Our Christmas Bird Count (CBC) on December 20 was a success thanks to 24 volunteers. By all accounts, everyone seemed to have an enjoyable day. An exceptionally high tide created a challenge for a couple of areas, including a boot full of water. In exposed areas, wind and rain in the morning seemed to drive the birds into hiding. But we still found them!
Our total species number is 74, perhaps a bit on the high end of average. Total individual birds counted is 6,931.
The bird of the day was a Western Scrub Jay, only the second one ever seen in Squamish.
Some other surprises and good sightings:
Greater White- fronted Goose 1
Snow Goose 3
Trumpeter Swan 1
Pied-billed Grebe 3
American Kestrel 1
Virginia Rail 1
Northern Shrike 2
Pygmy Owl 1
Rufous Hummingbird 1
Grey Jay 5
Pine Grosbeak 1
Other raptors:
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Cooper’s Hawk 2
Red-Tailed Hawk 4
Merlin 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Bald Eagle 534
Some trends:
Anna’s Hummingbird 32 We continue to see these birds on our CBC over the last few years.
Common Goldeneye 27
Barrow’s Goldeneye 9 Both goldeneye species continue to show very low numbers compared to a decade ago.
Eurasian Collared Dove 19 This species seems to be here to stay.
Count Week: (bird species spotted in the three days before and after the CBC, but not on count day)
Great Horned Owl
Northern Goshawk
American Goldfinch
Horned Grebe
Completely missing:
Northern Harrier
So, that’s the highlights of this year’s count. Thanks to everyone who participated. The full count will be available soon on the Audubon website: type BCSQ in the ‘count code’ field.
Till next year.
Marcia
(For background on our Christmas Bird Count)
Photo above: Pied-billed Grebe by Ed Dubois