Rescue group in B.C. captures wrong way warbler that should be wintering far to the south

Rescue group in B.C. captures wrong way warbler that should be wintering far to the south

The prothonotary warbler should be in South America or around the Gulf of Mexico right now

A tiny warbler spotted flying in a Vancouver parking garage is not only on the wrong side of the country, it’s on the wrong continent for this time of year.

The Wildlife Rescue Association says the bird was observed in Vancouver on Nov. 30 near Vancouver’s Riverfront Park before it “fell off the radar” on Dec. 4. It was spotted two days later in a parking garage and captured without incident out of concern for its health.

“These birds are normally found around Costa Rica and Panama at this time of year,” said association manager Jackie McQuillan. “We can all imagine that as chilly as it is outside, this bird was struggling a little bit.”

McQuillan said the bird’s bright plumage made it stand out amid Vancouver’s landscape.

“They look like a little ball of sunshine, to be quite honest,” she said. “They’re a brilliant colour of yellow, and at this time of year when there’s not a lot of leaves on the trees and such, they really do stand out.”

It’s only the 11th time the bright yellow bird has been spotted in B.C., and McQuillan says the species would normally migrate in summer to Quebec and Ontario.

The bird, which is an endangered species, should be in South America or around the Gulf of Mexico right now.

McQuillan says they aren’t sure how the bird got here, but they want to be careful how they release it and believe it might struggle to survive a long plane ride to its wintering grounds.

Instead, she says they think it would be best to overwinter the bird in their centre, then release it to join a flock of local warblers when they return in the spring.

— With files from CBC News