‘Once in a lifetime’: Crowds gather in Vancouver to look at bird never before documented in Canada

A type of bird that typically lives in Asia has landed on a Vancouver beach, marking a first in Canada and delighting birders.

Birders are flocking to Vancouver’s Sunset Beach Park this weekend to take in an incredibly rare sight—the first time on record a particular species of bird has ever been seen in Canada.

The taiga flycatcher may not look like anything special to the untrained eye, but the small brown bird is very far from home.

The species spends the summer in northern Asia and winters in southern Asia, and there has only been one other recorded sighting of the bird in mainland North America, in California 20 years ago.

Birder Ethan Moon was the first to spot the taiga flycatcher while out for a walk on Christmas Day. He didn’t recognize the species at first—he had never seen one—but after consulting with fellow ornithology enthusiasts, he learned he had come across something remarkable.

“This is once in a lifetime. To have it within less than five minutes from my house, the first record of the country, people dream about this stuff. At least birders do,” Moon told CTV News. “The journey this little bird has made is quite astonishing. It’s crazy. It’s a Christmas miracle.”

He came back to visit the bird on Boxing Day, and says there were about 60 people gathered to get a photo of the city’s newest celebrity. And, he says, the bird was still hanging out near the Vancouver Aquatic Centre on Saturday.

Bird watchers migrate from afar to catch a glimpse

When word got out in the birding community, people came from across Canada — and across the border — to snap photos of the rare bird.

“I live in Seattle and I drove up today to see the taiga flycatcher that everyone has been raving about,” said birder Andy DeBroux on Monday. “If you track birds, this is a great chance to see something you may never see unless you travel to the country where it actually lives.”

Barbara Charlton flew to Vancouver from Hamilton, Ontario to see the bird with her own eyes.

“The opportunity to see one in Canada is a pretty big deal for me, for people who care about what birds they see in Canada,” she said.

It’s a mystery how the taiga flycatcher ended up in a Vancouver park, but there are some theories.

“It could be the migration pattern was thrown off and went the wrong way, it could be ship assisted. There are many, many theories, and unless you could interview the bird, I don’t think you’re going to find out how it got here,” said Charlton.

However it arrived, it’s likely the only chance birders from this part of the world will get to see and photograph it.

“It was thrilling, it really made my day. It was absolutely fabulous. I’ve come back a second day to spend some time with it,” said Charlton.

“It’s always awesome to see a new bird, but it’s a little intense because there is a mob of people here and it kept moving, so it was kind of a workout. And the adrenaline is pumping because you’re able to see it and you want to get good photos of it,” said DeBroux. “But it felt great.”

Melissa Hafting, who runs B.C. Rare Bird Alert and is a local reviewer for the website eBird, says the pictures prove beyond doubt the bird is a taiga flycatcher.

Hafting says the bird is in its first year of life and likely a female. She says the species is hardy, so it should survive the winter as long as it finds food.

Moon says he’s still taking in the surreal experience.

“I have all these people coming up to me just saying congratulations. There was one guy that was jokingly saying he was mad at me, because he’s like, ‘I’ve been waiting for this kind of find for like 30 years and then you just get it on a walk by your place,’” he said.

“It shows you that never underestimate your local area for a rarity. Sunset Beach is an urban park, essentially, and people are just walking their dogs through it… and little do they know that there might just be a little animal that’s travelled so far just to get here.”

It’s impossible to know how long the little bird will remain in the park. But as long as it does, the crowds with cameras will almost certainly follow.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Shannon Paterson