By Angela Brown

Christmas Bird Count planned for Vermilion region

Dec 16, 2021 | 3:01 PM

VERMILION, Alta. — Bird enthusiasts in the Lloydminster area can look forward to the upcoming Vermilion River Naturalist Society’s Christmas Bird Count (CBC) coming up.

The event is planned for Dec. 18 this year.

The group’s coordinator and compiler, Iris Davies of the Dewberry, Alta. area, said the annual count is a popular activity for nature buffs.

Close to 20 people will be taking part in the count this year, coming from throughout the Vermilion and surrounding area, including from nearby Lloydminster.

“We have about 15 or 16 people who will be out in the field looking for birds. And, we usually get about 11 or 12 people who watch their feeders,” Davies said.

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Those conducting the field study will be hiking, snowshoeing or cross-country skiing through a section of the provincial park, or walking through part of the town of Vermilion while they take their count. Some participants will cover a larger quadrant within the 24-km diameter circle area of the study.

“They travel the roads for usually about five or six hours during the day, and watch for birds” Davies said. “Quite often you can hear the birds and zone in on where they are, identify them and count the numbers.”

The results of the day’s count will be sent to Audubon, and will help guide future research.

Davies said some of the birds the group have seen in the area include more hard to find varieties, such as the Northern Saw-Whet Owl and the Northern Shrike, or rare birds to the area such as the House Finch and the Eurasian Collared-Dove.

“Some of those are a little more difficult to find. You have to have good eyes,” she said.

Davies has been taking part in the count since the group started with the project in 1989.

“It’s a lot of fun to do, and it’s nice to meet with the people,” she said.

Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment Wildlife Biologist Katherine Conkin said a number of projects are also underway to monitor bird populations in the province of Saskatchewan.

Many people take part in surveys and submit their observations on bird populations.

“Collectively, agencies like Environment and Climate Change Canada who are the legal body responsible for most migratory birds utilize this data,” Conkin said. “It becomes really powerful to look at changes in migratory birds over time and space.”

Conkin noted one important project underway is the Saskatchewan Breeding Bird Atlas, an initiative by Birds Canada to monitor the entire province in 10×10 kilometre sections. Volunteers monitor bird populations either by simply submitting their observations or by going outside to take counts and identify birds by their songs.

The five-year project started in 2017. The results will be published after the initiative is complete.

Conkin said, in general, grassland birds and aerial insectivores, such as swallows, are at risk, and have seen a large decline over the past 50 years. In comparison, waterfowl, in particular the goose species, are faring well, which Conkin credits to successful efforts in habitat retention.

Conkin recommends that people get involved if they are aware of any CBCs taking place in their areas.

“These types of citizen science monitoring programs are crucial to monitoring these migratory populations of a large scale,” Conkin said. “The researchers really rely on this information. So I would highly encourage people to get out. It’s also a really enjoyable way to spend the holidays.”

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow