Provisional Results 122nd Christmas Bird Count
December 14, 2021 to January 4, 2022
We will post results here as we receive them. If your count has taken place, we’d be happy to post your results. Please leave the count name, species count, highlight species and any additional information you wish to include in the Leave a Reply box at the bottom of this table.
Dates, locations, and contact information for this season’s (2021/2022) counts can be found here.
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100 Mile House | Dec 17 |
Our 100 Mile House count was held on December 17th. Fourteen brave field counters went out in -20 C weather, and three volunteers counted at their feeders. In total, 29 species were observed, with one unidentified species (flyover waterfowl–possible Loons or Mergansers). There was no open water anywhere, so no other waterfowl were counted. 1316 individual birds were found on the count day.
The most numerous bird species were Bohemian Waxwing (300), Common Raven (258), American Crow (147), Pine Grosbeak (143) and Black-capped Chickadee (135). One surprising find was a Black-billed Magpie near the 100 Mile House sewage ponds, found by Susan Gower and Andy Karassowitsch. These are more common in lower, warmer habitats near Williams Lake or Clinton, but rarely found around 100 Mile House. The Exeter Road landfill and bird feeders around town had some of the highest concentrations of birds. Otherwise it was a cold day!
Paul Foth
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Abbotsford-Mission | Dec 30 | There were 25 participants. 89 species were identified. Temperatures ranged from -2.6C to 1.5C. The day was partly cloudy. |
Apex-Hedley | Discontinued | |
Armstrong/ Enderby |
Jan 3 | |
Ashcroft Cache Creek |
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Atlin |
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Bamfield | Dec 21 |
“We had 10 participants observe 69 species and over 1800 individual birds. Highlights included a juvenile Snow Goose roaming with a blizzard of Greater White-fronted Geese (a first for the Bamfield CBC), two Wilson’s Snipe, and a few predatory raptor observations.Our 2 feeder watchers observed: 3 Anna’s Hummingbirds, 12 Stellar’s Jay, 12 Red-winged Blackbirds, 2 Eurasian Collared Doves and 9 Northwestern Crows. Thank you to the observers and businesses (Bamfield Mercantile and Marine and Bamfield Marine Science Center) who supported the count with boating support. The count occurred on Huu-ay-aht First Nation hahoulthee.”
Thanks,
Daniel
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Bella Coola | Dec 18 | The scheduled count day Dec 18 was cancelled because of a snow storm. Count day on Dec 19 was very cold, clear and windy with approximately 25cm of snow on the ground. We had 19 participants in 13 groups. 33 species were seen on count day. 709 individual birds were counted. 4 additional species were seen during the count week. |
Big White | Dec 16 | There were 9 participants. 18 Species were found. Temperatures ranged from -11C to -1C. Am was cloudy with heavy snow. Pm was cloudy with light snow. |
Bridesville | ||
Bridge Lake | Dec 19 | There were 6 participants. 17 species were seen. There were 183 individual birds. Temperatures ranged from -13C to -8C. Weather was cloudy with rain and light snow in the morning and afternoon. |
Broughton Strait | Jan 2 | There were 14 participants. 77 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from 0C to +4C. Weather was cloudy in the am and cloudy with light rain in the pm. |
Bella Bella-Denny Island | Dec 20 | There were 13 participant. 50 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -11C to -1C. Weather was clear throughout the count. |
Cache Creek | ||
Campbell River | Cancelled | |
Castlegar | Dec 19 | There were 16 participants. 63 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -9C to -1C. It was cloudy throughout the day. Sponsored by the WKNaturalists. |
Cawston | Jan 2 | |
Chilliwack | Dec 18 | There were 21 participants. 93 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -16C to -10C. It was partly cloudy with light rain in the morning and partly clear in the afternoon. Sponsored by Nature Chilliwack, AKA Chilliwack Field Naturalists. |
Comox | Dec 19 | The Comox CBC was held on 19 December in good weather with 66 birders in 24 parties, mostly of 2- 3 birders with 3 feeder counters. We had an average count with 106 species and 27,059 individuals recorder on count day, and 7 additional species recorded during count week. Unusual species on count day were Virginia Rail, Common Redpoll and Snow Bunting and during count week was a White-throated Sparrow. Art Martell, compiler. |
Cortes Island | Jan 5 | There were 29 participants. 69 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -4C to -1C. It was partly cloudy wth some light snow throughout the count. Sponsored by Cortes Island Museum and Birds Studies Canada. |
Cranbrook | Dec 26 | The weather was a significant factor for this year’s Cranbrook count. Previous accumulation of snow affected participation by out of town volunteers from Fernie, Kimberly and Skookumchuck. As a result some areas were not covered. On the day of the count it was snowing heavily and foggy in the morning and, the afternoon was only slightly better. The temperature never got above -14C. There were 12 birders and 13 feeder watchers.
