YFBTA BIRD COUNT BUZZINGS 2007
Rob Wilson
YFBTA members and friends were active during the 2007 Christmas Bird Count period. Kathy Morrell wrote an excellent summary of the Yorkton results for the newspaper. John Sawkey has added Kathy’s article to the YFBTA website (check both the Christmas Bird Count and Kathy’s Corner sections).
CHURCHBRIDGE
Churchbridge Christmas Bird & Mammal Count 15 December 2007 - Wally Karau
Churchbridge Area Bird count was coordinated by Wally Karau on 15 Dec 07. The count was conducted between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM. Seven people took part in the count. The count entailed three Farm Yards with feeders, and rural road coverage. The farms were: Ron & Elin Johnson approx 6 miles SW of Churchbridge, John and Elaine Pollock 3 miles east of Churchbridge and Ed & Gloria Wirth 6 miles NE of (approximately) Churchbridge. Garland Thiele and Wally Karau cris crossing the area by Truck covering approximately 105 Km or 65 miles.
It should be noted the weather on the day of the count was between -12 and -10 degrees C
Light snowy conditions in the morning and mostly clear in the afternoon. The winds were very light 2-5 kmph. The visibility in the morning was approx 750 meters, afternoon 1km plus.
The total for all counts was:
Birds: 14 Species for a total count of 376.
Mammals: 3 species for a total of 7 and some rabbit and deer tracks.
A further breakdown of the bird count is as follows:
- Northern Goshawk 1
- Rock Pigeon 7
- Downy Woodpecker 4
- Hairy Woodpecker 4
- Black - billed Magpie 7
- Common Raven 25
- Black -capped Chickadee 38
- Red - breasted Nuthatch 1
- White-breasted Nuthatch 2
- Snow Bunting 69
- Pine Grosbeak 5
- Common Redpoll 80
- Hoary Redpoll 2
- House Sparrow 122
SALTCOATS
Shirley and Jim Jowsey coordinated the bird count efforts in Saltcoats. There were twelve people who assisted in various ways with the count.
Here is a summary of the 2007 sightings:
11 Ruffed Grouse
14 Sharp-tail Grouse
45 Rock Pigeons
1 Snowy Owl (seen Dec. 18)
1 Northern Saw-whet Owl)
12 Downy Woodpeckers
10 Hairy Woodpeckers
2 Northern Shrikes
5 Blue Jays
19 Black-billed Magpies
46 Common Ravens
30 Black-capped Chickadees
1 Boreal Chickadee
2 Red-breasted Nuthatches
4 White-breasted Nuthatches
1 American Robin
77 Bohemian Waxwings
1 Dark-eyed Junco (Dec. 14)
163 Snow Buntings
2 Pine Grosbeaks
150 Common Redpolls
12 House Sparrows
The following mammal or mammal tracks were also observed: Snowshoe Hare - Red Squirrel (1) -
Muskrat Lodges - Coyote (1) - Red Fox (1) - White-tail Deer (1) and many tracks.
ESTERHAZY
Submitted by John Simpson
Red-breasted Nuthatch 8
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Chickadees 25
Sparrows 6
Hairy Woodpeckers 2
Downy Woodpeckers 5
Ravens 10
Bohemian Waxwings 130
Bald Eagles 2
Blue Jay 1
Redpolls 6
Juncos 3
Pine Grosbeak 1
Cooper’s Hawk 1
To all who assisted in any way, thank you for “doing something nice” for the birds. - Rob Wilson