SemiPen Big Year (2024): Epilogue

Species Count

With 213 species, I exceeded my expectations for a SemiPen year list by a wide margin. This equates to 78% of all the species ever observed (to my knowledge) on the SemiPen and 88% of my current SemiPen life list! Further, all but nine species were self-found, which was the most rewarding part of a local patch big year. Unlike a big year at a larger geographic scale, there were far fewer chases and more emphasis on intensely scouring an area for micro-rarities that would not elicit any interest or excitement beyond the patch (e.g., Yellow-headed Blackbird). 

Effort

Although I had envisioned this as a casual project, it gradually morphed to a nearly all-consuming one. During peak migration, I frequently birded split shifts on the SemiPen – early morning before work and again in the evening after work. Over the course of the year, I submitted 235 eBird checklists for the SemiPen, including 80 checklists for Blackie Spit, 26 checklists for the White Rock waterfront (i.e., pier, west beach, east beach), and 24 checklists for Elgin Heritage Park (the three primary hotspots on the SemiPen). 

Biggest Misses

There are two approaches to identifying biggest misses: 1) the commonest bird that I should have seen but didn’t, and 2) the rarest bird that was reported that I didn’t see. 
The following are my top picks in category 1:

• #3 Snow Bunting. Blackie Spit is one of the best places in Metro Vancouver to see this species, usually on passage in November but sometimes throughout the winter. In each of the three previous years, several Snow Buntings were present at Blackie Spit for weeks to months. In contrast, there was only a single report from Blackie Spit in 2024 on November 28. Was it real? Who knows? Location and date fit the profile, but around the same time I noticed several reports of Snow Buntings at Elgin Heritage Park where a real one has never been documented. Some of those checklist comments indicated they were identified by Merlin, which makes me certain these were misidentified Evening Grosbeak “teew” calls. Their irruption in late fall was Elgin Heritage Park’s main birding attraction. 

• #2 Northern Shrike. This species is scarce on the SemiPen but is an expected migrant at Blackie Spit from late Oct through Nov, and occasional in the winter. In 2024, there were reports from Blackie Spit on Jan 3, 6 and 7, Oct 21, and Nov 7. The January bird seems to have been chaseable, but I was out of the country then. I searched unsuccessfully for the October bird the day after it was reported. The November report is particularly painful because I was at Blackie Spit around the same time that day but did not cross paths with the shrike. 

• #1 Common Murre. This is a species that I had expect to see at some point along the White Rock waterfront, but never did. Ironically, several people that chased the Clark’s Grebe in the days after I found it on Oct 21 reported a single Common Murre. Had I seen the murre instead, nobody would have cared, yet the outcome of my year list would have been the same. Quantity over quality is the name of the game when it comes to year listing. 

The following are my biggest misses in category 2:

• #3 Bohemian Waxwing. One was present at White Rock east beach on January 13 and 14, but I was out of the country.

• #2 Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch. See the May account for a reminder of how I missed the flock that was briefly seen at Blackie Spit on the morning of May 1.

• #1 Plegadis Ibis. A juvenile ibis, likely White-faced but impossible to identify to species, flew over Blackie Spit on September 19. I was there the day before and the day after. 

Best Birds

Moving on to highlights, there were quite a few. In fact, narrowing them down the top five meant I had to exclude some very rare SemiPen birds (e.g., Bar-tailed Godwit, American Redstart, Palm Warbler) - a good problem to have!

• #5 Lark Sparrow. This was just the second SemiPen record and a good Metro Vancouver rarity. The last SemiPen record was in 2014 and was not reported in real time so nobody else got to see it. 

• #4 Black-and-White Warbler. This was a self-found SemiPen first record. Black-and-White Warblers are quite rare in Vancouver altogether, but especially in spring. According to eBird, this was just the fourth May record for Metro Vancouver.

• #3 Ruff. This was a self-found SemiPen first record. Even more rare (and special) was the timing of its occurrence on December 31. To my knowledge there is only one other winter record of Ruff in Metro Vancouver. 

• #2 Northern Parula. This was a self-found second record for SemiPen, meaning that BAWW is a “better bird” based strictly on the number of records. But with fewer than 30 provincial records, parula still qualifies as a proper rarity anywhere in BC and on that basis takes second place.  

• #1 Oriental Turtle-Dove. Need I say more?  

Closing Thoughts

I found my SemiPen big year very rewarding. In the process, through constant surveillance of my local patches I turned up quite a few rarities including many micro-rarities (i.e., notable SemiPen birds that are common elsewhere in Vancouver), a handful of local rarities (i.e., rare anywhere in Vancouver), and even a provincial rarity (Northern Parula). 

I saw 183 species at Blackie Spit alone. Remarkably, according to eBird there were 209 species reported at Blackie Spit in 2024, albeit a couple are questionable because they do not trip the Metro Vancouver filter but are very rare at this specific location. Nevertheless, even allowing for some potential errors, in 2024 Blackie Spit had the longest species list of any hotspots in Metro Vancouver! I found this a surprising statistic. 

Most notably, my big year helped rekindle my appreciation and enjoyment of the great year-round (except maybe July) birding that the Semiahmoo Peninsula offers. Heck, I’ll even go as far as claiming that the Semiahmoo Peninsula is the birdiest peninsula in all of Metro Vancouver!