Previous CBC Results

Count #121 Cranbrook and Kimberley
Christmas Bird Count Results

By Dianne Cooper
Updated 2021-01-07

The 23rd annual Christmas Bird Counts for Cranbrook and Kimberley were held on December 26, 2020 and January 3, 2021, respectively.

On Count Day, teams of counters cover as much of a specified 24-km diameter circle as possible to tally all birds they see; feeder counters tally the highest number of a species seen around their yard. Count Week extends three days before and after count day. Any species NOT seen on Count Day but seen during Count Week can be included in the official report to Bird Studies Canada/National Audubon Society (but numbers of individuals of "count week" species are not added to the count tally).

Current public health requirements and recommendations meant that no potlucks for count-up were held. Also, during the counts, there were no pre-count meetups nor car-pooling; field counters were required to wear a mask when in proximity to others and to not enter private residences. Communication for organizing the events, co-ordinating teams during the counts, and gathering the results were completely by email and cell phone in a satisfactory manner. Hopefully, next year we will be able to all get together again to hear great birding stories and share our love of birds.

Field observers participating in one or both counts (Cranbrook and/or Kimberley) totalled 25 birders and friends, all local residents, and 21 people contributed feeder counts.

Cranbrook CBC Results

National Audubon Society, Birds Canada (formerly Bird Studies Canada) Count #121
Count code: BCCB
Count day: 26 Dec 2020
Count week: 23 Dec 2019 - 31 Dec 2019
Species total: 47
Number of individual birds total: 3,424

The Cranbrook circle goes from St. Eugene Mission to Green Bay (Moyie Lake) and from Old Wycliffe to Gold Creek. Also included is the Trans-Canada Trail to Rampart Rest Area.

The weather for the Cranbrook count was relatively mild with temperatures ranging from -9 to -6 °C. Winds were very light to light, there was no precipitation, and Green Bay (Moyie Lake) was mostly open but the Cranbrook sewage lagoons were mostly frozen.

People going out into the field, driving or walking, numbered 19 birders and friends and 13 feeder counts were contributed.

The total number birds counted was 3,483 which is our second highest to date, so it was a good count overall.

The 47 species recorded on count day was above the average of 43 species for the Cranbrook count.

Woodpecker Grand Slam!

This year's count can go down in history as only the second time we got a Woodpecker Grand Slam! We saw all the possible species of winter woodpeckers: Downy, Hairy, Northern Flicker, American Three-toed, and Pileated on count day and a Black-backed during count week. The only other time for a Woodpecker Grand Slam was Count #113 in December 2012. Not only that, three of the woodpecker species seen had record high numbers.

Teamwork

Often, one team or feeder watcher are the only ones to see a species. This is why it is crucial for us to work together to cover the whole circle. This year, the Mission North Cranbrook team got 5 species not seen by anyone else: Red-tailed Hawk (1), Belted Kingfisher (1), Black-billed Magpie (2), White-breasted Nuthatch (1), and White-winged Crossbill (5). Yay!

The only Northern Pygmy-Owl and Spotted Towhee were contributed by the Hidden Valley team. The American Three-toed Woodpecker and five Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches were contributed by the Jimsmith team. The New Lake team were the only ones to see an American Tree Sparrow and an Evening Grosbeak; and a Brown Creeper was contributed by the team that headed down to Green Bay (Moyie Lake north). More "Yay!".

The only Merlin was seen by a feeder watcher - not surprising since feeders are also where their food is.

Numerous species

Mallard (629) was the most numerous species this year taking top spot for only the third time in the 23 years of the count. This was also a new maximum for this species. Their numbers have been steadily increasing, as I am sure you've noticed.

Bohemian Waxwing (384) and Common Raven (333) were rivals for second spot. This Bohemian number is still below average, though, as sometimes they are very numerous (max = 4,950). Raven numbers were average. American Crow (155) numbers were above average.

New Maximum numbers

Record high counts were recorded for a whopping 8 species this year, including 3 of the woodpeckers in our Woodpecker Grand Slam.

Mallard (629) - still trending upward
Downy Woodpecker (26) was almost double their average
Hairy Woodpecker (22) was also almost double their average
Pileated Woodpecker (16) was double also
Canada Jay's (14) new maximum is only one more from LAST year's new max
Blue Jay (46) - this is the 4th year in a row we've counted a new maximum for Blue Jay
Mountain Chickadee (274) numbers were almost 3 times their average
Red-breasted Nuthatch (117) was also almost 3 times average

Notable misses

94 species have ever been recorded on the Cranbrook CBC, 54 of which have been recorded on only half of the counts. "Misses" means species that were around before or after the count that we could have got on count day, OR species we usually get but were not seen count day.

A Snow Goose that had been hanging around The Mission was not seen since the 20th of December. It would have been a "first" for the count.

A Great Horned Owl that was heard on the 21st near the Hospital but was not heard on count day or during count week. This species continues to elude us on count day - having been detected only once before.

We also missed Ruffed Grouse, which has been counted on 14 of our 23 counts. Also, most notably because they are sometimes in large numbers and are favourites of feeder watchers, Common Redpoll was missed.

Count week

A Common Merganser that had been at the north end of Moyie Lake on the 24th was not seen for the count. We've recorded it on the previous 3 counts, but it has only ever been on 5 counts.

Also seen during count week only, were Canada Goose, Wild Turkey, Northern Goshawk, and Northern Shrike.

The Black-backed Woodpecker seen during count week rounded out all the possible winter woodpecker species to give us a Woodpecker Grand Slam!

No new species were recorded for the count this year. CORRECTION: late report of a Northern Mockingbird, seen 2020-Dec-29 - so "count week" species.

Rare appearances were made by

American Three-toed Woodpecker (1) - 4th time on the count
American Tree Sparrow (1) - also 4th time on the count. I suspect there were more around because another one was seen the day after the count at a feeder in a completely different area - but they do fly around!
White-winged Crossbill (5) - 5th time
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (5) - 5th time
Spotted Towhee (1) - not rare in summer but at least one bird is testing its mettle; and this is only the 3rd time it's been on the Cranbrook count

One to three - usual and unusual species

It's nice to not miss species that are naturally sparse in population density but usually have a few all year or over-wintering here. This year we got: Green-winged Teal (2), Red-tailed Hawk (1), Mourning Dove (4), Northern Pygmy Owl (1) - the first one since 2016, Belted Kingfisher (1), Merlin (1), Black-billed Magpie (2), Brown Creeper (1), and Northern Goshawk (count week - cw)

The one White-breasted Nuthatch seen was the first one on count day in four years.

The drama of nature was witnessed by the Mission North Cranbrook team: they briefly spotted a small hawk, either a Sharp-shinned or Cooper's Hawk, carrying off a vole before it disappeared into the forest to have its lunch in peace and quiet.

Introduced species
Eurasian Collared-Dove (17), Rock Pigeon (260), European Starling (66), and House Sparrow (125) were all high in number or above average.

High numbers
Beside the new maximum numbers for species mentioned above, high numbers were also counted for Common Goldeneye (65) - 3 times the average, and Pine Siskin (185), also 3 times the average.

Thirteen American Dipper (13) were also a high number to get. The maximum was 23 back in December of 2006.

Low Numbers
Steller's Jay (3) numbers were half their average and Clark's Nutcracker (13) numbers continue to be low after their maximum of 90 in 2011. Evening Grosbeak (1) on the count has been sporadic for the past 5 years and their numbers low.

Our favourite feeder birds
Feeder watchers reported generally low activity at their feeders but when everyone's numbers are added together, our favourite feeder birds seem to be having a pretty good year! Mountain Chickadee (274) showed a new maximum and Black-capped Chickadee (153) was above average for the third year in a row. Dark-eyed Junco (40), Song Sparrow (29), and Pine Grosbeak (47) were all above average and House Finch (216) and American Goldfinch (18) were both average.

Other favorite species spotted were American Dipper (7 - average), Townsend's Solitaire (17 - above average), American Robin (17 - average), and Bald Eagle (6 - average).

