The chart du jour illustrates the arrival times of September migrants relative to air pressure shifts at Victoria and Edmonton.

It includes nine species, covering the early autumn moon of the prairie puddle ducks and grebes, culminating in the spectacular Super Blood Moon Eclipse of September 27th. That is the actual image I captured from Surfside beach overlooking the Salish Sea where many citizens gathered to observe a once in many decades event.

Overheard, amongst the chatter, were the calls of Killdeers, Plovers, Turnstones, Oystercatchers, Gulls and Murres.

Figure 1. Migrant phenology, Shoal Harbour Migratory Bird sanctuary, September 2015.

*Note that this does not necessarily represent their initial arrival; it only applies to the observation arena of Roberts Bay. It is more representative of some species ( their preferred habitat) than others; for example, the Harlequin arrives on the outer coast (Surfside Bay) before it eventually wanders into Roberts Bay. Buffleheads, on the other hand, arrive first in Roberts Bay, then disperse to the outer coast.