Michael Pr. wrote in respons to Mike Pa. -

<<< In fact, it seemed that some species were hitting this part of the
Cascadian coast early, if not on time, and others, such as the main
movement of Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum, were very much later
than average.>>>

Same for central BC: early migrants were early or on time; later waves
mostly delayed. My backyard Magnolia Warbler has yet to show up - a
good two weeks late.

<<<Nonetheless, it's entirely accurate to speak of a late spring, even
in places a non-spring. In Vancouver BC, there's still 10 *meters* of
snow on the local mountains above the city and for the first time in
history, the companies operating the ski-runs have opened for June
*skiing* where most people would normally have been hiking for the
last month or more. And how cold has been here? Well, every time
another Pacific Low rumbles in from the northwest, something that's
been happening with depressing regularity every two or three days
since about mid-October of last year, there's been new snow on the
mountains, even through April and May, months which normally see the
disappearance, not the addition, of snow. How's several more
centimeters of fresh snow on those mountains (and they're only a lousy
1,000-1500 meters (3000'-4000') tall a couple of days ago on June 01,
and wet snow mixed in with the rain at sea level? And so cold that day
that at mid-day that one's breath steamed? And more of the same
forecasted for the weekend?>>>

Correct, even though coloured by a certain amount of hyperbole.

<<<This is not spring weather, it is winter weather, a winter which, for
us, at least, has not yet quit in spite of the occasional and
widely-separated warm day or two. And this is Vancouver BC in
southwestern Canada just north of Bellingham WA, not Whitehorse in the
Yukon above the the Arctic Circle. Maybe it's been different as far
south as the Columbia River, but I'd hazard that for much of northern
coastal Tweeterland, we're still stuck in mid-February with occasional
days off in mid-April if we're good at a time when we normally start
our summer. For insectivores and montane species, even those which
arrived at or transited an area on-time, this non-spring has to be bad
news.>>>

Indeed, the negative effects of a deep spring snowpack on our birds is
what is often lost in the shuffle when we revel in their late
appearance in the valleys. What will all those Wilson's Warblers do if
they can't get to the mountain avalanche chutes? Delay breeding? Same
for Golden-crowned Sparrows. And marsh nesting insectivores such as
Red-winged Blackbirds usually experience very poor nestling survival
during cold springs due to lack of insect hatches. Oh, and for the
record, Whitehorse, Yukon (lat N 61 deg) is *south* of the Arctic
Circle (lat N 66.6 deg).

------
Jack Bowling
Prince George, BC
jbowling at direct.ca