The weather May 3rd was perfect for the Cortes Museum's Spring Migration Birding Event, and the sixteen adults and 8 kids that participated felt very lucky that the wind and rain of the previous day had ended. The group surveyed different bird habitats and recorded all the bird species spotted, starting in the Whaletown area and finishing at the South end of the island. During the day they explored shorelines, tidal mudflats, forests, freshwater lakes and ponds, swamps and fields – and were excited about the 68 different bird species that they spotted.

Three wood ducks were sighted in Gunflint Lake near the road – the brightly coloured males with feathers extending down from the back of their heads reminiscent of a ball cap worn backwards. Kwas Pond was a rewarding stop as the group studied and finally identified a Solitary Sandpiper that was feeding on a small island in the middle of the pond. A Northern Pintail male duck was also observed here, probably resting before continuing its migration further north to its breeding areas. The Common Yellowthroat with its distinctive “wichity-wichity-wichity” call let us know it was there, but remained illusive in the grassy area beside the pond.

The final stop of the day was Loon Ranch on the south end of the island. Here the group spotted just off the beach a male Northern Shoveler duck amidst a flock of American Widgeons. Then while observing this, three Greater White-fronted Geese circled the orchard and landed a short way from the group. The three seemed more interested in feeding on the grass than the people watching them. Attracted to the feeders at the ranch was an unusual sight - a Ringed Turtle Dove. This is not a species usually found in the wild, but more likely an escapee of a domesticated flock. Everyone hoped to see the Yellow-headed Blackbird that had been at the feeder a few days before – but that wasn't to be.