Kimberley Results

National Audubon Society, Birds Canada (formerly Bird Studies Canada) Count #121
Count code: BCKB
Count day: 3 Jan 2021
Count week: 31 Dec 2020 - 6 Jan 2021
Species total: 51
Number of individual birds total: 2,368

The Kimberly circle goes from Wycliffe, the north side of the Saint Mary's River to Wasa, and from Bummer's Flats to the base of the Kimberley ski hill, encompassing Ta Ta Creek, Meadowbrook, Kimberley and Marysville.

The weather for the Kimberley count was unusually mild for January with temperatures ranging from 1 to 7 °C. Winds were very light in most places in the morning but picked up everywhere in the afternoon to gusts of about 20 km/h. There was a dump of 20 cm of snow overnight in the upper levels of Kimberley, but only a few cm in Marysville and none on the lower elevations. Wasa Lake and all the little ponds were frozen; the rivers were partly frozen. The roads were extremely icy but everyone managed to drive safely.

People going out into the field driving or walking, numbered 15 birders and friends and 8 feeder counts were contributed.

The total number of individual birds counted was 2,368 which is about average.

New Record for Total Species for Kimberley!
This year's count can go down in history for when we set a new all-time record for number of species - 51 species! The previous record of 49 species was set only two years ago in January 2019.

No new species were recorded for the count this year; we just managed to get a good percentage of the 79 species we've ever gotten on count day including those naturally low in number and usually uncommon.

Teamwork
Unique Species
Often, one team or feeder watcher is the only one to see a species. This is why it is crucial for us to work together to cover all habitats in the whole circle. This year, the list of unique species seen by field counters or feeder watchers includes the following:
Ruffed Grouse (1) at a feeder in Meadowbrook
Red-tailed Hawk (1) out in Wycliffe
Golden Eagle (1) very high above Bummer's Flats
Belted Kingfisher (2) along the Kootenay River
American Three-toed Woodpecker (1) across the river from St. Eugene
Canada Jay (1) in Meadowbrook
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (2) in Kimberley
Golden-crowned Kinglet (7) in Ta Ta Creek
American Robin (1) on Clearview Rd
Snow Bunting (80) at Pine Butte Ranch
American Tree Sparrow (6) at a feeder in Ta Ta Creek
Gray-crowned Rosy finch (2) at a feeder on Clearview Rd.

BOWA Adjustments
We also have to co-ordinate, as best we can, how many of each species we count because bird fly around. This year on count day, the Kimberley/Marysville team got 335 Bohemian Waxwings. Now, may of us know there are sometimes a lot of Bohemian Waxwings around; to some people they are THE "Winter Birds". Bohemian Waxing love to eat the mountain ash berries and they travel and roost together, sometimes in very large flocks. We can only count what we see (and we have to be careful not to double count!). But later in the day, a field counter returning home from Wycliffe saw a flock of about 500 waxwings over the Ski Hill residential area - so 165 birds were added to the count. A couple of days later, a report came in of 1500 - 2000 waxwings in a flock over the same area! Too late for the count but great to know the species is doing better than we thought this winter.

Notable misses
On count day, we actually missed only a few things that we "usually" see such as Mourning Dove, Merlin, and Cassin's Finch. We haven't gotten Merlin on the Kimberley count for the past 7 years - but Cranbrook has! Most notably missed was the common House Sparrow which has been on 18 of the 23 counts to date.

Count week
If we miss a species on the day of the count but see it within 3 days before or after, we can include it in our report to Audubon; but it doesn't count towards our total species or numbers of individual birds.

This year, count week reports were for Bufflehead, Sharp-shinned Hawk, and White-winged Crossbill. Very nice.

We'd originally thought we'd missed Ruffed Grouse so one determined participant set off on foot to get the one she knew was near her house but she hadn't seen it in awhile. After bushwhacking through bramble and snow, she got it! Then, a late report from a feeder watcher came in which allowed us to include it on our count day totals. Thanks, VR, for your determination!

Other uncommon species
Most of the species found by only one team (see "Unique Species" above) are also uncommon all year long, or uncommon in winter, at least.
This is the fifth time for American Three-toed Woodpecker (1) on the Kimberley count. It was spotted by only one field counter while he was driving but he couldn't stop to look at it because his vehicle was sliding down an icy hill at the time! Not the best way to view this beautiful woodpecker - but he got it.
Also uncommonly seen during winter on the Kimberley count, were Common Merganser (4). Like some other waterfowl, they will stay if the rivers are only partly frozen, as is the case this year. Common Goldeneye (55 - a new max) and Mallard (25 - also a new max) were also seen.

One to three - usual and unusual species
Part of the reason why we got a record species count this year was that we managed to pick up all the species that are usually low in numbers including Northern Pygmy-Owl (2), Northern Shrike (3) - which we missed last year but has been on 18 of the 23 counts, and Brown Creeper (3) as well as the unique finds listed above.

The usual non-feeder species
Wild Turkey (28) numbers were half of average this year. We usually get a few more Bald Eagles (15) than Cranbrook and this year their numbers were a bit higher than average. Our favourite American Dipper (6) also had higher numbers. This species has been missed only once in 23 years on either count.

The usual / feeder birds
Kimberley numbers of the usual feeder species were mostly average to high, unlike the Cranbrook count which got new maximums for several of these species.
Of note are:
Townsend's Solitaire (7) which was missed last year but is usually seen
Dark-eyed Junco (48) whose numbers were 3 times the average
Evening Grosbeak (30) which were missed the previous two years but otherwise on every count
Red Crossbill (82) - also missed last year but on 19 of 23 counts
Pine Siskin (93) whose numbers were much better than the previous two years

Numerous species
Bohemian Waxwing (589) was our most numerous species, as usual, but their numbers (on count day) were half of average. However, the size of the flock in town seen after count day (1500-2000) was at the high end of their historic numbers. For whatever reason, they did not flock up and fly around as much on Sunday's count day as they did on Tuesday. Perhaps they were busy feeding on Sunday, after a cold and snowy night, but on Tuesday their bellies were full and they were full of energy. Count day does just provide a snapshot of the number of birds around and weather is likely one factor affecting the detection of all the species.

American Crow (16) numbers were low. I wonder if the Kimberley crows decided to move to Cranbrook since Cranbrook numbers, counted just the week before, were well above average.

Introduced species
Eurasian Collared-Dove (27) on the Kimberley count is more numerous than on the Cranbrook count. It is also more consistent in the Kimberley circle, having been seen on all the counts in the past 10 years. It showed up a year later on the Cranbrook count and has been missed there a couple of times. Its numbers were well above average in the Kimberley circle this year.

Low Numbers
The same species with low numbers on the Cranbrook count also had lower numbers for the Kimberley count. Steller's Jay (5) numbers were half their average and Clark's Nutcracker (52) numbers were better in Kimberley than Cranbrook but still below average. Evening Grosbeak (30) numbers were half of average but it had been missed on the previous two counts - the only misses in 23 years.

New Maximum numbers
Record high numbers were found for Mallard (25) and Common Goldeneye (55) reflecting the fact that the rivers are still relatively ice-free. Rock Pigeon (115) also had a new maximum but their numbers are still less than half of Cranbrook.

The 8 Pygmy Nuthatches counted were the most ever on count day so far. This species is now found regularly (7 of the last 9 counts) throughout the year, if you know where to look.

Mark your calendars for similar dates next year!

