Bird that breeds in Tasmania found ‘a long way from home,’ in Canadian Arctic

Strange birds have been spotted along the coast of the Arctic Ocean this month, including in Paulatuk, N.W.T., and in Gjoa Haven, Nunavut. 

Lawrence Ruben lives in Paulatuk and was out hunting last week when he spotted something that looked like it didn’t belong — a little black bird. 

“They’re not very big. They’re about the size of a tern or a ptarmigan,” he said.

Ruben decided to follow the bird, which was being carried by a raven when he spotted it. 

“It [the raven] dropped it and I went to check it out and take pictures of it,” he said. 

Reid Hildebrandt is an expert birder in Yellowknife. He said the strange bird is a short-tailed shearwater. 

The seabird typically breeds around Tasmania, in Australia, and travels as far as the North Pacific during its non-breeding season. 

“I can tell you that it’s a long way from home,” Hildebrandt said. “It’s coming ashore in droves. Some people are finding them like this, perished … Some people are finding them just sitting in the snow, lost.”

Hildebrandt said once the birds land in snow, they can’t usually take off again. 

“Mostly because they have a low wing loading situation,” he said. “It takes a lot of effort for them to get airborne.” 

He said this time of year, the short-tailed shearwaters should be “high-tailing” back to their breeding territory in Tasmania. 

“The birds that we’re seeing here are malnourished, lost, and incapable of returning to their breeding territories down in Australia,” he said. 

As for how the birds made it all the way to the Arctic is unclear. 

“The best expert guesses are just that —guesses —  at this point,” Hildebrandt said.

“They are further disoriented and have completely lost their food supply in the Arctic Ocean.”

Typically, the birds feed by diving into the ocean head first and eating small fish.

Despite the grim situation, Hildebrandt said a number of the birds have been found alive. 

“These are definitely hungry birds,” he said. 

The N.W.T.’s Department of Environment and Climate Change did not respond to a request for comment.

With files from Shannon Scott

Related stories from around the North:

Canada: ‘Wow factor’: Public website reveals best-yet picture of hundreds of bird migrations

Finland: Migratory birds still sighted as far as southern Finland, Yle News

Norway: In Arctic Norway, seabirds build nests out of plastic waste, The Independent Barents Observer

Russia: Rare birds around Russian Arctic oil field not a problem, company financed study says, The Independent Barents Observer

United States: North America’s bird population down three billion since 1970, Arctic breeders hit hard, CBC News