Fall migration is wrapping up. Most birds that travel south to warmer regions for the winter have moved on from the coast.

In B.C.’s bird world, fall migration typically lasts from August to October.

The Rocky Point Bird Observatory monitors the migration from the third week of July to the third week of October, capturing most of the phenomenon as it unfolds along the Island’s southern tip.

The timing of birds’ seasonal migrations has gained increased significance in the last few years.

The outbreaks of bird flu that have devastated poultry and egg farmers in B.C. and across Canada and the U.S. are tied to the spring and fall migration of birds. It should surprise no one that, in the last month, the virus causing highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected on almost three dozen southern B.C. farms.

As they have been every spring and fall since the bird flu epidemic’s 2022 start, many of the detections were in the Lower Fraser Valley.

Located along the Pacific Flyway, one of the major migration highways for birds travelling between North, Central and South America, the valley is also home to about 75 commercial poultry farms. That combination of factors........

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