Cranbrook CBC Results 26-Dec-2020

Species Count	Trend	Species and Countable Taxon	Nr of Individuals
cw		Canada Goose
1	max	Mallard	629
2	avg	Green-winged Teal	2
3	high	Common Goldeneye	65
cw		Common Merganser
cw		Wild Turkey
4	avg	Bald Eagle	6
5	avg	Red-tailed Hawk	1
6		Sharp-shinned/Cooper's Hawk	1
	cw	Sharp-shinned Hawk
cw		Northern Goshawk
7	high	Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)	260
8	+ avg	Eurasian Collared-Dove	17
9	avg	Mourning Dove	4
10		Northern Pygmy-Owl	1
11	avg	Belted Kingfisher	1
12	max	Downy Woodpecker	26
13	max	Hairy Woodpecker	22
14		American Three-toed Woodpecker	1
cw		Black-backed Woodpecker
15	high	Northern Flicker	49
16	max	Pileated Woodpecker	16
17	avg	Merlin	1
cw		Northern Shrike
18	max	Canada Jay	14
19	- avg	Steller's Jay	3
20	max	Blue Jay	46
21	avg	Black-billed Magpie	2
22	- avg	Clark's Nutcracker	13
23	+ avg	American Crow	155
24	avg	Common Raven	333
25	+ avg	Black-capped Chickadee	153
26	max	Mountain Chickadee	292
27	max	Red-breasted Nuthatch	117
28		White-breasted Nuthatch	1
29	avg	Brown Creeper	1
30	avg	American Dipper	7
31	+ avg	Townsend's Solitaire	17
32	avg	American Robin	17
33	+ avg	European Starling	66
34	- avg	Bohemian Waxwing	384
35		American Tree Sparrow	1
36	+ avg	Dark-eyed Junco	40
37	+ avg	Song Sparrow	30
38		Spotted Towhee	1
39	+ avg	Pine Grosbeak	47
40	low	Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch	5
41	avg	House Finch	216
42	- avg	Red Crossbill	27
43	- avg	White-winged Crossbill	5
44	high	Pine Siskin	185
45	avg	American Goldfinch	18
46	low	Evening Grosbeak	1
47	high	House Sparrow	125


	Missed
		Bufflehead
		Barrow's Goldeneye
		Hooded Merganser
		Ruffed Grouse
		Great Blue Heron
		Rough-legged Hawk
		Chestnut-backed Chickadee
		Golden-crowned Kinglet
		Cassin's Finch
		Common Redpoll

	Legend:
	miss	not recorded on count day
	max	new maximum number
	high	significantly above average
	+ avg	a bit above average
	avg	close to the average
	- avg	a bit below average
	low	significantly below average
	first	first time on count day

	species	reported by only one team

	cw	reported in count week only

Kimberley CBC results 3-Jan-2021
Sp_Nr	Trend	Species and countable taxon	Nr of individuals
1	max	Mallard	25
	cw	Bufflehead
2	max	Common Goldeneye	55
		Common/Barrow's Goldeneye	2
3		Common Merganser	4
4	avg	Ruffed Grouse	1
5	< avg	Wild Turkey	28
6		Golden Eagle	1
	cw	Sharp-shinned Hawk
7	avg	Cooper's Hawk	1
8	high	Bald Eagle	15
9	avg	Red-tailed Hawk	1
		hawk sp.
10	max	Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)	115
11	> avg	Eurasian Collared-Dove	27
12	avg	Northern Pygmy-Owl	2
13	avg	Belted Kingfisher	2
14	avg	Downy Woodpecker	18
15	avg	Hairy Woodpecker	19
16		American Three-toed Woodpecker	1
17	high	Northern Flicker	42
18	> avg	Pileated Woodpecker	11
19	avg	Northern Shrike	3
20	avg	Canada Jay	3
21	low	Steller's Jay	5
22	avg	Blue Jay	8
23	avg	Black-billed Magpie	16
24	< avg	Clark's Nutcracker	52
25	low	American Crow	16
26	> avg	Common Raven	171
27	avg	Black-capped Chickadee	134
28	> avg	Mountain Chickadee	155
29	< avg	Chestnut-backed Chickadee	2
		chickadee sp.	64
30	> avg	Red-breasted Nuthatch	86
31	avg	White-breasted Nuthatch	5
32	max	Pygmy Nuthatch	8
33	avg	Brown Creeper	3
34	high	American Dipper	6
35	max	Golden-crowned Kinglet	7
36	avg	Townsend's Solitaire	7
37	low	American Robin	1
38	low	European Starling	6
39	< avg	Bohemian Waxwing	589
40	high	Snow Bunting	80
41	avg	American Tree Sparrow	6
42	high	Dark-eyed Junco	48
43	avg	Song Sparrow	10
44	low	Evening Grosbeak	30
45	avg	Pine Grosbeak	50
46		Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch	2
47	< avg	House Finch	77
48	avg	Common Redpoll	165
49	> avg	Red Crossbill	82
	cw	White-winged Crossbill
50	> avg	Pine Siskin	93
51	low	American Goldfinch	7
			2367

	Missed
		Northern Goshawk
		Rough-legged Hawk
		Wilson's Snipe
		Mourning Dove
		Merlin
		Red-winged Blackbird
		Cassin's Finch
		House Sparrow

	Legend
	max	new maximum number
	high	significantly above average
	+ avg	a bit above average
	avg	close to the average
	- avg	a bit below average
	low	significantly below average
	first	first time on count day

	species	reported by only one team

22nd Annual Cranbrook and Kimberley Christmas Bird Counts (#120)

2019-01-09

By Dianne Cooper

Over the year-end holidays, the Rocky Mountain Naturalists coordinate the Christmas Bird Counts in Cranbrook and Kimberley. Volunteer counters go into "the field" or watch their home feeders to record every bird spotted around each community.

These data and similar data from over 2,500 location across the western hemisphere are added to the longest-running community science project in the world. This wealth of information on winter bird populations is used to aid bird conservation. For participants, it's a great day of winter birding. Here are summaries of this year's counts.

The 22^nd annual Christmas Bird Counts for Cranbrook and Kimberley were held on December 28, 2019 and January 4, 2020, respectively.

On Count Day, teams of counters cover as much of a specified 24-km diameter circle as possible to tally all birds they see; feeder counters tally the highest number of a species seen around their yard. Count Week extends three days before and after count day. Any species NOT seen on Count Day but seen during Count Week can be included in the official report to Bird Studies Canada/National Audubon Society (but numbers of individuals of "count week" species are not added to the count tally).

Field observers participating in one or both counts totalled 28 birders and friends, all local residents. Nineteen people contributed feeder counts. Four bird-friendly homes welcomed us into their yards or homes for birds, or birds, tea and cookies! Thanks!

Cranbrook Results

The Cranbrook circle goes from St. Eugene Mission to Green Bay (Moyie Lake) and from Old Wycliffe to Gold Creek. Also included is the Trans-Canada Trail to Rampart Rest Area.

National Audubon Society, Birds Canada (formerly Bird Studies Canada) Count #120

Count day: 28 Dec 2019

Count week: 25 Dec 2019 - 31 Dec 2019

The weather for the Cranbrook count was relatively mild with temperatures ranging from -8 to -4 ^oC. Winds were calm to very light, there was no precipitation, and Green Bay (Moyie Lake) was mostly open but the Cranbrook sewage lagoons were mostly frozen.

People going out into the field, driving or walking, numbered 18 birders and friends and 12 feeder counts were contributed.

The total number of individual birds counted was 2,153 which is below the average of 2,641.

The 52 species recorded on count day was well above the average 44 species and ties the record of 52 species reached twice before on the 2015 and 2017 counts.

Numerous species:

Common Raven (347) was the most numerous species, replacing Bohemian Waxwing (176) for the top spot for only the third time in the past 10 years. Their numbers were above average and about half-way to the max of 571 counted in December 2007.

Mallard (243) numbers were average and about half of the maximum of 434 counted in December 2017.

New Maximum numbers:

Record high counts were recorded for four species this year:

Eurasian Collared-Dove (28) - this is over double the previous high count from 2017. Definitely trending upward.

Canada Jay (13) - PS: has been missed only once in the last 22 counts

Blue Jay (37) - this is the 3^rd year in a row we've counted a new maximum for Blue Jay.

Black-billed Magpie (6)

Notable misses:

Of the 94 species ever recorded on the Cranbrook CBC, 54 species have only been recorded on half of the counts. "Misses" means species that were around before or after the count that we could have got on count day, OR species we usually get but were not seen count day.

Bufflehead - a pair seen count week at Green Bay

Mourning Dove - a half dozen seen in Cranbrook before the count

Northern Pygmy-Owl - not recorded for the past 3 years.

American Robin - seen on the previous 3 counts but not this year.

White-breasted Nuthatch - missed for the 3^rd year in a row after being on the count on 17 out of the previous 18 counts

Firsts:

Two "Firsts" were recorded this year for the Cranbrook CBC:

Red-necked Grebe: one seen at Green Bay, Moyie Lake (there's usually something different there, if its not iced over).