Species total: 43 plus and additional 5 species during count week. Total number of individual birds was 1,892. Bohemian Waxwing (479) reclaimed its spot as most numerous species, taking it back from the Mallards of last year; but both Waxwing and Mallard (154) numbers were still half of average. Of our other numerous species only American Crow (113) numbers were average while Rock Pigeon (51) and Common Raven (148) were well below average. Record high counts were recorded for 2 species this year: EurasianCollared-Dove (44) and White-winged Crossbill (only the sixth time they’ve been recorded on count day). Pine Siskin was missed for the first time in 8 years. Belted Kingfisher, American Three-toed Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch and Gray-crowned Rosy-finch were missed. Northern Shrike was missed again for the second year in a row. Last year, Common Redpoll was missed but this year we saw 163, slightly above average. |
Creston Valley | Dec 27 | On December 27th over 60 birders participated in Creston’s 24th annual CBC sponsored by the Creston Valley Bird Festival. This included 7 birders from the Kimberly and Cranbrook area that drove icy roads in the early morning to help with the count. Although this year was a cold day, 73 species and 5,867 individual birds were counted. Two new birds for the count were a Rusty Blackbird and 4 Anna’s Hummingbirds which were this years biggest surprise. Other rare birds seen were California Quails, White-breasted Nuthatches, and 2 Wilson’s Snipes in the Corn Creek Marsh. Species with more than 200 birds counted were Canada Geese, Mallards, Wild Turkeys, Rock Pigeons, American Crows, Black-capped Chickadees, Bohemian Waxwings, Dark-eyed Juncos, Goldfinches and House Finches.
Thanks to the “fielder group” who braved the chilly day and the “feeder group” who enjoyed watching from their cozy homes. Without their efforts the success of the day would not be possible. Please join us for the Creston Valley Bird Festival, May 13-15, 2022. www.crestonvalleybirds.ca Ulrike Sliworsky. |
D’Arcy-Birken | Dec 19 | Our count was done around the little (28 full time residents)) town of D’arcy, BC. We are a keen group but not numerous. Our weather was a little trying as the deep snow made it hard to get around. It was colder than usual but sunny. Because another count group changed their day (because of impossible weather the day before) to coincide with ours, some counters who usually do both counts only did one, which meant we were missing a few experts and numbered only 10. However we managed to get 45 species and a total of 747 birds. One of our highlights was a Golden Eagle which we rarely see. We are lucky enough to live around Anderson Lake and one of our members built a huge bonfire on the lakeshore and supplied hot soup, smokies to be roasted, and some delicious Christmas bars and cookies. Ann Robertson |
Dawson Creek | Jan 2 | There were 9 participants. 22 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -28C to -25C. Am and Pm were cloudy with light snow. |
Deep Bay | Dec 15 | The Deep Bay CBC was held on Dec 15 in wet and very windy weather with 67 birders in 28 parties, mostly of 2-3 birders and 17 feeder counters. We had an average count with 92 species and 12,272 individuals recorded on count day, and 3 additional species recorded during count week. Notable species on count day were Eared Grebe, Red-throated Loon, Barn Owl and Evening Grosbeak. Art Martell Compiler. |
Duncan | Jan 3 | There were 54 participants and 104 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from 0C to 4C. The morning was cloudy and the afternoon was cloudy with light snow. |
Edgewood | Dec 27 | |
Fauquier | Jan 3 | There were 12 participants. 31 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -8C to -6C. Am was cloudy with heavy snow. Pm was cloudy with light snow. |
Fernie | ||
Fort St. James | Dec 28 |
12 field observers and 20 feeder watchers participated in the 40th annual Fort St. James Christmas Bird Count on Dec 28th. Once again, COVID 19 meant that field observers were out either alone or with their immediate family or bubble. More new feeder watchers volunteered this year, which was much appreciated, particularly since the weather ranged between -28 to -23 with heavy snow in the morning. (I personally did not see a chickadee until 10 am! Good grief!) Observers tallied 33 different species and 1,043 birds; more than I expected given the challenging circumstances. With the cold snap, the Stuart River was more frozen than in recent years. Trumpeter swan numbers were decent. Mallards were huddled in with the swans and a very still and unhappy-looking northern goshawk was perched in a willow bush nearby. Seed- eating winter finches like crossbills , redpolls and pine siskins were either absent or present in lower numbers. These birds follow cone crops across Canada in the winter. For the second year in a row, Bohemian waxwings and Eurasian starlings were absent. Eurasian-collared dove numbers seem to be on the decline. My sincere thanks to all observers who volunteer their time every year. It is always appreciated. Joanne Vinnedge. |
Galiano-North Saltspring | Dec 19 | |
Golden | Dec 26 | There were 31 participants. 24 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -27.4C to -22.8C. The day was clear. |
Grand Forks | ||
Greater Masset | Dec 27 | There were 18 participants. 73 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -6C to -2C. The day was cloudy with light snow. Sponsored by Delkatla Sanctuary Society. |
Harrison River | Dec 14 | This year, we recorded 82 species up 8 species and no count week bird species with 11,195 individuals up 750 from 10445 last year. High numbers for individual species for this year on the Harrison count included American Widgeon with 1327, Pied-billed Grebe 27, Great Blue Herron 66, Eurasian Collared-dove 105, Anna’s Hummingbird 41, American Kestrel 3, Marsh Wren 3, Bewick’s Wren 2, and Gold-crowned Sparrow 43 individuals.
