Another rare bird has been seen at Herschel Island, says conservation biologist Cameron Eckert of the Department of the Environment.

Eckert said today park wardens Lee John Meyook and Deon Arey spotted and photographed the whooper swan on June 26 in Pauline Cove.

Herschel Island, just off the Yukon's north coast, is somewhat of a Mecca for rare birds and bird watchers, he said.

The sighting of one rare bird is not significant on its own as a bellwether for climate change or other shifts in the environment, Eckert said.

But taken together, he added, the different sightings of rare birds in the North can help to unveil the impact of global warming on migration patterns and the like.

'Herschel Island is a place where people travel to from all over North America, from all over the world, to see birds,' he said.

Eckert said the whooper swan, with its distinct yellow bill, is a species more common to Europe and Asia. It would normally be seen in the summer on its traditional breeding grounds in northern Europe, Siberia and Russia, the biologist said.

Eckert said other species rare to this neck of the woods have also been spotted on Herschel this year, such as the Rufus neck stint, the European shore bird and a McKay's bunting.

Herschel, he expects, is a bit of a magnet because it's an island off the mainland. When birds find themselves off-course along the coast, the island is likely a welcome stopover.