Clark's Nutcracker

On the morning of February 13th Phil Wallace of Spillimacheen watched flocks of 10 to 20 Clark’s Nutcrackers flying up from the wetlands. He said it lasted for about 30 minutes  and estimatedt  300 plus birds flew by his home and landed in some Douglas Fir trees about 500 feet above the river.

At irregular intervals, nutcrackers leave their usual breeding range to winter in lowlands. These erucptions are caused by poor conifer seed crops an important food for Clark’s Nutcrackers in winter. In spring most Clark’s Nutcrackers move upslope into the sub-alpine.