By Tony Greenfield

The Sunshine Coast is an excellent area to bird year round with its wide variety of habitats and four distinct seasons. Habitats cover the gamut from marine to alpine. In between there are estuaries and intertidal mudflats, rocky shores, beaches, spits, islets, and wave-washed rocks. There are woodland ponds, freshwater lakes, airports, golf courses and pastures. There are rural, urban and suburban landscapes. There are vast expanses of coniferous forest, both old growth and second growth, and ranging from Douglas Fir at low elevations, through Western Red Cedar and Western Hemlock, to Balsam, Yellow Cedar and Mountain Hemlock above 1000 metres. There are deciduous stands of alder and maple, and arbutus groves on rocky headlands at sea-level. Finally there is much alpine and sub-alpine terrain with the highest peaks reaching 2500 metres.

The climate is basically Mediterranean, with warm, wet winters, and dry, sunny summers. The mild, ice-free winters of the Strait of Georgia attracts many species of wintering waterbirds, while 60+ species of birds arrive from points south to breed in the summertime. During the spring and fall seasons other species migrate through the area. It is possible to record 50 species of birds in a few hours at any season. On a monthly basis 80-100 species is possible in the winter, with 125+ possible in May and September. About 200 species are recorded in any one year, and the all-time checklist is just under 300.

Many of the Sunshine Coast's birds may be seen in non-specific locations. Loons, grebes, cormorants, ducks, gulls and alcids might be seen on salt water anywhere along the coast. Similarly, raptors, woodpeckers, flycatchers, thrushes, vireos, warblers, sparrows and finches are widely present in forests, gardens and clearings everywhere. However, there are certain locations that constitute the birding hotspots of the Sunshine coast, where specific habitats bring together exceptional numbers and variety of birds.

To report a bird sighting, ask a question about an identification or about finding a bird on the Sunshine Coast contact Tony at greenfieldtony@hotmail.com