Phot from the Peace Parkland Naturalists Faceboook page.

By Curtis Galbraith

Nature

Numbers in for latest Christmas Bird Count

Dec 23, 2020 | 12:05 PM

A spokesperson says it was a good year for the annual Christmas Bird Count.

Margot Hervieux says there were 32 species identified in the Grande Prairie count, a little above average. There were 25 identified in the Beaverlodge count, a little below average.

That included some birds not normally seen around here in the winter.

“We had a robin in Grande Prairie. A white-throated sparrow and a flicker were all species we occasionally get but don’t usually expect to find.

“There were also lots of birds of prey. They got a gyrfalcon for Beaverlodge, we got northern shrikes in both counts, bald eagles on both counts, so that was neat. Everybody likes to see those.”

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There were also some of what Hervieux calls “winter visitors.”

“Some years, we get lots of numbers and some years not so many because they travel depending on the amount of food that is available. Pine grosbeaks we got this year and a few redpolls, which we didn’t get any last year. It looks like they are more hanging out in this area than some other years.”

Hervieux says things like cones on trees can attract birds like these.

“The redpolls really like seeds on birch trees. One year, there will be lots of that in one place, and in another year, there will be lots of that kind of food in another location and so we get them every three to four years.

Hervieux says about 10 volunteers took part in each count. It has been done in this area every year since 1989.