Unlike last year’s blizzard that hampered the annual bird count, this year is more of a mixed bag with no clear reasons for why the numbers are what they are.
The count was held Dec. 27, but also included in the official statistics are birds seen in the three days prior and after that day.
In total, 12 people participated on count day while 26 people included counts from watching their bird feeders.
Overall, more than 97 man-hours were involved in the count covering about 275 kilometres in the area.
Harvey Scott, who helped organize the count, explained the number of birds spotted – 2,526 – was slightly below their average over the past few years and that a few species were seen in the region after being absent for a couple of years.
“We found a few of the threatened Sharp Tail Grouse after several years of absence and we counted a Northern Shrike, which is reasonably uncommon in the area,” Scott stated.
“Our Red Poll and Pine Grosbeak numbers were back up after their virtual disappearance last year, but the Pine’s were way down throughout the continent last year.”
Overall, the count yielded 30 different bird species, which Scott added is normal for the area.
He stated all of the woodpeckers, including two less commonly spotted species, were counted for once again in the area along with the usual big numbers of Black Capped Chickadees.
However, once again, there were almost no raptors and owls sighted this year – save for one Goshawk feeding on pigeons and one Great Horned Owl.
One disturbing trend that Scott explained is growing in the area is the apparent disappearance of birds being seen in the wilderness areas.
“Our trappers see none in the bush. Where are all the big predator birds?” he stated.
“Several of our counters – naturalists and trappers – have commented on a relative lack of birds in the forests this fall and winter. Some of our field counts tend to reflect that.”
Scott added, “Again, as always, the vast majority of our numbers come from a number of outstanding feeder counts. Other feeders are down somewhat this year.”
Scott and many others in the birder community continue to be concerned with a slow, but steady decline in bird numbers with several major scientific studies pointing to habitat destruction, disease and other factors contributing to not only a decrease in overall numbers, but also to the reduction in the variety of species seen.
Scott explained that citizen science monitoring, such as the local bird count, contribute to the tracking of numbers and species plus help with the understanding these changes and the causal relationships between various bird species and the environment that surrounds them.
The full results are available at the Science Outreach Athabasca website.