Barred Owl - 1 seen in the headlights during "owling" along King St / Old Wycliffe Rd. Did you know "owling" can be included in the CBC count? Yes, it can! A Barred Owl, the same one or possibly another one, was seen during the daytime in the same area. See a great pic at https://ebird.org/checklist/S62748280

Notice how this owl has white streaks on its breast, more complete semi-circles of black around the eye, and the white stripes on the "chin" are thin - this distinguishes it from the "rarer" Great Gray Owl.

Neither of these species is considered "rare" for the area, both breed in the summertime here. Red-necked Grebe is unusual in winter because most individuals migrate southward during their non-breeding season. Barred Owl is non-migratory so there are usually some around, just not usually detected any time of year.

Introduced species:

Eurasian Collared-Dove (28) - new maximum for the second year in a row

Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (183) - above average numbers

European Starling (36) - average numbers

House Sparrow (78) - above average numbers - this is the species that lives in Superstore and Walmart.

One to three - usual and unusual species:

It's nice to not miss species that are naturally sparse in population density but usually have a few all-year or over-wintering here. This year we got: Merlin (2), Sharp-shinned Hawk (1), Cooper's Hawk (1), Red-tailed Hawk (2), Northern Shrike (1), and Northern Goshawk (count week - cw) for raptor-type species. are around but not usually sought out nor detected. Also, thanks to a field counter that went owling, Northern Saw-whet Owl (1) was counted for only the 2^nd time on the CBC.

Wilson's Snipe (1) are known to over-winter in warm seeps in the area and this year one was seen near St. Eugene. The Belted Kingfisher (2), Hooded Merganser (1), and Bufflehead (cw) seen will often stay where there is open water. Also, Ruffed Grouse (2) are resident but very good at hiding.

Above Average:

A notable above-average number was counted for Red-breasted Nuthatch (81) - which is almost twice the average. We had good numbers last year, too, but the maximum of 84 is from 2001.

American Dipper (13) was also a high number to get. The maximum was 23 back in December of 2006.

Below Average:

Eleven species were below average. Most notable of these were:

Clark's Nutcracker (count: 11 / average: 21) - missed on count day last year for the first time in 21 years, so nice to get this year

Townsend's Solitaire (5/9) - still seen on every count so far

Cassin's Finch (1/13) - always sporadic whether we will detect this species - they are more common on the Kimberley count because they prefer "wilder" places - habitat closer to less urban development

Pine Siskin (28/54) - surprisingly low numbers considering we got a new maximum last year at 436 birds; but this species is known as an "irruptive" species

Dark-eyed Junco (6/18) - also surprisingly low numbers; a new maximum (149) was set for them last year, too, just like Pine Siskin.

Evening Grosbeak (17/40) - a worrisome trend in all of North America

House Finch (177/257) - still a decent number

Common Redpoll (5/123) - another irruptive species, but this is a very low number

Red Crossbill (25/59) - half of average but surprising since there were so many of them around in the spring. This species breeds all year round, apparently. They must have had a good winter of '18-'19 and hopefully they have just moved to higher elevations to have another good breeding season given the milder temperatures so far.

American Crown (21/89) - this species moves around a lot during the day so perhaps they were elsewhere - a new max was recorded last year (293).

Bohemian Waxwing (176/834) numbers were a quarter of their average. They have been missed only once on all 22 Cranbrook counts.

Our favourite feeder birds:

Activity at the feeders seemed slow again this year. Many of the finch-like species had low to very low numbers again but chickadees and woodpeckers were average or above average.

Of the woodpeckers that use our feeders and yards in the winter, Downy (19) and Hairy (17) Woodpecker and Northern Flicker (30) were in good numbers this year (above average) while Pileated Woodpecker (5) was average.

Black-capped Chickadee (158) also had good numbers but Mountain Chickadee (106) had average numbers.

For the Jays: the 13 Canada Jays and 37 Blue Jays were a new maximum, while Steller's Jay (7) was of average number - which is good considering it was missed last year.

For the Grosbeaks and finches:

Evening Grosbeak (17) was missed last year and this number is half of average.

Pine Grosbeak (40) was also missed last year but the number this year is average for them.

House Finch (177) - below average

Red Crossbill (25) - below average

Common Redpoll (5) - very low

Pine Siskin (28) - very low

American Goldfinch (15) - average

Another feeder favourite that was above average species was Song Sparrow (17).

Other favorite species spotted were American Dipper (4 - below average), and Townsend's Solitaire (12 - a bit above average).

The Count-up potluck was graciously hosted Marianne and Daryl again this year and much warm and good food was provided and consumed.

Thanks to all field counters, drivers, recordists, feeder counters and everyone that helped make these counts successful once again! Mark your calendars for similar dates next year!

Cranbrook CBC List

Total species, count day: 52

Total species, count week: 3

Total number of individuals: 2,153

Species Count	Compare	Species and countable taxon	Nr of Individuals
1	average	Canada Goose	85
2	below avg	Mallard	243
	cw	Bufflehead
3	low	Common Goldeneye	27
4		Hooded Merganser	1
5	high	Common Merganser	8
6		Ruffed Grouse	2
7	high	Wild Turkey	35
8	first	Red-necked Grebe	1
9	average	Great Blue Heron	1
10		Sharp-shinned Hawk	1
11		Cooper's Hawk	1
	cw	Northern Goshawk
12	average	Bald Eagle	7
13		Red-tailed Hawk	2
14		Wilson's Snipe	1
15	average	Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)	183
16	max	Eurasian Collared-Dove	28
	cw	Mourning Dove
17	first	Barred Owl	1
18	second	Northern Saw-whet Owl	1
19		Belted Kingfisher	2
20	above avg	Downy Woodpecker	19
21	above avg	Hairy Woodpecker	17
22	above avg	Northern Flicker	30
23	average	Pileated Woodpecker	5
24		Merlin	2
25		Northern Shrike	1
26	max	Canada Jay	13
27	average	Steller's Jay	7
28	max	Blue Jay	37
29	max	Black-billed Magpie	6
30	low	Clark's Nutcracker	11
31	low	American Crow	21
32	above avg	Common Raven	347
33	above avg	Black-capped Chickadee	158
34	average	Mountain Chickadee	106
35	high	Red-breasted Nuthatch	81
36		Brown Creeper	4
37	above avg	American Dipper	13
38		Golden-crowned Kinglet	2
39	low	Townsend's Solitaire	5
40	low	European Starling	36
41	low	Bohemian Waxwing	176
42	low	Dark-eyed Junco	6
43	above avg	Song Sparrow	17
44	low	Evening Grosbeak	17
45	average	Pine Grosbeak	25
46	below avg	House Finch	177
47		Cassin's Finch	1
48	low	Common Redpoll	5
49	below avg	Red Crossbill	25
50	low	Pine Siskin	28
51	average	American Goldfinch	15
52	above avg	House Sparrow	78

Kimberley Results

The Kimberley circle goes from Wasa to Wycliffe and Kimberley to Bummer's Flats.

Count #120

Rocky Mountain Naturalists, National Audubon Society, Birds Canada (formerly Bird Studies Canada)

Count day: 4 Jan 2020

Count week: 1 Jan - 7 Jan 2020

The weather for the Kimberley count was mild with temperatures ranging from -1 to 2.8 ^oC; yes, actually above zero. There were light to moderate snow squalls in the morning with winds up to 12 kph which kept even the ravens from flying around but the afternoon was just fine! Wasa Lake was frozen over but Mark Creek and Cherry Creek were only partly frozen. The Kootenay River was mostly unfrozen, of course.

People going out into the field, driving or walking, numbered 16 birders and friends and 8 feeder / yard counts were contributed.

The 43 species recorded on count day was close to the average of 42 species from the past 22 years. Sadly, the total number of individual birds counted (1,342) was about half the average of 2,405 birds. Windy snowy weather likely contributed to this very low number in addition to absent species or declines of populations.

Firsts

No new species were added to the Kimberley CBC species list; i.e. no species rare to the area or rare at this time of the year.

Numerous species

Bohemian Waxwing (176) was the most numerous species, as usual …. however! … their count was a sixth of their average number (1,107). This is the third lowest count of Waxwing in 22 years.

Our next most numerous species was Black-capped Chickadee (127) whose numbers were actually below average.

Below average, low, or usually numerous species missed

That Black-capped Chickadee (127) was our second most numerous species shows the low numbers or absence of the others that are usually abundant.

