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April 12, 2007  April Firsts The title of this week’s column suggests that this column is about April 1st, a calendar date when people play practical jokes on each other. It is not. April is a big month for bird species returning to the 100 Mile House area to begin their nesting season. And, as the first of each returning species is encountered, I call it, naturally enough, “A First.” Of course some “Firsts” arrive before April. They too are counted, but it is April that really shows a great increase in returning bird species. Why do I make such a big fuss about firsts? Although I appear at first glance to bear up well under winter’s reign, I suffer from a malaise best described as avian silence. Sure, the Chickadees and Woodpeckers perk me up when their black and white shapes disturb the silent cold air that hangs between the trees. And their calls, though noble enough efforts, are meager fare indeed when compared with the avian sights and sounds provided by throngs of spring and summer birds. Despite the presence of 35 winter bird species, birders will experience a form of sensory deprivation by the end of February. This ‘missing something’ feeling is as much visual as auditory. Although there is no medical term for the syndrome (such as seasonal affective disorder, SADS) there probably should be, and to that end I suggest Bird Absence Disorder Syndrome, BADS. Much like other syndromes, a birder is unaware that he or she is in the grip of BADS. To the untrained eye you appear well enough, feeding on the available though sparse winter bird sightings. But, at times you stare wistfully into leaden and empty gray skies. What are you searching for? Perhaps you are just checking the weather! Your gaze returns earthward and searches desperately for a tidbit of a Nuthatch sighting. Slowly, inexorably and without conscious awareness, you are experiencing bird starvation. Typically you become aware that you are deep in the grip of this seasonal malaise when you encounter a “first” bird of the budding spring season. Perhaps while perusing a flock of Chickadees, you detect an unlikely flash of white in some tail feathers. You turn, lurch forward, and quickly stifle a shriek. You grasp a sapling to steady yourself and in the process snap it clear off. Your dazzled eyes and whirling mind suggest the bird might be a Junco. That’s right – a Junco! It is a Junco! The black hooded head. The fingernail coloured beak. The flashing white outer tail feathers – they’re all there. You feel like a man with a horrible thirst who has just tasted cool water. You fall to your knees with warm tears coursing down your face. You open your arms and shout “Welcome back little hooded hero.” Yes, you’ve had BADS real bad for months now, and this tiny bird signals just how critical your situation was. Thankfully the cure begins with the little Junco sighting. And each “First bird” encountered dims the pangs just a little more. Soon the balm of bird sightings, and bird sounds, wraps you solidly as a cocoon from morning until night. Thank heaven for the Firsts. In celebration of my April Firsts here is a list of my sightings: April 1st, in a blinding blizzard, the first Snipe of the year jumped from the mud along Exeter Lake. Later that same day the first Canvasback swam in the chilly crescent of open water at the 100 Mile Marsh. On April 4th the first Eurasian Wigeon appeared at 100 Mile Marsh. On April the 5th, the first Ruddy Duck appeared at 100 Mile Marsh, and the first Marsh Wren surprised me with a song at the 101 marsh. While looking across the new sewer lagoon I heard the bubbling calls of the first two Tree Swallows. This day supplied more Firsts with the first Mountain Bluebirds and a female Northern Harrier. On April the 6th, I was startled and briefly mystified by the ‘creah creah’ call of the first Red-naped Sapsucker in poplars behind Halcro arena. Just minutes after that encounter I saw my first flock of Northern Shovelers hunkered down in the Exeter Valley’s flooded fields. While at the dump on the 7th of April I was surprised to hear my first Sandhill Cranes calling from the north. Later several of the first Yellow-headed Blackbirds showed up at the marsh along with Violet-green Swallows. The first Brewer’s Blackbirds appeared on Exeter Road that same day. On the 9th I saw the first Pied-billed Grebe of the season swimming in the flooded fields along the Exeter Road. And on the 10th the first Kestrel sat on the hydro lines running along Exeter Road. And so it goes. The Firsts keep on coming. But April will not monopolize all the firsts. Some bird species wait until May before sticking their heads into the blustery Cariboo weather. By the last week of May though, if spring unfolds as it is wont to do, then all the firsts will be here. Long live the Firsts! To e-mail Tom CLICK HERE To look at previous column CLICK HERE |