There were only one of each of the fallowing species Herring Gull, 1 Pileated Woodpecker, and 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch. Some years there are none of these species seen at all but we do see them on most counts. There were two new species a Turkey Vulture and a Red-shouldered Hawk. The Red-shouldered Hawk was photographed for the first time in BC. The Northwestern Crow is no more it was lumped last year with the American Crow. Temperatures on the 14th were at -1 to 3°C with light winds and 10 %-15% cloud cover. We had a dry count day with sun most of the day; numbers of individuals were up from last year’s count. Counters did an excellent job of finding and identifying birds as usual! |
Harrop–Balfour | Dec 18 | The weather was dreadful but it was one of the most successful bird counts we have had for this area. -4C with heavy snowfall in the morning and overcast during the afternoon. More people, novice to experts, volunteered than ever before. Birders ranged in age from 2 public school children to folks over 80. 52 Species were seen and 1032 individual birds were counted.
While the number of birds counted were less than in other years, 52 different species were spotted which is the highest to date for this bird count. One participant with a great bird feeder photographed 2 regionally rare birds at her feeder: an Anna’s Hummingbird and a White-breasted Nuthatch. White-winged Crossbill and Dusky Grouse were new Christmas sitings for this area. Notable count week species was Golden Eagle spotted in Procter. Charlie Zinkin |
Hat Creek | Dec 28 | I went on as outing trip the day before, very cold, road hard to follow. Everyone wisely decided not to come so I ended up calling that the count day, the 27th Here is the list as it is. Cooper’s hawk 1 Black-billed Magpie 5 Common Raven 1 Townsend Solitaire 1 American Robin 3 Bohemian Waxwing 12 Next year must be better. Heather Baines. |
Hecate Strait | Jan 3 | There were 2 participants. 30 species were seen. The temperature throughout the day was -2C and the day was cloudy. Sponsored by the Delkatla Sanctuary Society. |
Jaffray-Wardner | Dec 15 | There were 14 participants. 47 species were seen. Weather was cloudy throughout the count. |
Kamloops | Dec 19 | There were 41 participants. 66 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -5C to -3C and the day was partly cloudy. Sponsored by the Kamloops Naturalists. |
Kaslo | Dec 30 | There were 10 participants. 33 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -14C to -7C. The day was cloudy. |
Kelowna | Dec 18 | There were few surprises in this years Kelowna CBC. 40 people braved the snow conditions in Kelowna while 15 people stayed at home and counted the birds in their yard. 28,478 individual birds and 104 species were counted, which is below from 111 species counted last year. The Kelowna count broke highs with 36 Trumpeter Swans, 69 Hooded Mergansers, 5 Virginia Rails and 85 Western Bluebirds. There were 6 Anna’s hummingbirds possibly due to the warming conditions of climate change. Another surprising species counted this year was a Hermit Thrush, which is typically a summertime bird that travels south for the winter and, a Swam Sparrow that is normally found east of the Rocky Mountains. Waterfowl numbers were good, there were a lot of raptors and quite a few owls. However, finch and nuthatch numbers were lower. |
Kimberley | Jan 2 | |
Kuskanook | Jan 3 |
The January 3rd Kuskanook CBC was cancelled due to a winter storm. It was too dangerous to head up the lake road that day.
Ulrike
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Kitimat | Dec 18 | Temperature: -8 to -4. No precipitation. Wind: Very blustery in places especially by the ocean. Ponds and lakes frozen, some of Minette Bay frozen, ocean- whitecaps.
There were 18 participants- 11 driving/ walking in 3 groups, 10 observing feeders. Total species-57, plus 3 others during count week. Our species numbers were down from some years but not our lowest, but our numbers of each species are quite low. Usually we have hundreds more geese, and many more eagles. There were no swans. Possibly it was the weather and it was not easy for us to access places. We are finding it harder to observe birds all year what with LNGC and not being able to view estuary birds as easily. And the wetland and ponds were all frozen this year. Also our participant numbers were down too. Thank you to everyone who participated. It is very much appreciated. The birds appreciate it too. Sue Thorne. |
Ladner | Dec 19 |
This season’s annual Ladner Christmas Bird Count took place on Sunday December 19th , 2021 under a calm, clear, and dry sky. Close to 100 people went out and identified and counted birds on Count Day with a dozen participants counting at feeders.
A total of 130 species of birds were detected on Count Day within the 24 km diameter circle. This is two species more than last year’s total of 128, which was the second highest count in Canada, after Victoria, BC. Four additional species: American Bittern, Common Murre, Red Knot, and Rhinoceros Auklet, were missed on the official Count Day, but were recorded on the three days prior to or after December 19, which is considered Count Week. Species missed that are usually found on Count Day or Count Week include Ruddy Duck, Western Gull, Northern Saw-whet Owl, and Swamp Sparrow.
Highlights included a Northern Waterthrush at Deas Island, a Northern Mockingbird at Boundary Bay. The colder than usual weather resulted in an irruption of Common Redpolls at several locations. Other noteworthy finds included 12 Least Sandpipers in south Richmond, two Greater White-fronted Geese at Boundary Bay, and one Glaucous Gull at the Delta Landfill.
Thank you to all who joined in to help Birds Canada and National Audubon Society keep track of the population of wild birds every year since 1900. You can learn more about the program and see highlights from last season at www.birdscanada.org/cbc
Yousif Attia.
