Birds and bird watchers flocked together last Sunday and once all the feathers were finally counted, some new records were set.
According to bird count statistician Cathy Antoniazzi, 44 people, plus some bird-feeder observers, volunteered for the teams that fanned out across the city. They found more different kinds of birds than ever before during Prince George's annual Christmas count.
"We had an amazing count his year. We found 54 species which broke the record of 51 set in 1999," said Antoniazzi. "The total number of birds [was] 11,265 which is the fifth highest total ever." The most ever found was 15,889 in 2003.
The numbers are unofficial during the verification process. Effort and time-tested tactics are used to minimize double-counting birds on the wing.
The primary question going into this year's bird count was would there be any snowy owls found inside the boundaries of the exercise? The event's footprint is a 24-kilometre diameter area centred at the hospital. The region, and B.C. as a whole, has been flooded by the snowy owls trying to eke out survival from overpopulation in their Arctic habitat.
Only one snowy owl has ever been seen on Prince George bird count day, that being a lone specimen in 1973. This time, four were found, and a bunch of other owls besides - a northern hawk owl, a barred owl and two northern pygmy owls.
One of the staple bird varieties found by the bird-watcher teams was the duck. There were 682 mallards (an all-time high), two buffleheads (second time ever for that kind), a male northern pintail (first ever), and a hooded merganser (first ever).
Several species of hawk were also seen. One of them was hunting among a large flock of Bohemian waxwings, one of which fatally struck a window in its attempt to escape. Healthy populations of finches, waxwings, redpolls and grosbeaks were also noted.
Surprising the volunteers were the four hardy robins and two Townsend's solitaires that were found, and at least three Eurasian collared-doves in the Foreman Flats neighbourhood.
"European starlings on the other hand continue to decrease - why? - only 150 were found," said Antoniazzi.
The bird watching volunteers had moderate winter temperatures to work with - just below freezing with slight breezes and periods of sunshine. Antoniazzi said the driving conditions were sketchy in places - "some roads were barely passable and some not at all" - but mostly an easy drive for the teams who took on different sections of the city.
As usual, other interesting birds came to the attention of the volunteers just after the count ended. UNBC wildlife biologist and bird watching enthusiast Ken Otter spotted a wader, and there were also late reports of a Pine Siskin and Merlin seen after the count's closure.
The Christmas bird count follows the official rules set out by the National Audubon Society first in the United States and then later on the north side of the border in partnership with Bird Studies Canada. Local groups all over the nation work under the auspices of these two parent organizations. It is always done on or close to Dec. 16 each year. In Prince George, the bird count has been happening since 1968, organized by the Prince George Naturalist Club.
