The Great Backyard Bird Count

Check out the birds the Athalmer Wetlands
photo by Larry Halverson

The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is an annual four-day event that engages birdwatchers of all ages across North America. Anyone can participate, from beginners to experts. Count for as little as 15 minutes on a single day, or for as long as you like each day of the event. It’s free, fun, and easy – and it helps the birds! 

This year’s count runs from Friday, February 17, through Monday, February 20. It is not too late to participate, and advance sign-up is not required. It’s as simple as counting birds at a location near you, tallying the highest number of birds of each species seen together at once, and filling out an online checklist on the GBBC website. As the weekend progresses, visit the website regularly to check out results and share photographs. It’s going to be a great weekend for birders.

Golden’s 22nd annual Christmas Bird count

Dark-eyed Junco by Larry Halverson

Ellen Zimmerman, coordinator of the Golden Christmas Bird count, sent this report.

On December, 27, 2011 a group of enthusiastic birders out and about and at their feeders recorded a record high number of species. 41 species were recorded, while in previous counts the average was approximately 30 species. However, the number of individual birds was well below the record because of the relatively low count of bohemian waxwings.

Highlights included, two owls a Northern Hawk Owl and a Great Horned Owl, A great blue Heron, a mourning dove and a killdeer.  Also a record number of bald eagles were recorded, likely due to the mild weather and open water.

Weather - Started out, -1 Celsius, heavy overcast, light snow flurries changing to overcast + 1 Celsius, wind, se 20 kil. Changing to calm

# of field participants-14 number of feeder watchers4, # of species- 41, # of individual birds  1136

Ruffed grouse  11

Spruce grouse   4

Great Blue Heron 1

Bald Eagle –10

Hawk species 1

Killdeer  1

Great Horned Owl 1

Northern Hawk Owl 1

Mourning Dove 1

Rock Doves –4

Northern Flicker  16

Downy Woodpecker   15

Hairy  woodpecker   9

Pileated Woodpecker  5

Clark’s Nutcracker 1

Stellar’s jay 4

Black Billed Magpie 9

American Crow 21

Common Raven  265

Golden Crowned Kinglet  4

Black-capped  chickadee 180

Mountain Chickadee  21

Boreal chickadees   3

Brown Creeper  2

Red-breasted Nuthatch  15

White breasted Nuthatch  2

Townsend solitaire 1

Robin  1

Starlings 10

Bohemian Waxwing 243

Junco  17

Song sparrow 5

Pine grosbeaks  40

Common Redpoll 124

American goldfinch 10

Cassins’s finch 16

House finch 2

White Winged Crossbill 1

Pine Siskin   7

Evening Grosbeak 12

House sparrows 40

Windermere Christmas Bird Count

American Robin one of the 52 species recorded.
Photo by Larry Halverson

Seventy four people counted 3,927 individual birds during the 34th annual Lake Windermere District Christmas Bird Count. The number of birds is up by 47% from last year. Some of the increase can be attributed to high number Bohemian Waxwings and Common Redpolls. The total of 52 species recorded this year matches the average seen during the last 10 years of the count.  

Some of this year’s highlights include a new species for the count. Dean and Bill Nicholson observed 2 Trumpeter Swans in the open water at Athalmer. They also spotted a lone Hooded Merganser which has only been recorded 5 times in the history of the count. Many of the feeder watchers commented on the lack of birds however one hot spot was Ron Speta’s yard. He said “in the 25 years of watching his feeder this has been the best!’ He recorded 16 species. Troy Rad once again ventured into the high country a found a couple of White-tailed Ptarmigan. Elisha and Haley Bowels were delighted to see 8 American Robins in their grandma Luciel Campbell’s yard. Fran Kimpton saw an unusual bird and after some study it turned out to be a partly albino Mountain Chickadee. There is also another 'mystery' bird in  Linda Taylor’s  yard. From the description it may be a Northern Hawk Owl but it needs a little further investigation to confirm. Thanks to Greg Wagner a visiting birder from High River whos keen ears found the only Northern Pygmy Owl near Eline Madson School.  A couple of birds that were noticeably missing were the Great Blue Heron and Common Merganser.

For a complete list of birds counted see Wings Over the Rockies

Muskrat Lodge

Muskrat Lodge near Wilmer, BC
Photo by Larry Halverson

Muskrats are an important player in wetland ecosystems. Their influence on vegetative structure can affect invertebrate communities as well as bird abundance and diversity. Muskrats are a food source for a number of animals like mink, coyotes and eagles. Muskrats can also serve as indicators of ecosystem health by responding  to various toxins and chemicals that commonly degrade aquatic habitats.

As wetland loss becomes more prevalent, the maintenance of functioning wetlands and aquatic systems like in the Columbia Valley become even more important. So conserving viable Muskrat populations may be critical.  

Parks Canada use Muskrats numbers to measure wetland health - researchers simply calculate Muskrat populations by counting their lodges. See “Visiting the Muskrat Lodge”

Nocturnal Owl Survey

Photo by Larry Halverson

Great Horned is one of the most common owls in the Columbia Wetlands. It also the earliest nesting owl so now is time to hear them calling.

Most species of owls are secretive and nocturnal, making population monitoring a difficult science. Fortunately, volunteer owl surveyors across Canada are listening for owl calls in the night and documenting their numbers over time. The Nocturnal owl survey in British Columbia is now in its 11th year. There are 105 owl routes across BC and the Yukon.  In 2010,  86 owlers stopped 1205 times in the darkness to listen for owls. They detected 248 owls, an average of 2.06 owls per 10 stops, which is the second highest value reported in the history of the survey.  In the southern interior of BC the Northern Saw-whet Owl was the most common owl heard followed by the Great Horned Owl and Barred Owl.

Volunteers observing and recording birds in the Columbia Wetlands

Every year since 1978, volunteers have participated in Christmas Bird Counts (CBC) in the Columbia Valley. It is part of the longest-running wildlife census in the world. There is a specific methodology to the CBC, but everyone can participate. The counts are conducted on any one day between December 14 and January 5 inclusive. They are carried out within a 24-km diameter circle that stays the same from year to year. Each circle is led by a Count Compiler. Therefore, if you are a beginning birder, you will be able to join a group that includes at least one experienced birdwatcher. In addition, if your home is within the boundaries of a Count Circle, then you can stay home and report the birds that visit your feeder.

But why count birds? First, the event is way to enjoy birds and have fun with others who love them. Secondly, birds are an indicator of what's happening. Changes in numbers over time can reveal changes in habitat and can help measure environmental problems like pollution and global warming.

For more information or to participate

December 27, Golden,
contact Ellen Zimmerman (250) 348 2225

December 26, Lake Windermere District
contact Cam Gillies (250) 342 9605