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Ladysmith | Dec 19 | Ladysmith’s 2nd CBC was held Sunday Dec.19. There were 92 species seen, up from 85 last year. There were fewer participants this year: 18 roaming and 9 feeder watchers. Weather was pretty good with temperatures up to +4C with some morning drizzle and light winds. Highlights were: 3 Black Ducks, 1 Eared Grebe, 1 male Ringed-neck Pheasant, 1 Marsh Wren, 2 Evening Grosbeaks, and 1 male Wilson’s Warbler. A White-throated Sparrow was seen during count week. There were no Crossbills, Shrikes or Kestrels seen this year. |
Lake Country | Dec 14 | 27 people in 11 parties covered the count circle in 36.6 party-hours by vehicle (389 km) and 36.2 party-hours walking (69 km). The total of 72.8 party-hours was very similar to the long-term (2002-2020) average of 69.7.
Weather was not bad this year, with low temperature of -9 at the highest elevation on Beaver Lake Rd, but lows nearer to 0 or just above elsewhere, and high of around 4 most other places. Partially sunny, partially cloudy, with a stiff north breeze coming up in exposed places by early afternoon. 8541 birds counted of 81 species were counted on count day (Dec. 14th), which is below the long-term average of 83.9 species, but well above the lowest ever (74 species in 2019). One extra species (American Kestrel) was tallied during count week but not on count day, for a grand total of 82 species. The most abundant species were American Coots (1163) followed by European Starlings (955), Bohemian Waxwings (940), Canada Geese (895), and California Quail (828). Only two species, Northern Flicker and Song Sparrow, were seen by every party, and four other species, Canada Goose, California Quail, Bald Eagle and Dark-eyed Junco, were seen by 10 of the 11 parties. Other interesting birds were 47 Wild Turkeys and 3 Anna’s Hummingbirds. Spruce Grouse was the only new species on the count this year. This has been one of the nemesis birds for this count. The upper Beaver Lake Road area is Spruce Grouse habitat, and they are easy enough to find in the spring, but winter access is difficult. The best that could be managed there were a few “grouse sp.” over the years, which were never conclusively Spruce Grouse because Ruffed Grouse and Dusky Grouse also occur in the same areas, and have been counted before. Les Gyug Compiler, Lake Country Christmas Bird Count, 30 December 2021. |
Langara Island | Weather dependent | |
Lardeau | Dec 27 | Lardeau’s 25th annual CBC was a low key brutal day which broke a couple of records; the coldest day and the least number of species. Despite the cold and deep snow cover, 26 loyal and enthusiastic participants started the the day at -18C with a strong north wind which kept many birds elsewhere. Although 8 additional species were seen during count week, on count day there were only 25 species with 368 birds; Wild Turkeys being the highest species count at 75. The highlights included 30 Red-winged Blackbirds, 1 Great Blue Heron, 1 American Robin and a dead Northern Saw-whet Owl (not counted). One participant watched a Merlin attack a Downy Woodpecker. The lack of water fowl could be partially explained by no open water and the blustery conditions on Kootenay Lake.
Marlene at Lardeau |
Lasqueti Island | Dec 29 | There were 22 participants. 50 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -6C to -3C. Count day was partly cloudy in the am and cloudy in the pm. |
Lillooet | Dec 26 | The Lillooet CBC went ahead on December 26 despite the -18C to -25C weather with wind gusts of over 30 km/hr. We had 23 folk in the field and 5 feed watchers. Our count day species was about average at 56. Total individual birds was low at 1715. Count week species put us at 64 species total which is again average.
Our highlight species for the count was a day rooting Boreal Owl, a first on our count. It was initially misidentified as a Northern Pygmy-Owl. Also misidentified was a Northern Saw-whet Owl initially thought to be a Northern Pygmy-Owl. Luckily, both sitings were photographed and on review were correctly identified. Other great species were two separate bouquets of Gray-crowned Rosy-finch totalling over 175 birds. These had only been seen on two previous counts. And a Northern Pygmy-Owl added to our owl count. The number of Finches was way down this year. Even my feeders which are usually a finch hotspot had only a few American Goldfinches, Siskin and 1 Purple Finch. Despite Common Redpolls pitching up at other counts in the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, we have had none so far this year. Very unusual. Ian Routley. |
Little R.-Powell R. Ferry | Dec 30 | CANCELLED due to weather and Omicron |
Logan Lake | Dec 20 | There were 6 participants and 5 feeder watchers. 30 species were identified and 561 individual birds were seen. Temperatures ranged from -14C to -7C. The day was cloudy with 20 cm of snow. |
Lower Howe Sound | Jan 2 | |
Mackenzie | ||
McBride | Dec 19 | |
Merritt | Dec 18 |
The Merritt CBC on 18 December had a cold and snowy day. Due to flood recovery (several of our regular participants were still dealing with badly damaged homes) we had only 17 people out (about half our regular number). Nevertheless we did quite well. Our tally of 59 species is just below average (61) and we had a new high record of 7,126 birds (double the average). This was due to exceptional numbers of American Coot (1,118 birds – nearly all in one huge flock on Nicola Lake), 2,784 mallards, 380 Rock Pigeons, 235 Mourning Doves and over 500 blackbirds. No new species were added, but rare birds included Ruddy Duck (1), Eared Grebe (1) and Wood Duck (7). Full details and photos here: http://www.nicolanaturalists.ca/2021/12/25/merritt-christmas-bird-count-2021/
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Naden Harbour | Weather dependent | |
Nakusp | Jan 2 | There were 9 participants. 42 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -12C to -6C. Am was cloudy and Pm was clear with light snow. |
Nanaimo | Jan 3 | There were 77 participants. 111 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from 1C to 6C. The morning was partly cloudy with light snow and the afternoon was cloudy with rain and snow. |
Nanoose Bay/Lantzville | Dec 17 Tentative | 90 Species were counted with 6645 individual birds seen. This was low on both counts. There were also less participants. |
Narcosli | Dec 23 |
The count came in right on average for us this year. 36 Species for a total of 714 birds. The area was covered by three teams and as usual each team found birds that the other two did not. Weather was a sunny -24 to -16 temp day with approximately 2 feet of snow. Majority of roads were plowed. There were only 3 or 4 roads we could not access. A few exceptional birds found were a White-throated Sparrow third time in 10 years., Killdeer, Red-tailed Hawk and a Western Meadowlark only the second time for this count. The super exceptional bird tallied for the day was a Brambling found by Suzy Wright in her yard. This is the first record for birds in the Cariboo. A great find it has also been added to the BC Rare Bird forum.
