The spring bird count on Cortes Island attracts birders locally as well as from off island. It's been happening since the early 1980's and is organized by the Cortes Island Museum and Archives Society.

This year's event took place May 6-8, and results were recently compiled and made public. Cortes Island naturalist guide George Sirk says about 20 people took part, and they fanned out across the island and identified 92 species.

A rare solitary sandpiper is identified during the Cortes Island spring bird count. Photo by Autumn Willow.

Sirk says Cortes Island's varied habitat makes it especially hospitable to a wide range of bird species, which include year-round residents as well as a plethora of migrating birds. One surprise in this year's tally was the solitary sandpiper, which hasn't been recorded on Cortes Island since the 1980s.

Sirk adds that 90 per cent of bird identification is listening. He says that one quite often doesn't see a specific bird, but educating oneself in birdsong is critical to determining which species are on hand.

Find out more by listening to the CKTZ News interview below: