Prince George Naturalist Club member Sandra Kinsey is taking it as a good sign that just 30 swans were seen during the group's annual count of the species, held Sunday.
Although that's about on par with the numbers recorded during the past decade or so, she said twice that total used to be typical. However, she doubts it's a sign their population is declining.
Instead, with global warming keeping more water bodies ice free, Kinsey speculated that they've simply been able to spread farther afield.
"I'm just hypothesizing," she added. "Our winters aren't as cold as they used to be, I think everybody will agree with that."
As predicted, the club found their swans on the Crooked River. Numerous "cold springs" feed into the river, helping to keep it open during the winter.
"There were some ducks in with them too, more ducks than we usually get on the river," Kinsey said. "And there were pine grosbeaks and chickadees - it was just nice."
The count followed on the Christmas bird count, which drew about 40 volunteers who counted 10,836 birds covering 48 species within a 24-kilometre radius of University of Hospital of Northern British Columbia.
Although down from 14,800 birds and 50 species seen the year before, it was still above the 10-year average of 9,400 birds and 46 species.
Numbers from the swan count are passed on to a biologist in Kamloops who also handles results for the Okanagan and Shuswap regions as part of a larger non-coastal B.C. count.
Those for the bird count are passed on to Bird Studies Canada, which uses the data to "identify significant population changes and direct conservation planning," according to the organization's website.
Upcoming events include the Great Backyard Bird Count, Feb. 17-20, also put on by Bird Studies Canada, and a nocturnal owl survey in April. More information can be found through the club's Facebook page or at pgnc.wordpress.com.