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Nelson | Jan 3 | There were 20 participants. 35 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -4.3C to -2.1C. Count day was cloudy with heavy snow. |
Oliver-Osoyoos | Jan 2 | There were 26 participants. 104 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -11C to -3C. Am was cloudy. Pm was partly clear. |
Parksville-Qualicum Beach | Dec 19 | The day dawned a bit gray with drizzle and temperatures of 0-4 for the 31st Annual Christmas Bird Count in Parksville/Qualicum Beach. A total of 90 birders participated, 58 in the field teams and 32 at their feeders. There were 120 species identified, 7 of which were on count week only. There were a total number of 25,304 species counted. Unusual birds were Common Redpoll, Eurasian Teal, Redhead, and Yellow-billed Loon. High counts included 652 Brant (numbers have been increasing the last few years), 68 Hooded Merganser and 234 Song Sparrow.
We would like to thank everyone for their participation, especially the team leaders and feeder count organizers. This year for the first time we had an online feeder count system which helped significantly with the data analysis. Susan Knoerr |
Peachland | Dec 29 | There were 20 participants. 68 species were observed. Temperatures ranges from -29.5C to -13C. Am was partly cloudy and the pm was partly clear. |
Pemberton-Mt. Currie | Dec 16 | The Pemberton-Mt. Currie CBC was held on Dec 16, 2021. Despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic, many of the faithful volunteers (19) who have been involved in our count for the past twenty years came forward once again. The legendary Karl Ricker is one name that many BC birders will recognize. We are also grateful to the Lil’wat Nation who once again agreed to allow one of our teams to drive through their Reserve Lands and provided one of their Wildlife Technicians (Vanessa Dan) to travel with them for the day.
The weather was the big story of the day – sunny and mild. What a rare treat that was! Birding was rather slow and numbers were generally down, but in the end we recorded 55 species and 1686 birds on count day. A further 9 species were identified during count week – which shows how difficult it is to find every species on count day. New species recorded this year included: Anna’s Hummingbird, Yellow-rumped Warbler and Gadwall. Due to concerns about “gathering” we were not able to come together for the hot soup and story session following the count. Results were emailed into the coordinator, compiled and circulated. Hopefully next year we can bring the whole group together again, as those fondly remembered post count gatherings are very important to the future of the CBC. Allen McEwan. Sponsored by the Pemberton Wildlife Association. |
Pender Harbour | Dec 22 | |
Pender Islands (incl. Mayne & Saturna) | Dec 18 | There were 111 participants. 89 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from 2C to 7C. The morning was cloudy with heavy rain and the afternoon was clear. Sponsored by Mayne Island Conservancy, The Pender Island Conservancy Association and The Saturna Island Marine Research and Education Society. |
Penticton | Dec 19 | There were 47 participants. 102 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -3C to +2C. Am was partly clear. Pm was partly cloudy. Sponsored by the South Okanagan Naturalist Club. |
Pitt Meadows | Jan 1 | There were 84 participants. 90 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -7C to -4C. Am was cloudy and during the afternoon there was light rain. |
Port Alberni | Dec 27 | There were 11 participants. 85 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -9C to -6C. It was partly cloudy in the am with light snow in the pm. |
Port Clements | Dec 21 | There were 7 participants. 48 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -1C to 0C. The day was cloudy with light rain. Sponsored by the Delkatla Sanctuary Society. |
Powell River | Dec 18 | There were 17 observers in 6 areas. 77 species were observed and 4,037 individual birds counted. |
Prince George | Dec 19 | The final species count was 52 which was a bit above average. Total individual birds were 10,225. We had 38 participants in 19 groups. There were 15 feeder watchers. Count day was chilly (-25C to -13C), but no wind and bright sunshine. Red-breasted Nuthatches, Pine Grosbeaks, Siskins, Redpolls, and Crossbill numbers were low. There were no Evening Grosbeaks found. Some thrushes lingered with the mild fall weather, including 2 Mountain Bluebirds which were a first for the count. |
Princeton | Dec 18 | There were 9 participants. 39 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -15C to -6C. The day was cloudy with heavy snow. |
Quesnel | Jan 2 | There were 42 species and 3,704 individual birds counted. This is a low count. Typical individual birds would number approximately 5,500. Brutal weather was likely responsible for the low numbers.
