not used to seeing
many, it's an astounding sight: what look like grey-brown clouds moving
along the shoreline several hundred meters out. Fortunately/unfortunately
they're a long way off when the tide's out; fortunately because if you can't
get out to them, neither can people running their dogs; unfortunate because
you need to wait for the tide to bring them closer, right up to the jetty's
edge. Just gotta watch out for the coal-trains.

Just a twenty-thirty minute drive south of Vancouver BC, so an easy drive
out to the Jetty.

Michael Price A brave world, Sir,
Vancouver BC Canada full of religion, knavery and change;
mprice at mindlink.net we shall shortly see better days.
Aphra Behn (1640-1689)