I noticed some similar type events when I lived near Hanford in the Tricities. Some years ago we started seeing animals that we had never seen before. "we" meaning the residents, of the area. The first shocker was the Blue Heron, then the Pelican, then small lizards. There was one other bird but I don't know what it is called. It suddenly appeared, they floated in the water much like ducks do, and they would dive under water for a really long time and then pop up way far from where they dove.
I still remember the first time I seen the blue Heron it was quite shocking. We (me and family) were camping we had hiked back to some trout lake. When we got to the lake there was a giant blue heron he was like nothing I had ever seen before kind of like a dinosaur, so blue. He opened his wings to fly and that is when you could see how massive that bird was and he took flight. Not long after they were in the city too. It wasn't such a shock thereafter.
So my thoughts are that things are changing and the animals are finding new homes.