Highlights … Wilson’s Snipe, 4 Northern Pygmy-Owl, Merlin, 4 Northern Shrike, 7 Steller’s Jay, 2 Blue Jay, 2 Canada Jay, 2 Boreal Chickadee, 2 Chestnut-backed Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, 2 American Dipper, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Varied Thrush. Count Week … Red-tailed Hawk. |
Revelstoke | Dec 18 | The Revelstoke CBC had a total of 31 species. 937 individual birds were seen. Plus 6 for the count week. 10 participants took part on a snowy day. Two rare birds were spotted: a Brambling and a Lesser Goldfinch which were found in the same yard and were continuing rarities . A Spruce Grouse was also found, the first for the count. |
Rivers Inlet Mouth | Totally weather dependent. | |
Rose Spit | Dec 23 | There were 3 participants. 32 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -1C to 0C. The morning was cloudy and the afternoon was cloudy with light snow. Sponsored by the Delkatla Sanctuary Society. |
Rossland-Warfield | Dec 19 | Field observer parties were 10; total of field observers 11. There were 17 feeder watchers. 27 species were observed and total species numbered 621. There was a heavy snowfall on the night prior to and morning of the count. Local fog resulted in lower number of siting.
Rare to the count was a White-throated Sparrow. There were low numbers of Wild Turkey, Pine Siskin, and Bohemian Waxwings. An American Dipper was seen the day after the count. Common Goldeneye and Common Mergansers were seen on the Columbia river. |
Salmon Arm | Dec 19 | It was a bright chilly day with temperatures from minus 1 to minus 12. The wind was mostly calm but sometimes blew with gusts up to about 15 k per hour. Shuswap Lake was frozen on the edges and its open water was choppy. Small bodies of water were frozen over. The snow coverage was from 10 to 32 centimeters.
The count area was covered by 29 participants in 11 groups of 1 to 5 people each. There were 459 kilometers covered by vehicles in a combined total of 45.5 hours. Also, participants on foot covered 28 kilometers over 15 hours. In addition, 3 feeder counts reported in. A total of 64 species was seen with an additional 3 during count week. This is one of the lowest number of species ever seen on our Christmas Bird Count. Perhaps this is because of the cold weather in the week before the count, freezing open water and bringing in the snow. The total number of birds seen was 6950. This also is quite below our average. The most common bird seen was the Canada goose with 1514, down about 1000 from the week before. In second place were the bohemian waxwings with 998, followed by European starlings with 844. Rounding out the top five were 516 mallards and 486 rock pigeons, both numbers somewhat below average. There were some notable sightings. There were a record high number of red-winged blackbirds with 447; the previous record was 355 set in 2018. There were a couple of rarities both seen in the south east section: 1 Lincoln’s sparrow and 4 American tree sparrows; both species were last seen in 2004. A cedar waxwing feeding with bohemian waxwings at Raven was a rare winter visitor. There was only one owl found this year, a short-eared owl near the Salmon River. Also, only 2 pine siskins were seen, at a feeder, when often hundreds are seen. There were no loons, wrens, redpolls or crossbills. A big thank you to all who participated in this year’s count and helped to make it a success. It would not happen without you. Ted Hillary. |
Savona-Walhachin | Dec 21 |
Here is CBC for Savona(BCSW)-spc. 34, # 932 birds, party 5, weather -20, cloud 90% am. 10% pm., snow 3 to 25 cm., distance auto 135km., foot 7 km. time foot 4.5 hr., auto 34 hr.———Canada goose 153, Trumpeter swan 36, Mallard 50, C Goldeneye 10, R B Merganser, duck spc. 2, Chukar 28, G B Huron 1, SS Hawk 1, B Eagle 5, R Pigeon 58, E C dove 19, Three toe Woodpecker 1, N R flicker 8, P Woodpecker 1, A Kestrel 1, N Shrike 4, C Jay 3, B B Magpie 30, A Crow 73, C Raven 21 B C chickadee 21, M Chickadee 6, Townsend Solitaire 14, E Starling 61, B Waxwing 150, O Junco 4, W C Sparrow 1, S Sparrow 2, Cassin Sparrow 2, S Towhee 4, H Finch 65, A Gold Finch 30, House Sparrow 66.
Ray Town
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Sayward | ||
Shuswap Lake P.P. | Dec 15 | There were 13 participants. 53 species were identified. Temperatures ranged from -5C to -1C. The day was partly cloudy. |
Sidney-South Saltspring | Dec 19 | There were 95 participants. 121 species were identified. Temperatures ranged from 3C to 7C. The day was clear. |
Skidegate Inlet | Dec 19 | There were 12 participants. 71 species were identified. The day was clear. Sponsored by the Delkatla Sanctuary Society. |
Slocan Lake | Dec 29 | There were 25 participants. 31 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -22C to -15C. Count day was clear. |
Smithers | Dec 27 | Despite the cold weather,(-31C to -21.2C) 50 rugged northern birders were out in the field in a maximum of 26 parties counting the birds on December 27th for the Christmas Count. An additional 16 people were watching feeders either full or part-time. The total number of individual birds counted within the circle was 4244 and the number of species identified was 45. The total number of individuals was the lowest we have recorded, which is most likely due to the extreme cold leading up to the count day. By and large, birds were centered around reliable food sources.