Common Redpoll (30), an irruptive species, was well below average and Pine Siskin (2), another irruptive species, was extremely low compared to their maximum number last year of 394 individuals.

Evening Grosbeak, often numbering 50 to 200, were completely missed this year. This was our second miss in a row for them on the Kimberley count. Their population is decreasing everywhere in North America.

Red Crossbill was also missed despite a new maximum number of birds counted last year. There were many Red Crossbills around last spring so hopefully they have just moved somewhere else.

Also low were Clark's Nutcracker (11), at a sixth of average, and Dark-eyed Junco (5). Cranbrook had low Junco numbers as well, even though a new maximum was counted there last year. Kimberley numbers last year were above average.

Other "misses"

Also missed were Northern Pygmy-Owl, Townsend's Solitaire, and Golden-crowned Kinglet - all of which are usually sparse at anytime. This was only the second miss in 22 counts for Townsend's Solitaire.

Count week sightings of Snow Bunting, American Tree Sparrow, and Northern Shrike let us include them in our report to Birds Canada / National Audubon.

Infrequent species and usually low numbers

Of the 79 species ever recorded on the Kimberley CBC, 38 species have been recorded on only half of the counts. Some species, we only get one or two individuals. They are rare in winter, but not necessarily rare at other times of year, or they may have naturally low numbers. This year we managed to find Ruffed Grouse (1), Northern Harrier (1), Rough-legged Hawk (2), Mourning Dove (1), and Belted Kingfisher (1).

New Maximum numbers

Maximum high counts were recorded for five species this year:

Eurasian Collared-Dove (50) - this is two and a half times the previous high count set two years ago.

Bald Eagle (17) numbers do seem to be on the rise and they continue on every count

A few intrepid Red-tailed Hawk (3) do over-winter here.

American Goldfinch (39) numbers are slowly increasing here in the winter. They seem to hop across the Saint Mary's River to various feeders on either side and end up getting counted on either the Cranbrook or the Kimberley count.

Pygmy Nuthatch (6) is also increasing slowly in the area.

In early December last year, we received a report of 23 Pygmy Nuthatch together in Wycliffe. This was probably three or four families in a flock. During winter several families will flock together and range over a winter foraging territory. They will also roost together in the same cavity, piled up on one another, keeping each other warm. During breeding season, family members will help the main breeding pair defend the nest and feed and raise the young. This is called communal breeding.

Introduced species

Eurasian Collared-Dove (50) - new maximum for the second year in a row

Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (73) - higher numbers than average

European Starling (14) - average numbers

House Sparrow (19) - below average numbers

Above Average

Above-average numbers were counted of Common Goldeney (27), Wild Turkey (78), which has been missed only twice in 22 years, Pileated Woodpecker (12), and Black-billed Magpie. We found the all-white Wild Turkey out on Meadowbrook Settlement Road. Have you seen it? It looks so strange.

Below Average

As mentioned above, Black-capped Chickadee (127) numbers were below average but not to a significant degree, really.

Also, below average were White-breasted Nuthatch (3), whose numbers peaked back on Count #106. Since they are a resident species, it is concerning that we've been getting only a fraction of their peak numbers for the last several counts, and the Cranbrook count has not recorded them for the past three years.

Our favourite feeder and yard birds

Activity at the feeders and in our yards seemed slow again this year, the snow and wind likely having something to do with that. However, except for the low numbers of Common Redpoll (30) and Pine Siskin (2), and the absence of Evening Grosbeak, the counts for most of the seed-eating birds and woodpeckers showed average numbers. American Robin (5) and the smaller corvids, Blue Jay (6), Stellar's Jay (11), Canada Jay (2), and American Crow (30) also had average numbers.

Counting on one day provides a snap shot of what is in the area. But many birds get missed because they move around and we are not in the right place at the right time to see them. Often homeowners with feeders come out to talk to us as we are peering in their yards and say "Oh, you just missed such-and-such" or they report that a species was there all morning, or all week, but isn't there now.

Luckily this year, we managed to add 30 birds to our area's count of Pine Grosbeak (40) because we put in the time at a good feeder yard - but we just about missed them! Even though the four of us had been there for over 15 minutes, none of us detected the birds perched in the tippy-tops of the tall, snow-draped fir trees; they were being so quiet and still. We were right below them but we were enyjoying watching the woodpeckers working up the tree trunks and the chickadees hopping back and forth between feeders and bushes. We heard a few chirps coming from above and looked up into the drifting snowflakes just in time to see about 30 red, yellow, and grey blobs noisily take off northward into the snow squall, jiggling lumps of fresh snow into cascades as they took flight - off to someone else's feeder perhaps.

If we'd left after 10 minutes we would have missed them, even though they were there. If we'd arrived a few minutes before, we would have seen them at the feeders, probably. Perhaps the arrival of our vehicle had frightened them up into the tree tops; or a raven or small hawk had disturbed them before we got there. But this time, we were in the right place almost at the right time. This is why we appreciate the contributions of the feeder watchers - you know what frequents your area and can monitor throughout the day to get things the field counters might otherwise miss. Thank you!

Others

We always like to get the American Dipper (4) along the frozen edges of the creeks and this year we counted an average number of them. They have been missed only once in the 22 years of the official count.

Winter numbers of Red-winged Blackbird (14) has returned to a more "normal" amount after last years unusually large number (75).

The Count-up potluck was graciously hosted by Caroline and Rob again this year - Thank you! And thanks to all field counters, drivers, recordists, feeder watchers that helped make these counts successful once again! Thank to everyone for your interest!

Kimberley CBC List

Total species, count day: 43

Total species, count week: 3

Total number of individuals: 1,342

Compare	Species and countable taxon	Nr of individuals
average	Mallard	13
above avg	Common Goldeneye	27
	Ruffed Grouse	1
above avg	Wild Turkey	78
	Northern Harrier	1
max	Bald Eagle	17
max	Red-tailed Hawk	3
	Rough-legged Hawk	2
high	Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)	73
max	Eurasian Collared-Dove	50
	Mourning Dove	1
missed	Northern Pygmy-Owl
	Belted Kingfisher	1
average	Downy Woodpecker	19
average	Hairy Woodpecker	16
average	Northern Flicker	24
above avg	Pileated Woodpecker	12
cw	Northern Shrike	0.01
average	Canada Jay	2
average	Steller's Jay	11
average	Blue Jay	6
above avg	Black-billed Magpie	26
low	Clark's Nutcracker	11
average	American Crow	30
below avg	Common Raven	98
below avg	Black-capped Chickadee	127
average	Mountain Chickadee	108
average	Red-breasted Nuthatch	56
below avg	White-breasted Nuthatch	3
max	Pygmy Nuthatch	6
average	Brown Creeper	4
average	American Dipper	4
missed	Golden-crowned Kinglet
missed	Townsend's Solitaire
average	American Robin	5
average	European Starling	14
low	Bohemian Waxwing	176
cw	Snow Bunting	0.01
cw	American Tree Sparrow	0.01
low	Dark-eyed Junco	5
average	Song Sparrow	3
below avg	Red-winged Blackbird	14
missed	Evening Grosbeak
average	Pine Grosbeak	40
average	House Finch	105
below avg	Cassin's Finch	2
low	Common Redpoll	30
low	Pine Siskin	2
missed	Red Crossbill
max	American Goldfinch	39
below avg	House Sparrow	19

Stewart Wilson photo

21st Annual Cranbrook and Kimberley Christmas Bird Counts (#119)
13 Jan 2019
By Dianne Cooper

The 21st annual Christmas Bird Counts for Cranbrook and Kimberley were held on December 29th, 2018
and January 5th, 2019 respectively.

On Count Day, teams of counters cover as much of a defined 24-km diameter circle as possible to tally all birds they see; feeder counters tally the highest number of a species seen around their yard. Count Week extends three days before and after count day. Any species NOT seen on Count Day but seen during Count Week can be included in the official report to Bird Studies Canada/National Audubon Society (but numbers of individuals of count week species are not added to the count tally).

Field observers participating in one or both counts totaled 50 field counters, feeder watchers and friends. One birder was from Jasper, one from Fernie and the rest were local residents. Twenty-three people contributed counts of birds and their feeders. Five other bird-friendly homes welcomed us into their yards or homes to count their birds and we even got homemade cinnamon buns! Thanks!

