Wrong turn leaves Caribbean-bound bird in Abbotsford

Cape May warbler spotted at Mill Lake Park, attracting interest of Fraser Valley birders

BEN LYPKA

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.”

Continued