Bird fans flock to Vancouver after rare bird which is almost never found in North America, has settled in the city of British Columbia.
Birder Ethan Moon discovered a rare taiga flycatcher on Christmas Day while visiting a park near the Vancouver Aquatic Centre.
“I noticed a little bird hopping around the base of the trees and lower branches, and it turned away; I’ve never seen anything like it,” Moon said. “So I texted a couple of friends asking what it was and they said 'Taiga Flycatcher,' so yeah, in Canada first.”
Moon said it was “surreal” that he was the first to see the rare bird and people were congratulating him on finding it, adding that he doesn't usually travel outside of Canada.
The taiga flycatcher was first discovered in 1811 and is known to breed in northern Eurasia, from eastern Russia to Siberia and Mongolia, according to Avibase, a global bird database.
In winter, he visits South and Southeast Asia, including Bangladesh, India, Thailand, China and Japan.
Where this isn't common is in places like Western Europe, making a stopover in North America even more unusual. The last known sighting was in California in 2006.
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Although the taiga flycatcher has made its way to North America before, ornithologist Mason Maron told Global News he believes the taiga flycatcher may have migrated the wrong way, leading it to British Columbia.
“Sometimes there are big cold snaps across the Pacific Ocean, and I think one day this bird was completely pushed away, so I think that's probably how it ended up here,” said Maron, who studies bird migration at the University of Illinois.
Maron said since the bird is currently in Canada, he expects it to “hang out” for a while, but will likely end up somewhere else if a storm or other weather system pushes it out of British Columbia. As for where exactly it will fly, Maron said he couldn't be sure.
“It's very interesting,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of birds in North America, so it’s quite difficult for me to see a new one right now.”
The bird's appearance could also be partly due to the lack of snow in Vancouver, according to ornithologist Quentin Brown.
“If we don’t have a hard winter, if we don’t get a lot of snow, it will be comfortable here, flying around,” Brown said. “It's generation after generation, it's amazing. It's like every 25 years there's a first generation in Canada, a second in North America, it's a remarkable achievement.”
Since Moon discovered it, dozens of people have come every day to spot the bird.
Moon said he hopes more people will come here to enjoy this rare moment of wildlife.
“I’m so excited for everyone to be able to see this and enjoy the birds on this cold holiday,” Moon said.
—with files from Taya Fast and Rob Colburn of Global News
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