A first for our count, and exciting to see here at all, were a couple of American Goldfinch seen in town. This species is slowly moving into our area. The pair here now are not in their breeding plumage but watch out for their brilliant yellow in Spring. A few sparrows that should have migrated stayed close to feeders. Other birds we do not see often on our counts were a Barred owl and a couple of Ring-necked Pheasants that have been released from captivity. Apart from Chickadees, Crows and Ravens, the most abundant species was the huge flock of Bohemian Waxwings that were seen swirling in clouds around town in search of berries such as mountain ash. A huge ‘Thank You’ goes to all the people who participated. Rosamund Pojar. |
Soda Creek | ||
Sooke | Dec 27 | There were 44 participants this year compared to 70 last year. Participants braved the frigid conditions and snowy terrain. There were 12 feeder watchers. Results are still being compiled but so far 111 species have been tallied, 2 more species than the 2020 count. This year’s total of 111 is the highest species count since 2016 when there were 113 species recorded. Individual birds counted totalled more than 16,400 which is quite low (27,000+ in 2020). The low numbers were most likely due to weather and low visibility.
Only 1 rare bird was encountered, a Common Redpoll in amongst a flock of Pine Siskins. Other impressive finds were 3 Snow Goose, 3 Brant, 1273 Dunlin and 11 Long-tailed Ducks as well as 2 Western Meadowlarks and 311 Ann’s Hummingbirds. Early birders were out at 6am to look for owls. 1 Northern Saw-whet Owl, 11 Great Horned Owls and Barred Owls were located in the early morning and throughout the day. As the weather made it unsafe to take a boat out to Race Rocks the Ecoguardians did a bird count of their own to add to the count. The Sooke CBC is sponsored by the Rocky Point Bird Observatory www.rpbo.org |
Squamish | Dec 18 | There were 19 participants. 67 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -2C to 1C. The day was clear. |
Stewart-Hyder | ||
Stuix-Tweedsmuir | Dec 21 |
We had 11 people in 8 parties
finding 112 birds of 22 species.
It was a cloudy, cold, snowy wonderful day.
Trumpeter Swan 1, Bufflehead 1, Common Goldeneye 1, Hooded Merganser 6, Common
Merganser 14, Canvasback 3, Shoveler 3, Ruffed Grouse 1, Bald Eagle 15, Wilson’s Snipe 1.
Hairy Woodpecker 1, NW Crow 3, Common Raven 9, Steller’s Jay 3, Chickadee sp.6
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2, Pacific Wren 1, American Dipper 22, Song Sparrow 1, Pine Siskin 16,
Great Blue Heron 1.
The highlight of the day was the Pacific Wren landing on Moira’s toque as we sat around the fire on our patio.
Three observers confirmed the sighting – no kidding
Thanks all for participating,
Dennis Kuch.
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Sunshine Coast | Dec 19 | For the second consecutive year the decision was made to delay the count by one day. The forecast for the original day, 18th December, was atrocious, with heavy rain and strong winds. The 19th was a perfect day for the count with blue sky, cool temperature, and calm conditions. Temperature range was 4.5C to -1C overnight. The tides were problematic with high water everywhere in all daylight hours. Access to some prime birding areas was also stymied. Porpoise Bay PP suffered serious washouts, and access to the Angus Creek estuary vanished after the November floods. There were Covid related access problems in Howe Sound and on Sechelt band lands. There were 19 participants in 8 parties. Plus feeder-watchers. There were 78 species seen on count day. (+ 8 Count-week species so far). It was an excellent day weatherwise, for a bird count. However, the birds failed to show up. Species diversity was low, and numbers of individuals of most species was also low, both waterbirds & landbirds. Last year we found 100 species (highest ever 105 species).
Highlights were non-existent with no rare or even uncommon species reported. The number of birds of each species has not been calculated yet. Lowlights: Glaring misses were Black Scoter, and Killdeer, which are never normally missed. Rock Sandpiper was missed but may be explained by the high tides, forcing it to remain on the offshore White Islet. No new species were recorded so the all-time total species for count-day remains 172. Due to Covid concerns the Countdown was held on Zoom. Thanks to Rand Rudland for hosting. Tony Greenfield. |
Terrace | Dec 20 | There were 15 participants. 36 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -15.8C to -12.6C. The day was clear. |
Tlell | Dec 29 | There were 6 participants. 46 species were identified. Temperatures ranged from -4C to 0C. The day was cloudy. Sponsored by the Delkatla Sanctuary Society. |
Tofino | ||
Trail-Beaver Valley | ||
Tumbler Ridge | Dec 27 | The final species count was 20 which equalled the record for Tumbler Ridge. Total individual birds were 446. There were 12 participants, which was a record and a good number for a community of 2000. Also many were young birders on their first CBC. The count began with Dr. Nigel Mathews, coming off shift at 4 am, ‘fresh’ after being up all night working in the TR Emergency room, deciding to go owling in the dark with a temperature of -40C. He was successful with a Barred Owl! Temperatures ‘warmed’ to -18C during the day and conditions were variable with cloud in the morning, clearing in the afternoon and windy at times. Highlights were new birder Kirsty Casey pointing out a Northern Goshawk later in the day to Dr. Matthews and it was possibly the bird of the day. Jack Carrigan heard and subsequently found and American Three-toed Woodpecker on a cold hike in the forest. |
Vanderhoof | Jan 1 | There were 5 participants. 19 species were identified. Temperatures ranged from -12C to -6C. The morning was cloudy and the afternoon partly cloudy. |
Vancouver | Dec 18 | The 2021 Vancouver Christmas Bird Count took place on Saturday December 18th under challenging conditions, at least until mid-day. In the morning participants were faced with steady rain throughout the area, and wind from the SSE of about 16 kph or higher along the coast. The rain tapered off around noon and skies began to clear, resulting in relatively pleasant conditions in the afternoon. Poor conditions on the water in the morning meant that the group who usually survey the waters in English Bay by boat were not able to get out, and observations from shore were also hampered by rain and wind.
