Ah, summer, with its long, warm days, ample food, plenty of access to natural resources and supplies, and with time to sit in one place or go about one’s business in relative ease. It’s a bit like that for the birds around us.
Spring into Summer
Springtime brings a feathery flurry of activity to the forests, fields and wetlands surrounding Prince George, and many of the birds have donned their finest feathers for the season, and they share their excited songs and calls as they seek to attract suitable mates. But the honeymoon is brief, and summer bestows all the obligations and efforts of early parenting. The nests have been built, the eggs have been laid, the chicks have hatched, and now the parents must raise them, feed them, protect them, and teach them to fly independently in preparation for all the harsh realities of life soon to come. Everyone knows the winters here can be long and cold, and if one happens to be a ‘snowbird’ with a long and expensive journey to prepare for, then summer provides not only a season to rest and to play, but also compels our feathered neighbours to work hard and plan ahead. Slowly, the bright spring plumage gives way to more subtle, less flashy summer-to-fall tones.
Summer birding around Prince George
While some of the spring migrants to Prince George have flown onward to places elsewhere in the region or further north (as far as Yukon or Alaska), many species have also settled in or very near to the city. They’ve found a suitable habitat for mating, building nests, laying eggs, hatching and rearing young, and all the while maintaining their own individual and group needs.
Our forests, fields and rivers are full of bird activity in the summer. For example, hike one of the trails at Forests for the World Park and you might see or hear American Robin, Warbling Vireo, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Magnolia Warbler, Hammond’s or Dusky Flycatcher, American Redstart, or Swainson’s Thrush. At Cottonwood Island Park look for woodpeckers such as the large Pileated Woodpecker, and also Great-horned Owl, shorebirds, the very elegant Wood Duck and other ducks, Bald Eagle and Osprey, and American Redstart. Listen for the pretty song of the Northern Waterthrush. Red-winged Blackbirds and colorful Yellow Warblers or Purple Finches may be seen at Hudson’s Bay Wetland Nature Park, along with ducks such as Barrow’s Goldeneye, American Wigeon, and possibly Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, or Cinnamon Teal.
Take a drive in the Blackburn/Pineview communities near the airport to see Savannah Sparrows and birds of prey such as Red-tailed Hawks, Northern Harriers, or perhaps a Sharp-shinned Hawk. In agricultural fields surrounding the city you just might be fortunate and see a Long-billed Curlew (North America’s largest shorebird, although it breeds and raises its young in grasslands) or a Sandhill Crane. With their 2-meter wingspan and standing up to 1.2 meters tall, Sandhill Cranes are one of the largest birds to visit our region. Their loud, croaking call might alert you to their presence flying high overhead or as they approach a suitable open landing spot. Another sometimes noisy bird encountered in open areas near stands of trees and bush is the Black-billed Magpie – not necessarily a crowd-pleaser (as it’s fond of raiding other birds’ nests), but looking natty and self-assured, nonetheless. If at dusk you’re close to a sizable wooded area, listen for an owl’s call, such as the distinctive “who, who, who cooks for you all” of the Barred Owl.
Cultivating your App-etite for birds
If you haven’t already done so, consider downloading to your smartphone the Merlin Bird ID app. It’s free, and readily available on multiple platforms. With Merlin, you can identify birds using either photographs or sound recordings, either ‘live’ as you go out in nature, or at any time by selecting pictures from the picture library on your smartphone. Merlin will tell and show you which bird or birds you’re hearing as you’re hearing them, which can greatly assist your bird identification skills, and open up to you the splendid diversity of avian species around you.
A bigger picture
While you’re exploring about around Prince George enjoying all the vibrant summer bird life, of course keep your eyes open for many other wildlife species sharing the neighborhood. Black bears, moose, deer, foxes, coyotes, beavers, squirrels, toads, garter snakes, butterflies, wild bees – there are many interesting and wonderful critters about. Going birding, after all, is not just for the birds!
Photos and text by Dave Leman, Prince George, BC