Local bird enthusiasts were pleasantly surprised during their annual Christmas bird count (CBC) which took place in the Tofield area Dec. 16. El Nino, causing unseasonably warmer weather patterns, meant the group of 24 volunteers could cover more ground on foot and get a glimpse of some rare birds who don’t usually stick around for Dec.
Organizer Irene Croslund said the count area is 24 kilometers wide with Tofield in the centre. She said last year, with temperatures dropped to -17, volunteers couldn’t spend much time on foot but this year was different.
“Last year on foot, we only did 22 hours and this year, we had 69 so that was a huge difference,” she said, adding that several more species were also spotted who normally aren’t here this time of year. “One of the yards that we got invited to out in the country had 10 redwing blackbirds, three yellow headed blackbirds, a grackle and a pheasant. All of that was at the same rural yard so that was really an excellent find and none of those are considered common. Actually, the Blackbirds, though all three of them are, considered rare for this time of the year.”
Croslund said a one-off warm winter season shouldn’t affect the bird’s annual patterns too much, however she said the warmer weather in other parts of the country have already impacted the migration patterns of some bird species.
“(Warmer weather) have already shown changes such as in Ontario the Canada Jay, for instance, has had to shift north because it can’t keep its food supply cold enough anymore,” she said.
“Those are the kinds of things that they find out on these bird counts. It’s the oldest citizen science project that is in North America.”
According to reports, the CBC started in 1900 when conservation was in the beginning stages and several observers and scientists were worried about declining bird populations.
A holiday tradition, known as the ‘Side Hunt’ was observed where hunters competed and the winner was declared with the largest pile of birds and other animals.
Ornithologist Frank M. Chapman, began a new holiday tradition, The Christmas Bird Count, that would tally the birds instead of hunt them.
Today, the CBC has taken place for the 123rd year with 37 different bird species observed in the Tofield area this year and totaling just over 1,700 birds.
Jana Semeniuk
Staff Reporter
