THE CHANGING SEASONS: THINK PINK 
course, continue to store carbon, which is released at different rates (rapid- 
ly in the case of paper products, more slowly for lumber); forest products 
that are dumped in landhlls contribute to the production of methane in 
those facilities, a far worse greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Because the 
boreal forest region is one of the worlds largest storehouses of carbon in its 
trees, peat, and soil, there continues to be a strong interest in maintaining 
that carbon bank but also in establishing large protected areas that are off 
limits to industrial disturbances that increase the risk that that carbon will 
be released into the atmosphere. Over 120 million acres of new parks and 
protected areas in which no industrial activities are allowed have been es- 
tablished in Canada’s boreal region since 2000, and the governments of On- 
tario and Quebec have pledged to protect at least 200 million additional 
acres in part to maintain the carbon contained within them. Those interest- 
ed in these subjects should consult the websites of the Boreal Songbird Ini- 
tiative (<www.borealbirds.org>). International Boreal Conservation Cam- 
paign (<www.interboreal.org>), Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society 
(<http://cpaws.org/programs/climate/>), and the Canadian Forest Service 
webpage (<http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca>) for more information, including ready 
access to scientihc literature. In summer 2009, hre activity was thankfully 
below average, probably owing to the below-average temperatures in some 
areas; through July, the total number of acres burned in the United States 
was about 1.7 million, mostly in Alaska and the West, according to the Na- 
tional Interagency Coordination Center. 
Greenfiand) Vioietears 
Some years ago, 1 recall reading, in a paragraph about hummingbird va- 
grancy, a quip to the effect: “What's next? A violet-ear in Greenland?” Or 
maybe I wrote this and have happily managed to disavow it in memory. 
Whatever the source, the sentiment seems much less hyperbolic now, as we 
approach 2010. Our essay’s subtitle, emphasizing extralimital spoonbills, 
tries to keep a light tone, but in truth, the sweep of southern species into new 
areas of the north is still truly breathtaking. Although it’s not a violetear 
(now spelled without the hyphen), and was not quite in Greenland, a Rufous 
Hummingbird made it to a spot 100 kilometers northeast of Chesterfield In- 
let, Nunavut, very near the Arctic Circle (Figure 4). Take a moment online 
to look at photographs of this tidy village; it does not look ideal for hum- 
mingbirds there. Remarkably, the Rufous followed another territorial hrst — 
a Painted Bunting on Akimiski Island (Figure 5). Exaggerating to make a 
point becomes more difficult when the “Nonpareil” turns up in Nunavut. To 
add further perspective: the same little island had produced Nunavut’s hrst 
documented record of Black-capped Chickadee a week earlier! 
But the outlandishness of these records is middling, really. Rufous Hum- 
mingbirds stray ever more northward in multiple seasons, nearly each year, 
as do Painted Buntings. In fact, Manitoba had its second Painted Bunting 
this season, from late May through 6 June, and another made it to the 
French island of St. Pierre in early July. A glance at the map, moreover, 
shows that Akimiski Island is well south of most of Nunavut, at 53° N lati- 
tude in James Bay, actually below the latitude of Manitoba’s hrst Painted 
Bunting, at The Pas in 1998. No one would call Akimiski Island part of 
“southern Canada,” but in light of the increase in records of many Passeri- 
na well beyond the northern edges of range, in both spring and fall, this 
record makes perfect sense — even if lichen-clad dwarf Black Spruce do not 
make typical perches for the species. Despite the cool, wet summer of 2009, 
other Passerina pioneered: Saskatchewan had its hrst Blue Grosbeak, and 
Montana conhrmed its hrst nesting of the species, while Indigo Buntings 
made headlines in British Columbia (Figure 6) and the Great Basin, and 
Alaskans found their state’s eighth Lazuli Bunting. 
Other southern species moved northward this season, some of them nest- 
ing, others vagabonding; Summer Tanagers streaked across the continent 
Figure 4. This Rufous Hummingbird, a first for Nunavut, was found 24 June 2009 in a cabin 
about 100 kilometers northeast of Chesterfield Inlet, where it later perished. This location is 
close to the Arctic Circle and is about 2200 kilometers from the species' regular breeding 
range. Photograph by Wide Johansen. 
Figure 5. Painted Bunting was certainly not on Nunavut's list of expected new bird species, 
but this brilliant male found 1 2 June 2009 on Akimiski Island in southern James Bay estab- 
lished the first record for Nunavut and for the Northern Canada and Greenland region. Photo- 
graph by Derek Mackenzie. 
Figure 6. A species that appears to be increasing during summer at the northern and west- 
ern edges of its range, this male Indigo Bunting visited feeder in Lillooet, British Columbia 9 
June 2009. Photograph by Kansas Allen. 
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NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS 
