Cape May
warbler spotted at Mill Lake Park, attracting interest of Fraser Valley birders
Jan. 7,
2019 12:00 p.m.
Imagine
preparing for a winter full of sun in the West Indies, but instead ending up in
Abbotsford’s Mill Lake Park.
That’s
the situation that a Cape May warbler – a bird never before seen in the Lower
Mainland – is now facing this winter.
The small
bird has been attracting the interest of birders since it was spotted in the
park on Jan. 1.
It’s
seemingly found a home just north of the park’s boardwalk, and has been feeding
on nectar and insects in a patch of flowers and brush.
(Video
by: Bert Sharp)
Gord
Gadsden, the founder of the Fraser Valley Birding group
and the Fraser Valley regional editor for eBird, said the new visitor to
Abbotsford has been creating a buzz in the local birding community.
“It’s
caused mass excitement,” he said, noting that it all began when a local snapped
a picture of a bird in the park that looked different. “The next morning there
was a group of people cruising around to get a glimpse of it. It’s quite a
show.”
Gadsden
explained that it’s the first-ever recorded sighting of the bird in this area
of the province.
“To ever
see this bird in B.C. you would have to drive up to Fort St. John in the
summer,” he said. “It’s really never been seen in the Lower Mainland and much
of B.C. before.”
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