Warblers, Vireos, Gulls – Oh my!
Photo of a yellow-rumped warbler by Michael Dunn.
As the days get longer and warmer, we begin seeing and hearing the spring and summer migrants who are now flocking northward to their breeding areas. So, it is time to celebrate and welcome them back!
World Migratory Bird Day 2026 will be celebrated in North America on Saturday, May 9, and it is designated as a day to reflect on the amazing travels of many bird species from wintering to breeding sites. It is also to raise awareness of the importance of maintaining significant and predictable feeding and nesting opportunities for these birds to thrive.
Sixth Big Day Bird Count on May 9th
Mayne Island’s Sixth Big Day Bird Count is also on May 9th, and is a celebration at this beautiful time of year to see the many bird species that reside, flow through and nest here. Last year’s Big Day produced 81 species tallied by 21 participants who enjoyed a wonderful time getting out and having a casual day of observing the Spring birds of our area. This time of year is a good time to see migrant species passing through to more northern breeding areas. The marine waters are especially good for observing some of these species. The Big Day results give us a snapshot of the species that use our area for migratory stopover and those that come here to breed, in addition to our resident bird species.
It’s Easy to Participate!
The beauty of this count is that it is easy to participate – all you do is go out on May 9th and do some birding for as long as you desire. The count period is the 24 hours of May 9th (some may wish to do owling, or catch the Dawn Chorus starting pre-dawn).
Your Responsibilities Are:
- Let Michael know you are participating and with how many observers, if you are part of a team.
- Commit to a timeframe (e.g. 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours, all-day?) and count as many different species as you can see in that timeframe. No need to count how many, just the species.
- Record those species on a list.
- Get your completed list to Michael Dunn, mjechael.dunn@gmail.com
How to Do Your Count
This is the fun part.
- You can do your count solo or in a team. Family groups are most welcomed. If you choose to team up with others give yourselves a name. Be creative!
- Only one list for each team is necessary, so designate a recorder for your team.
- In terms of the area to count, it is your choice. You can go anywhere on the island to count birds and not worry about overlap with other birders. As we are doing only species, overlap is fine, as a final list of different species seen will be compiled from all the lists submitted.
- With your list, please record the amount of time you spent counting and how many were in your team.
Using the Merlin App
Many of you have embraced the incredible free app Merlin for your bird identifications. This tool is excellent, but some caution is advised. What I would like to ask of those using Merlin to list only those birds Merlin has detected by call, and you have confirmed a sighting of that bird afterwards. If you have one, refer to The Birds of Mayne Island – A Checklist, which represents documented species sightings over many years. If you don’t have one, the checklist is available at Books on Mayne, Happy Tides, or the Conservancy office.
What happens to the results?
All the lists submitted will be used to compile a single list of the total species seen on May 9th. This list will be posted on the eBird site for such lists so it will be accessible to birders all around the world. Also, a summary of the Big Day Count will be posted on the Conservancy website.
So, get out and enjoy the day getting to know our bird neighbours.
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