The Birds of Sargeant Bay Provincial Park
by Tony Greenfield
The park can be divided into three distinct bird viewing areas:
- the saltwater of Sargeant Bay
- the berm and the Colvin Lake wetland
- the upland forest above Redrooffs Road
Each of these areas has a diversity of birds that varies by season. For detailed information on the 157 species of birds that can be seen in Sargeant bay Provincial Park, consult the Checklist of Birds for Sargeant Bay Provincial Park.
Sargeant Bay
The best viewing seasons on the bay are winter and spring. For reasons unknown, the number of species and birds using this habitat declined drastically in the 1990’s. Typically, you can find loons, grebes, cormorants, seaducks (Barrows Goldeneye, Surf Scoter, Common Merganser), alcids (Common Murre, Pigeon Guillemot, and especially Marbled Murrelet), and gulls.
Berm and Colvin Lake
Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, and other raptors such as Red-tailed Hawk and Merlin may be seen at any season. In winter the berm is generally quiet, but on the lake look for Pied-billed Grebe, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead and Hooded Merganser. The snags in the wetlands are used by Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker and Steller’s Jay. Red-winged Blackbirds may be present as early as January.
Virginia Rails are resident, except if the wetland freezes in a cold snap. In spring, the berm is a transit and foraging area for Rufous Hummingbirds, migrant warblers in the alder trees, and for sparrows on the berm itself. A pair of Killdeer have nested on the berm in the past. Red-winged Blackbirds dominate the wetland with their creaky song, and there are many Common Yellowthroats in the cattails, while swallows may forage overhead.
In summer the rail and the yellowthroat continue in the wetland, and watch for Turkey Vultures soaring overhead with their wobbly flight. The grassy and shrubby areas of the berm host many sparrows in the fall including Savannah, Fox, Song, Lincoln’s, Golden-crowned & White-crowned.
Upland in the Park
In fall and winter the mixed coniferous/deciduous forest above Redrooffs Road is good for woodpeckers and forest species such as Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Winter Wren, and Varied Thrush. Also resident are Western Screech, Great Horned, Barred, and Northern Saw-whet Owls.
In spring and summer the forest is home to Band-tailed Pigeon, woodpeckers, flycatchers, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Swainson’s Thrush, vireos, warblers, Western Tanager and Black-headed Grosbeak.
Photo Gallery
