WHAT in the world is a "big sit"?
Every summer at Maplewood Conservation Area, the Wild Bird Trust holds a big-sit event.
It works on the idea - really, the principal - that if you sit quietly at a good location keenly looking and listening, the wildlife will come to you. The activity was a favourite of the famous naturalist and writer E.T. Seton (Google search if you're not familiar with his wonderful writings). Of course, location is everything, which means habitat. At Maplewood we choose a number of birding hot spots - habitats and habitat combinations that are known to be rich in bird life, something that has been learned through monthly bird walks and surveys. At Maplewood, these areas include ponds, tidal flats, Osprey Point, Otter Point and the forest, each of these featuring rich bird diversity.
Some species, like waterfowl, are found in aquatic habitats (fresh, brackish or salt). These include cinnamon teal, bluewinged teal, wood duck and harlequin duck (marine). On the tidal flats and surrounding habitat, you may see gulls, terns, dabbling ducks and shorebirds like the recently spotted six whimbrel (a curlew). There's always the possibility of a longbilled curlew, or godwit.
Osprey Point includes the butterfly garden, where you may spot hummingbirds, and the barge channel. Observers can get a clear view of the purple martin colony and an osprey nest. And they could even spot a marbled murrelet. Bald eagle, peregrine falcon, merlin and turkey vulture are some of the raptors to be watched for.
For me, no day at Osprey Point is complete without hearing the wonderful "rattle" of a resident kingfisher.
Ponds are watched carefully for waterfowl, swallows, and possibly swifts. Rarer denizens here include Virginia rail and green heron (very rare).
Otter Point - as its name suggests - is an otter "haul out." Purple martins hawk dragonflies over the salt marsh, while offshore there's a good possibility of spotting an oystercatcher. Red-tailed hawk, Cooper's hawk and peregrine falcons are also good possibilities at this site.
The woods have their own very special rewards like vireos (red-eyed, warbling), warblers (orange-crowned, black-throated gray), western tanager, and black-headed grosbeak, and Pacific wren (new name for our local winter wren).
Not all of the big sit is done by sightings. A lot are by sound. It's a joy to be at the sanctuary on a fine summer day, with folks who enjoy sharing their love of nature with you.
All of the data are compiled into a report that gives a snapshot of early summer bird life at Maplewood.
Why not try your own big sit? Find a peaceful spot like Osprey Point and let nature surround you. It really is nourishment for mind and soul.
Al Grass is a naturalist with Wild Bird Trust of British Columbia, which sponsors free walks at Maplewood Flats Conservation Area on the second Saturday of every month. The next walk is Saturday July 9 where you can learn about the secrets of the Salt Marsh on a rare supervised walk to appreciate this important inter-tidal ecosystem. Meet at 10 a.m. at the conservation area, 2645 Dollarton Hwy. (two kilometres east of the Iron Workers Second Narrows Memorial Crossing). Walks go rain or shine. www.wildbirdtrust.org.