Cranbrook Results
The Cranbrook circle goes from St. Eugene Mission to Green Bay (Moyie Lake) and from Old Wycliffe to Gold Creek. Also included is the Trans-Canada Trail to Rampart Rest Area.

Count #119 (National Audubon Society, Bird Studies Canada)
Count day: 29 Dec 2018
Count week: 26 Dec 2018 - 1 Jan 2019

Total species, count day: 43
Total species, count week: 7
Total number of individuals: 3,464

The weather for the Cranbrook count was unusually warm, with temperatures ranging from -3 to +5 C; twenty degrees warmer than last year. In the afternoon, there was strong winds, especially in the higher areas, and light rain. Moyie Lake and the Cranbrook sewage lagoons were mostly unfrozen.

People going out into the field, driving or walking, numbered 20 birders and friends and 14 people counted at their feeders.

The total number of individual birds counted was 3,464 which is above the average of 2,665.

The 43 species recorded on count day was close to the 21-year average of 44 species.

Numerous species:
Bohemian Waxwing (680) was the most numerous species, as usual but their numbers were seven times below average (867) and well below the record high of almost 5,000 birds in December 2005. Kimberley is also noticing a low number of Waxwings this year and the record crop of mountain ash berries seems to be going un-eaten so far this winter.

Mallard, (or "Mall" - ards, as I call them) were numours as usual (336). This is not as high as last year (434) but still above average. Rock Pigeon (120) numbers were a bit below average. The 293 American Crows counted tied the record high set only two years ago. Common Raven (310), however, were of average numbers.

Record high counts:
Record high counts were recorded for a whopping NINE species this year: Crows as mentioned above, Common Goldeneye (89), and the following:

Eurasian Collared-Dove (10) is definitely here to stay. British Columbia opened the first hunting season for them in the province this year.

Some feeder favorites such as Blue Jay (28), American Goldfinch (66), Dark-eyed Junco (149), and Northern Flicker had very good numbers. The abundance of Junco was noticed earlier in 2018 after being low in number in recent years. Are they are refugees from areas of British Columbia severely affected by wildfires last summer? American Goldfinch (66) have been steadily increasing over the winter in the East Kootenay for the past 20 years.

Pine Siskin (436) have been notably absent in the area the past several years so this year's count of 5 times average is encouraging. They are known as an irruptive species, as is Common Redpoll and a few other finch species, which means their numbers can fluctuate greatly. Common Redpoll was missed on count day but some were seen during count week, a great disappointment after last year's count of 268 individuals. We hope they are just somewhere else and the CBC data from other areas may show that.

One to three - usual and unusual:
We usually only ever count a few of some species. This year it was Green-winged Teal, Barrow's Goldeneye, Ruffed Grouse, Northern Harrier, Merlin, Northern Shrike, Black-billed Magpie, Brown Creeper, and American Robin (2 - below average).

Ring-necked Duck (2) was recorded for only the second time; Common Merganser (7) for the third time, and American Three-toed Woodpecker (1) also for the third time.

Firsts:
For the first time on the Cranbrook count, Spotted Towhee (1 on count day) and Cedar Waxwing (1 in count week) were recorded. Neither are usual here in the winter but are common breeders in summer.

Other favourite feeder birds:
Notably missing from the feeder lineup this year were Common Redpoll, of which a few were recorded during count week, but neither Grosbeak, Evening nor Pine, were seen. House Finch (148) and House Sparrow (22) were below average. Usual numbers were seen for Mountain Chickadee (97), Downy (17) and Hairy (8) Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker (8), and Song Sparrow (13). Above average numbers were seen of Black-capped Chickadee (142) and Red-breasted Nuthatch (76 - 3rd highest). Record high numbers were counted for Northern Flicker (51), Blue Jay (28), and Dark-eyed Junco (149).

One favorite bird has finally benefitted from a mistake made in its re-naming by the powers-that-be back in 1957. The Gray Jay is now back again to Canada Jay. Afterall, the scientific name has "canada" right in it! And "gray" is spelled "grey" in Canada! It's a smart and hearty corvid I hope will become Canada's National bird. We counted six Perisoreus canadensis this year.

Other favorite species spotted were American Dipper (4 - below average), and Townsend's Solitaire (12 - a bit above average).

Notable misses:
Besides the two Grosbeak species mentioned above, some other species missed were Hooded Merganser, a couple of which had been at Green Bay earlier in the month; Bufflehead; Red-tailed Hawk; and Northern Pygmy-Owl,

Several other species usual or known to be in area were missed on count day but recorded in count week. A Great Blue Heron has been living along Joseph Creek all winter and is quite photogenic. A few Rough-legged Hawk, a more-northern breeding raptor, usually over-winters around here. A Great Horned Owl was heard in the Community Forest. A Belted Kingfisher has made the upper mid-reaches of Joseph Creek its home.

Really big misses:
For the first time in 21 years, two common species were not seen on count day nor during count week. We usually get half a dozen Steller's Jay but this year they were a no-show. Clark's Nutcracker was also missed. Their population is noticeably declining across their western North American range and environmental groups, including the Rocky Mountain Naturalists, have been attempting to re-establish Limber Pine, their favorite food source, at suitable sites such as Mount Broadwood, near Elko.

For the complete results see below.

The Count-up potluck was graciously hosted by Bob and Gretchen again this year and much warm and good food was provided and consumed. Thanks! And thanks to all!

Kimberley Results

Count day: 5 January 2019
Count week: 2 - 8 January 2019
Audubon / Bird Studies Canada Count #119 BCKB

Total species, count day: 49
Total species, count week: 5
Total number of individuals: 2,628

The weather and road conditions for the Kimberley count this year were much better than last year. A heavy snowfall the night before count day last year, meant most side roads were un-plowed. It was unusually warm, with temperatures ranging from -5 to -3 oC; ten degrees warmer than last year. Winds were calm to light. Wasa Lake was frozen but the rivers were only partly frozen.

People going out into the field, driving or walking, numbered 22 birders and friends, 10 people reported the birds (or lack of) at their feeders, and several bird-lovers welcomed us into their yards or homes to count their birds.

The total number of individual birds counted was 2,628 which is above the average of 2,458.

The 49 species recorded on count day was above the the 21-year average of 42 species.

Numerous species:
The record high for Pine Siskin (394) made them the most numerous species on the count his year, usurping Bohemian Waxwing (326) for only the second time in 21 years. Waxwing numbers were a quarter of usual but there were six times more Siskins around than the previous high of 231 set on count #102.

Siskin numbers were also very high for the Cranbrook count the week before. It's possible the Siskins from Cranbrook moved up to Kimberley. Or, are Siskin numbers high for counts in other areas, too? Merritt recorded high numbers of them too (CBC preliminary results page, British Columbia Field Ornithologist website) and as the CBC official results get finalized, we can check the data base to see.

Record high counts:
Record high counts were also recorded for some common species: American Crow (222), Common Raven (287), Rock Pigeon (95 - 4 times average), Northern Flicker (45), Red-breasted Nuthatch (127), and Red Crossbill (237). Uncommon species with new high counts were Cassin's Finch (34 - 9th time on count) and Red-winged Blackbird (75 - 4th time on count).

One to three - usual and unusual:
Species with usual low numbers seen on count day were Ruffed Grouse, Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Shrike, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Pygmy Nuthatch, and Snow Bunting. During count week, we managed to pick up Cooper's Hawk, Mourning Dove, and Evening Grosbeak as well as: a Northern Goshawk on the ground having a meal in the Nature Park, and a Dusky Grouse displaying from atop a skier's vehicle on the ski hill – this is the first time for this species on either the Kimberley or Cranbrook counts. House Sparrow (3) numbers were 10th of average.

Firsts:
A couple of breeding birds stayed behind this year: an American Kestrel - first time for the Kimberley count, and a Brewer's Blackbird - fourth time on either count.

