#ABArare – Redwing – British Columbia

On February 11, Jeremy Gatten found an ABA Code 4 Redwing in a row of trees in a residential neighborhood in Victoria, British Columbia. The bird was actively singing, and was seen that afternoon by many birders. This is the 3rd record for British Columbia.

The bird was found in the row of trees behind 3957 South Valley Drive in Victoria. Birders are advised to remember that it is a densely-housed residential area. As mentioned above, this is potentially BC’s 3nd record of the species and may be the same individual that was present at this location from December 2015 through April 2016.

Redwing, like Fieldfare, is a highly migratory Turdus thrush with a number of records in the eastern ABA Area, most from Canada’s Maritime Provinces but scattered as far south as Pennsylvania. Its much less common in the west, and is known from only a few records, notably southeast Alaska (2011), Washington (2004-05), and the aforementioned previous British Columbia account (2013). Surprisingly, there are no western Alaska records of this species, though it is suggested in Howell, et al’s Rare Birds of North America that this may be due to movement occurring after birders have mostly left the vagrant traps in the Bering Sea and Aleutians.

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