Bird counts taking place across the globe. What to potentially expect from P.A.’s count

“We’re hitting a dry cycle right now… so those sloughs are starting to lose their water,” said Warren.

He also explained these birds aren’t just leaving the area, in fact, they’re still here. Because of the lack of habitat, they’ve had fewer opportunities to breed and increase their numbers which is making it much harder to spot one.

“There’s a misconception that if you lose habitat the birds just go to some other suitable habitat,” added Warren. “They don’t because it’s already occupied by its own species.”

The St. Germaine’s have also seen an increase in certain species such as snow geese and Canadian geese. They explained this is due to the large amount of agriculture in the area.

“Those species are on the fields picking up waste grain and so on,” said Warren. “That’s what they’re feeding on.”

They’ve also noticed an increase in certain woodpecker species that are attracted to areas where there’s lots of smoke and fire. This has been the case since the Cloverdale Fire.

There were 28 different bird species counted in the Prince Albert area during a 2022 tally.

The St. Germaine’s explained every year will most likely have different numbers, though they’ve found that each will usually hover between 25 to 30. It’s also not the same species being counted each time.

“There’s always a vagrant or two that shows up,” Vicki joked.

There are a lot of reasons for this including losses in habitats, weather patterns, and specific areas that were checked.

Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow

by Jaryn Vecchio

Bird counts taking place across the globe. What to potentially expect from P.A.’s count

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