Our favourite feeder birds:
Many feeder watchers, especially in the Clearview area, were concerned about the lack of activity at their feeders this winter. While the counts for many species - Downy Woodpecker (18), Hairy Woodpecker (13), Pileated Woodpecker (10), Black-capped Chickadee (121), Mountain Chickadee (91), Chestnut-backed Chickadee (2), and White-breasted Nuthatch (5) seemed low, they were average or only a bit below average for the whole Kimberley circle. Common Redpoll (92) was half of average, however. But above average numbers were recorded for Blue Jay (13), Dark-eyed Junco (45), Song Sparrow (12), and House Finch (135); and record highs were recorded for Northern Flicker (45), Red-breasted Nuthatch (127), and Red Crossbill (237). A feeder watcher there did manage to get the only Pine Grosbeaks (8) recorded in the circle. This is well-below the average of 47, however. So, it appears most of the birds usually at Clearview were preferring Kimberley and Meadowbrook, this year.

Four Perisoreus canadensis (Canada Jay, aka Gray Jay) were counted this year (see the Cranbrook count results above for a comment on this name change) and 6 Steller's Jay.

Eight Eurasian Collared-Doves were counted this year. See Cranbrook count results above for discussion.

Other favorite species spotted were Wild Turkey (22 - half of average), Bald Eagle (13), Black-billed Magpie (12), Clark's Nutcracker (38 - half of average; see Cranbrook count results above for discussion), Brown Creeper (7 - record high), American Dipper (5), Golden-crowned Kinglet (5), Townsend's Solitaire (15 - above average), American Robin (7), and American Goldfinch (4 - second lowest).

Notable misses:
American Tree Sparrow was missed after being on the previous six counts. Northern Pygmy-Owl was missed on both the Kimberley and Cranbrook counts (including count week). Mourning Dove was missed for the 3rd time in a row, and Merlin was missed for the 5th time in a row.

For the complete results see below.

A big thank you to count-up potluck hosts Caroline and Rob.

Thanks to all field counters, drivers, recordists, feeder counters and everyone that helped make these counts successful once again! Mark your calendars for similar dates next year!

	Cranbrook CBC Results - #119 - 29 Dec 2018
Species Count	Species and Countable Taxon	Nr of individuals
1	Mallard	336
2	Green-winged Teal	1
3	Common Goldeneye	89
4	Barrow's Goldeneye	2
5	Ring-necked Duck	2
6	Common Merganser	7
7	Ruffed Grouse	1
8	Wild Turkey	34
	Great Blue Heron	cw
9	Golden Eagle	2
	Rough-legged Hawk	cw
10	Northern Harrier	1
11	Bald Eagle	8
	Great Horned Owl	cw
12	Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)	120
13	Eurasian Collared-Dove	10
	Belted Kingfisher	cw
14	Downy Woodpecker	17
15	Hairy Woodpecker	8
	Hairy/Downy Woodpecker	1
16	Northern Flicker (Red-shafted)	51
17	Am. Three-toed Woodpecker	1
18	Pileated Woodpecker	8
19	Merlin	1
20	Northern Shrike	1
21	Canada Jay	6
22	Blue Jay	28
23	Black-billed Magpie	3
	Clark's Nutcracker	cw
24	American Crow	293
25	Common Raven	310
26	Black-capped Chickadee	142
27	Mountain Chickadee	97
	chickadee sp.	26
28	Red-breasted Nuthatch	76
29	Brown Creeper	2
30	American Dipper	4
31	Golden-crowned Kinglet	5
32	Townsend's Solitaire	12
33	American Robin	3
34	European Starling	56
35	Bohemian Waxwing	680
	Cedar Waxwing	cw
36	Dark-eyed Junco	142
	Oregon - 6
	Slate-colored/cismontanus - 1
37	Song Sparrow	13
38	House Finch	148
39	Red Crossbill	143
	Common Redpoll	cw
40	Pine Siskin	437
41	American Goldfinch	66
42	House Sparrow	22
	woodpecker sp.	1
	passerine sp.	38
43	Spotted Towhee	1
	sparrow sp.	3
	finch sp.	10
	Sum All Individuals	3475
43	Sum all countable species

	Kimberley CBC results - #119 5 Jan 2019
Species Count	Species and Countable Taxon	Nr of individuals
1	Mallard	23
2	Common Goldeneye	15
3	Ruffed Grouse	1
	Dusky Grouse	cw
4	Wild Turkey	22
	Cooper's Hawk	cw
	Northern Goshawk	cw
5	Bald Eagle	13
6	Red-tailed Hawk	1
7	Rough-legged Hawk	1
8	American Kestrel	1
9	Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)	95
	Mourning Dove	cw
10	Eurasian Collared-Dove	8
11	Belted Kingfisher	2
12	Downy Woodpecker	18
13	Hairy Woodpecker	13
14	Northern Flicker (Red-shafted)	45
15	Pileated Woodpecker	10
16	Northern Shrike	1
17	Canada Jay	4
18	Steller's Jay	6
19	Blue Jay	13
20	Black-billed Magpie	12
21	Clark's Nutcracker	38
22	American Crow	222
23	Common Raven	287
24	Black-capped Chickadee	121
25	Mountain Chickadee	91
26	Chestnut-backed Chickadee	2
	chickadee sp.	88
27	Red-breasted Nuthatch	127
28	White-breasted Nuthatch	5
29	Pygmy Nuthatch	2
30	Brown Creeper	7
31	American Dipper	5
32	Golden-crowned Kinglet	5
33	Townsend's Solitaire	15
34	American Robin	7
35	European Starling	32
36	Bohemian Waxwing	326
37	Snow Bunting	1
38	Dark-eyed Junco	45
	Oregon - 6
	Slate-colored/cismontanus - 3
39	Song Sparrow	12
	sparrow sp.	8
40	Red-winged Blackbird	75
41	Brewer's Blackbird	1
42	Pine Grosbeak	8
	Evening Grosbeak	cw
43	House Finch	135
44	Cassin's Finch	34
45	Red Crossbill	237
46	Common Redpoll	92
47	Pine Siskin	394
48	American Goldfinch	4
49	House Sparrow	3
	finch sp.	20
	Sum All Indiv_Nr	2753
49	Sum all countable species

Cranbrook and Kimberley Christmas Bird Counts
2 January 2018
By Dianne Cooper, Compiler

-edited and finalized results 9 Jan 2018

The 20th annual Cranbrook and Kimberley Christmas Bird Counts were held on Wednesday December 27th and Saturday December 30th, 2017 respectively. Twenty-two people took part as field observers on one or both counts, and 20 people contributed feeder counts. Most field observers live in Cranbrook or Kimberley but some came from Fernie and people from Edmonton and Burnaby, visiting family in the area, also helped out. Cranbrook and Kimberley people also participate in counts in other areas; this year they went to Fernie, Creston, and Eureka, Montana.

On Count Day, teams of counters cover as much of the 24-km diameter circle as possible to tally all birds they see; feeder counters tally the highest number of a species in their yard.

Count Week extends three days either side of Count Day. Any species NOT seen on Count Day but seen during Count Week can be included in the official report to Bird Studies Canada but numbers of individuals of “count week” species are not added to the count tally.

Cranbrook Results
Count day: 27 December 2017
Count week: 24 – 30 December 2017
Audubon / Bird Studies Canada Count #118 BCCB
Total species, count day: 52
Total species, count week: 54
Total individuals: 2,922

The weather for the Cranbrook count was cold, as usual, with temperatures ranging from -22 C to -15 C. Moyie Lake and the Cranbrook sewage lagoons were partly unfrozen. People going out into the field, driving, cross-country skiing, or walking numbered 14 intrepid birders and 13 people counted at their feeders. The 24-kilometer diameter circle goes from St. Eugene Mission to Green Bay on Moyie Lake and from Old Wycliffe to Gold Creek. Also included is the Trans-Canada Trail to Rampart Rest Area.

Fifty-two species were recorded on count day. This ties the record of 52 species from December 2012.

During count week (3 days before and after count day), two additional species were seen: Brown Creeper, which has been relatively abundant this fall, and a Brown Thrasher, another new species for the count circle.

The Brown Thrasher is a rare visitor to Cranbrook, having been seen twice previously, in the early months of 2013 and 2015. The bird here this year has been visiting a feeder adjacent to Joseph Creek north of the Rec Plex since the 9th of December; but was not seen on count day.

