Arthur Martell and Barbara Sedgwick
Comox Valley Naturalists Society, Box 3222, Courtenay, B.C. V9N 5N4
Abstract: Regular counts of migrant birds were made in the Courtenay River estuary of British Columbia from 1987 to 2005. Mean numbers of yellowlegs decreased significantly from 1987 to 2005. Mean numbers of Yellow-rumped Warblers were significantly greater in 2002, 2003 and 2005, but the 1996-2005 trend was not significant. Mean annual numbers of Song Sparrows, Golden-crowned Sparrows and Lincoln’s Sparrows increased significantly from 1996 to 2005. Mean annual numbers of Yellow-rumped Warblers, Orange-crowned Warblers, Song Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows and Lincoln’s Sparrows were significantly correlated with numbers observed at Rocky Point Bird Observatory near Victoria, B.C., suggesting that our counts of those species were representative of migrating populations on Vancouver Island.
Key words: Shorebirds, warblers, sparrows, migration, survey, Comox Valley, British Columbia, yellowlegs, Tringa melanoleuca, Tringa flavipes, dowitcher, Limnodromus scolopaceus, Limnodromus griseus, Killdeer, Charadrius vociferus, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Dendroica coronata, Orange-crowned Warbler, Vermivora celata, Yellow Warbler, Dendroica petechia, Common Yellowthroat, Geothlypis trichas, Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia atricapilla, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii, White-crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys, Savannah Sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis
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