At least three Baltimore Orioles have been spotted in La Ronge. (submitted photo/April Chiefcalf)

By Derek Cornet

Rare Sight

‘Quite a surprise’: Baltimore Orioles spotted out of range in La Ronge

May 19, 2020 | 1:43 PM

A rare sight to see as far north as La Ronge, local residents have been surprised by the arrival of Baltimore Orioles in the area this year.

La Ronge resident April Chiefcalf was observing the birds in her yard Sunday when she first took notice to the brightly orange-coloured birds. They are most commonly found on the Canadian Prairies and in the eastern United States, so it was quite a treat for Chiefcalf to seem a male and female feeding in her yard.

“Saturday was such a beautiful day, then Sunday and Monday were kind of gloomy,” she said. “That’s why I noticed that bird right away because it’s such a beautiful bright orange and it was flying around the yard from the bird feeders into the trees. It brought just such a splash of colour during a gloomy time of year when we don’t have leaves on the trees.”

For Chiefcalf, watching birds is a hobby and she tends to watch for them wherever she lives. For instance, she enjoys watching birds in Regina and Saskatoon then comparing them to what’s found in La Ronge. She noted she deliberately left oranges in her yard to attract the orioles as they are drawn in to the fruit.

“That was quite a shock to me, quite a surprise,” Chiefcalf said about having them in her yard. “I felt pretty blessed to see them.”

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The birds were also sighted by La Ronge’s John Schisler, who has organized the winter and spring bird counts since 2004. He said the last time Baltimore Orioles were spotted in La Ronge was back in 2011.

“This is abnormal. They’re not supposed to be coming this far north,” Schisler said. “Typically, the northern end of their range is around Prince Albert. Once you get into the bush, they tend not to go there. They seem to like open farmland.”

Schisler doesn’t know why orioles are migrating so far north, but he said sometimes birds fly out of their range when a drought is imminent where they breed. In previous years, he added different species of ducks will exhibit that behaviour when precipitation is lacking in other areas.

Regardless of why the orioles have come to La Ronge, Schisler hopes another nine years doesn’t pass before he sees another one in the region again.

“I was surprised when I saw it in 2011, and then again this year I was so surprised I couldn’t readily identify it,” he said. “It’s strange. It’s north of their range.”

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno