Birders atwitter as rare summer tanager makes flashy first-ever appearance near Victoria, B.C.

For avid birder Ann Nightingale it was a dilemma of the best and worst kind.

Last month, she was staking out a bird feeder in North Saanich on Vancouver Island hoping to catch a glimpse of a rare pygmy nuthatch that had been spotted in the Greater Victoria area for the first time in 40 years.

That's when someone sent her a photo of an even rarer bird — a flaming red summer tanager — that had just been snapped a few kilometres away. 

"It caused me to have a little bit of a meltdown trying to figure out what I was going to do," said Nightingale, a volunteer with the Rocky Point Bird Observatory in Victoria. "I was guarding the feeder watching for one rare bird, and this other rare bird showed up not too far away."

The appearance of the summer tanager, which is about the size of a robin and has tip-to-tail fiery plumage, has bird enthusiasts near and far all atwitter. The bird has never been seen in the Victoria area before, and has only been spotted once previously on Vancouver Island, according to Nightingale.

"People that keep lists definitely want to get a bird like this on their list. And of course, it's beautiful for photography, it's unusual, and it's been coming to a bird feeder, so that means that you actually have a shot at trying to see this bird," said Nightingale.

"It's been wonderful."

Birder Keith Sutherland brought his camera and long lens to the location Friday, hoping to snap a few more shots of the feathered celebrity to add to images he captured earlier. 

"It's a very rare bird for this area... and completely red. It's a very cool time," Sutherland said.  

Summer tanagers normally breed across much of the eastern and southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico, spending their winters in the Caribbean, Central America, and parts of South America. How this one made its way to B.C. is a mystery.

"This sometimes happens when whatever their compass is supposed to be doing, does the opposite," said Nightingale.

"As long as it finds food and avoids predators, there's no reason for it not to head back to its breeding grounds in the summer and maybe even come back again next winter."

Birding as a pastime has taken off in recent years, fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic and apps like eBird and Merlin that help identify birds and share sightings. 

On Sunday, there will be extra excitement as volunteers head out for the annual Sidney/South Salt Spring Christmas Bird Count, which traces its roots back to 1900.

According to Nightingale, two lucky people will be handed the special assignment of "staying as long as it takes" to spot the summer tanager to ensure it's included in the official count.