As was the case in 2019 (there was no count in 2020 due to covid restrictions), tides were high throughout the day: 4.4 m from 6 to 7 am, 3.6 m at noon, and 3.7 m at 5 pm, leaving little shore habitat and resulting in low counts and some missed species for shorebirds. Winter finches and grosbeaks were in short supply this year with small numbers of Pine Siskins, one Common Redpoll and no Pine Grosbeaks, Evening Grosbeaks or Red Crossbills reported. A few Bohemian Waxwings were present in the area this year, though only one bird was seen on count day. The species total stands at 124 with 70,795 individuals, compared to 126 species and 76,319 individuals in 2019 – impressive considering the conditions (2019 had good weather). Some highlights: Brant 1, Rough-legged Hawk 4, Snowy Ow 1, Black Turnstone 9, Mourning Dove 1, Spotted Sandpiper 4, Gray Catbird 1, Bohemian Waxwing 1, White-throated Sparrow 1, Harris Sparrow 1, Common Redpoll 1, Brown-headed Cowbird 8, Townsend Warbler 1, Orange-crowned Warbler 1. Notably missed this year: Western Grebe, Long-billed Dowitcher, Marbled Murrelet |
Vaseux Lake | Dec 27 | The Vaseux Lake Christmas Bird Count was held on the coldest day of the year, Monday, December 27, 2021. Because of the winds and frigid temperatures (down to -28 at elevation, plus significant wind-chill), coverage was about 30 percent below normal, especially coverage on foot (less than half normal). The species total of 73 is one of the lowest in the 48-year history of the count. There were 4200 individual birds. 18 participants and 5 feeder watchers. |
Vernon | Dec 19 | There were 91 species plus 5 species for count week. Common Yellowthroat – only second Vernon CBC record. High count of White-throated Sparrows (24). 55 participants. Cloudy. Ponds frozen. |
Victoria | Dec 18 | There were 249 participants. 136 species were identified. Temperatures ranged from 5C top 8C. There was heavy rain in the morning and heavy to light rain in the afternoon. Sponsored by the Victoria Natural History Society. |
Wells & Bowron Lakes | Dec 28 | There were 4 participants. 19 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -24C to -22C. It was cloudy with light snow throughout the day. |
Whistler | Dec 14 |
Here are the final Whistler Christmas Bird Count (as submitted) including the count week species. 14 counters for 10 sections of our circle.
The weather started with a very light snow that didn’t last long. Temperatures -2C to +1.2C in the valley. There was a heavy snow fall prior to the count and some counters trudged through unplowed trails through snow depths of 36cm.
All counters complained of the low number of birds (673 total) but the number of species was helped with count week reports (48).
We have 2 dedicated teams ski/counting in the alpine. One team on Blackcomb and the other on Whistler mountain. The Alpine temperature was -19 C. Ptarmigans were seen on both mountains Blackcomb mtn on count day and Whistler on count week. The Clark’s nutcrackers did not make an appearance this year, but the gray-crowned rosy finch were seen in count week.
Our uncommon surprises were Anna’s Hummingbirds that found a couple of warmed feeders and a mew gull (confirmed by photograph) was identified for count day.
Shawn Mason
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White Rock | Jan 2 | There were 84 participants. 112 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -2C to +2C. The morning was cloudy and during the afternoon there was heavy rain. |
Williams Lake | Dec 19 | There were 39 participants. 54 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -16C to -13C. The day was partly cloudy with no precipitation. Sponsored by Williams Lake Field Naturalists. |
Yalakom Valley | Jan 2 | There were 14 participants. 22 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -5C to -3C. Morning and afternoon was cloudy with light snow. |
Yoho National Park | Dec 18 | There were 5 participants. 12 species were seen. Temperatures ranged from -16C to -11C. Am conditions were cloudy with light snow. Pm conditions were cloudy with heavy snow. |
Updated March 1, 2022
Vernon 19 Dec. 2021 completed. 91 species plus 5 species for count week. Common Yellowthroat – only second Vernon CBC record. High count of White-throated Sparrows (24). 55 participants. Cloudy. Ponds frozen.