The days are getting shorter, and it’s starting to get chilly out there, but birding in fall is one of the best times to enjoy the BC Bird Trail!
Why Go Birding in Fall?
Fall is actually one of the best times of the year to go birding because of the large amounts of bird migrations taking place. All four BC Bird Trails are ideally situated along parts of the Pacific Flyway, catching birds flying south seeking warmer climates. Some will stay for the duration of the winter to enjoy the tepid climate and abundance of food, while others only stop by for a break during their long journey farther south. During peak migration, birding can be quite exciting and local birding spots can change overnight, so every outing can offer new surprises.
BC Birding in Fall Tips
Don’t let the cooler temperature stop you – there are many advantages to birding in the fall. If you’re not a fan of the summer heat, fall birding offers a great mix of warm-but-cool weather which means you can be comfortable staying out on the trails for longer. Also, since the weather is still pleasant, but not pleasant enough to draw summer crowds, you’ll have all the benefits of quieter trails for birdwatching. Just remember to bring layered clothing if you intended to stay out for a while – nice days can still mean surprisingly cold mornings and evenings. If you can, now is a good time to get back in the habit of keeping a set of warm stuff handy in the car.
Sure, lush green trees are lovely, but they’re not ideal for bird watching. As those gorgeous crunchy leaves fall to the ground, you’ll find an abundance of bare tree branches, far better for spotting our feathered friends, and it’s a great time of year to see woodpeckers for this very reason!
Later sunrises and earlier sunsets mean you can enjoy those higher bird activity hours, and golden hours for photography, at a more reasonable time than in the summer. Some other benefits to fall bird photography are that cooler mornings mean more chances of fog and mist adding some cool atmosphere to bird photos, while the fall colours themselves can also add some vibrancy to a shot.
With fall migrations taking place all over the province, be sure to check in with your local nature parks to see what community bird activities they may have planned, like hawk, eagle, or turkey vulture watches. And since kids are back in school, you can check our blog about day trips from Vancouver for ideas for weekend or quick afternoon and evening family bird outings.
Fall Birds to Watch For
As one of the busiest times in BC for bird migrations, every region on the BC Bird Trail has exciting visitors. turkey vultures are a common sight during fall birding in BC, as well as trumpeter swans along the Central Vancouver Island, Fraser Valley, and Columbia Valley Bird Trails.
Sea ducks like surf, white-winged, and black scoters, harlequin ducks, Barrow’s and common goldeneyes, and the elegant long-tailed ducks are more common to see throughout fall. You may also spot common, hooded, and red-breasted mergansers. Other ducks you could see include northern shovelers, northern pintails, wigeons, canvasbacks, ring-necked ducks, scaups, and gadwalls.
Songbirds, warblers, and raptors are sticking around all over BC until the winter, so keep be sure to keep your eyes on the skies and watch for movement in the trees.
Columbia Valley Bird Trail
Fall migration means you’ll see and hear higher numbers of warblers and other songbirds around the Columbia Valley Bird Trails before they head south for the winter. It’s also a good chance to see the many species of waterfowl and raptors before they also leave for the season.
Trumpeter swans are one of the stars of the season and always look majestic as they pose for a photo. Lewis’s woodpecker, a regional highlight, can still be occasionally seen before the weather cools down too much.
South Fraser Bird Trail
Fall migration brings many visitors through the region as a stop on the Pacific Flyway. One of the most amazing bird spectacles in the world can be seen in the South Fraser Bird Trail region: the arrival of the snow geese! In early October, tens of thousands of snow geese that breed on Wrangel Island off northern Russia make their way to the area. The sight of a flock covering an entire farm field on Westham Island (near George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary), or peppering the sky at takeoff, is quite impressive.
Bald eagles are also plentiful and can often be seen casually perched along the road in the farmlands up in trees or on fenceposts. The shorelines come alive at Boundary Bay and Roberts Bank with huge numbers of shorebirds, like dunlin, western sandpipers, and black-bellied plovers.
Central Vancouver Island Bird Trail
Turkey vultures and raptors still dominate the skies as summer turns into autumn on the Central Vancouver Island Bird Trail. Other migrating raptors such as hawks and ospreys are also more abundant throughout the BC Bird Trails.
Bufflehead ducks’ exciting and punctual return to the Central Vancouver Island and South Fraser Bird Trails is cause for small community celebrations held in their honour! A bit off-shore, the waterbirds start to show up in droves. Auks like the common murre or marbled murrelet dot the open water, and you might even get to see long-tailed ducks, possibly the most majestic waterfowl around.
Fraser Valley Bird Trail
Take a stroll through a forest trail along the Fraser Valley Bird Trail in fall and follow your ears to find one of our local woodpecker species drumming away on a tree. From the large, red-capped pileated woodpecker, to the hairy woodpecker and its smaller lookalike, the downy, their sounds echo through the trails. There’s even the northern flicker, a woodpecker often found foraging on the ground, which has delightful polka dots on its front. Other active park residents include kinglets and chickadees, ensuring that a walk through the trees is rarely without activity.
In the Harrison River Valley, fall is the time to celebrate The Season of the Wild, which tells the story of the salmon, sturgeon, and eagles in the region. Every year, the salmon swim up the Harrison River and come to rest in tributaries to lay their eggs. The spawning season, along with the cooling temperatures in the North, contributes to the large gathering of the bald eagles seen from October to January; with the peak eagle viewing in November.
For more information on the science behind bird migration and what to expect on your fall birding excursion, read through this great resource from eBird.
Ready to plan your fall birding adventure? Explore our regional bird trails for inspiration and be sure to tag #BCBirdTrail in your photo posts and stories on Instagram and Facebook so we can share your birding experiences.