Another rare bird in Cranbrook this winter was a female Northern Cardinal. This is the first confirmed record for the species in British Columbia. She too, was living along Joseph Creek from the 7th of November to the 8th of December. Several birders from all over the province have driven or flown to Cranbrook to view her to add her to their British Columbia life list. It would have been nice to see it on count day but she has not been spotted for a while.

The total number of individual birds counted was 2,922 which is about in the middle range (1,000 – 6,000).

Bohemian Waxwing (825) was the most numerous species, as usual. Other numerous birds included Mallard (406), Rock Pigeon (246), Common Redpoll (268), House Finch (176), Common Raven (148), and American Crow (147).

Record high counts were recorded for Bald Eagle (17), Northern Flicker (37), and Blue Jay (27). The 406 Mallards counted were the second highest ever and the 246 Rock Pigeons counted were the fifth highest.

Only 1-3 individuals were seen for 24 species such as American Goldfinch, American Robin, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Black-billed Magpie, Mourning Dove, Rough-legged Hawk, Northern Goshawk, Golden Eagle, Great Blue Heron, and Common Merganser.

For only the third time in the count’s history, Hoary Redpoll (1), Common Merganser (1), and American Wigeon (2) were sighted.

Our favourite feeder birds such as Black-capped (125) and Mountain Chickadee (113), Downy and Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Stellar’s Jay, Song Sparrow, House Finch, and Pine Siskin were counted in their usual numbers over all, even if scare at some feeders. Evening Grosbeaks (3), low in number over the past several years, seem to have been replaced by their red-hued cousins, the Pine Grosbeak (74).

Species whose numbers appear lower than usual were Common Raven (148, average 259), Mourning Dove (1), Clark’s Nutcrackers (5), Dark-eyed Junco (7), Red Crossbill (2), and House Sparrow (11).

Notable species seen, and always nice to get were Norther Shrike (3), American Dipper (7), and Townsend’s Solitaire (13) – all showing average numbers.   Two Chestnut-backed Chickadee were recorded – they sometimes frequent feeders here in the winter, having come down from higher elevations where they breed. A few American Robins may not go as far southward as the rest – only one was recorded this year, as was one American Goldfinch.

Northern Pygmy-Owl, White-breasted Nuthatch, and Brown Creeper are normally seen on count day but were not to be found this year, although the Creeper was spotted during count week.

The Count-up potluck was graciously hosted by Bob and Gretchen again this year and much warm and good food was provided and consumed.

Thanks to field counters, drivers, recordists, skiiers, hikers, feeder counters and everyone that helped make these counts successful once again! Mark your calendars for similar dates next year!

Cranbrook Christmas Bird Count #118 – Complete list of species – 27 Dec 2017

1         American Wigeon 2
2          Mallard 406
3          Green-winged Teal 2
4          Common Goldeneye 27
5          Barrow's Goldeneye 1
6          Hooded Merganser 2
7          Common Merganser 1
8          Ruffed Grouse 2
9          Great Blue Heron 1
10        Golden Eagle 1
11        Northern Goshawk 1
12        Bald Eagle 17
13        Rough-legged Hawk 1
            hawk sp. 1
14        Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 246
15        Eurasian Collared-Dove 2
16        Mourning Dove 1
17        Downy Woodpecker 19
18        Hairy Woodpecker 13
19        Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 37
20        Pileated Woodpecker 9
21        Merlin 4
22        Northern Shrike 3
23        Gray Jay 3
24        Steller's Jay 7
25        Blue Jay 27
26        Black-billed Magpie 1
27        Clark's Nutcracker 5
28        American Crow 147
29        Common Raven 148
30        Black-capped Chickadee 125
31        Mountain Chickadee 113
32        Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2
            chickadee sp. 9
33        Red-breasted Nuthatch 50
            Brown Creeper cw
34        American Dipper 7
35        Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
36        Townsend's Solitaire 13
37        American Robin 1
            Brown Thrasher cw
38        European Starling 69
39        Bohemian Waxwing 825
40        Dark-eyed Junco 7
41        Song Sparrow 5
42        Red-winged Blackbird 5
43        Evening Grosbeak 3
44        Pine Grosbeak 74
45        House Finch 176
46        Cassin's Finch 2
47        Common Redpoll 268
48        Hoary Redpoll 1
49        Red Crossbill 2
50        Pine Siskin 14
51        American Goldfinch 1
52        House Sparrow 11

Kimberley Results

Count day: 30 December 2017
Count week: 27 December 2017 – 2 January 2018
Audubon / Bird Studies Canada Count #118 BCKB
Total species count day: 44
Total species count week: 44
Total individuals: 2,203

The weather for the Kimberley count was cold, as usual, but a little warmer than for the Cranbrook count and warmer than some of the previous years. Temperatures ranged from -15 C to -11 C. Significant amounts of snow overnight meant that some participants could not attend and side roads were still unplowed. Open water was visible only on the Saint Mary’s and Kootenay Rivers.

People going out into the field, driving and walking, numbered 12 intrepid birders and 7 people counted birds at their feeders. The 24-kilometer diameter circle, although named “Kimberley”, goes from Alpine Crescent on the ski hill eastward include Bummer’s Flats, and from Wycliffe northward to Wasa.

Forty-four species were recorded on count day, which is an average number of species for the Kimberley Circle.

Two new species were added to the all-time species list for the Kimberley circle. One Cooper’s Hawk was spotted in Ta Ta Creek and one Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, often seen at a feeder on Wycliffe Cherry Creek Rd in winter, was finally gotten on count day. This now puts Kimberley’s total number of species seen on count day at 80 species.

No additional species were added during count week. The total number of individual birds counted was 2,183 which is about in the middle range (1,200 – 6,500) for Kimberley.

Bohemian Waxwing (757) was the most numerous species, as usual, but this is one quarter of the almost 3,000 seen on the January 2000 count and a bit less than on the Cranbrook count. Other numerous birds included Common Redpoll (369 – over a hundred more than Cranbrook), Black-capped Chickadee (131 – about the same as Cranbrook), House Finch (111), Mountain Chickadee (106), and Pine Grosbeak (102 – missed last year).

Record high counts were recorded for Snow Bunting thanks to a report of a flock of about 90 birds which has been using the fields off Porteous Road. Record or tied-with record numbers were also counted for Canada Goose (19), Bald Eagle (14), Downy Woodpecker (38), and Pileated Woodpecker (16). Also high were Northern Flicker (39 – 3rd time for this highest number), and Common Redpoll (369).

Only 1-3 individuals were seen for 11 species such as Common Goldeneye, Rough-legged Hawk, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Northern Shrike, Steller’s Jay, Brown Creeper, and Pine Siskin. Other species making a rare or unusual appearance were Chestnut-backed Chickadee (4 – 4th time on count), Pygmy Nuthatch (4 – 4th time), and Rough-legged Hawk (1 – 6th time).

For the remainder of favourite feeder birds, some numbers were average and some were down. Average or above average were Hairy Woodpecker (17), Mountain Chickadee (106), Red-breasted Nuthatch (43). Below average were: Steller’s Jay (10), Blue Jay (2), Black-capped Chickadee (131 – even though they are one of our more numerous species), Dark-eyed Junco (7), Evening Grosbeaks (23 – still much higher than Cranbrook’s 3 birds), Red Crossbill (12), Pine Siskin (2) and House Sparrow (11)..

The number of the larger corvids, Common Raven (54) and American Crow (49), was a half to a third of their usual – perhaps because school was not in session when the Kimberley count was done so the birds were spread throughout the towns. Clark’s Nutcracker (26) was also low.

One species seemingly increasing is the Eurasian Collared-Dove (9) which first appeared on Christmas Bird Counts in the area 6 years ago. They were first found in Florida in 1982 and have since expanded northwest as far as Alaska, reaching this latitude in the 2010s.

Regarding Wild Turkey. This species is seen more frequently on the Kimberley count than the Cranbrook one. The 3 or 4 turkeys that made a corner of Marysville their winter home late last winter were not to be seen, but 39 were counted in other areas within the count circle.

Other notable species seen, and always nice to get were American Dipper (4) along Mark Creek and the St. Mary’s River, as usual, and Townsend’s Solitaire (10).

Species missed, which are usually seen on half the counts over the past 20 years were Red-tailed Hawk, American Robin, Dark-eyed Junco, and American Goldfinch.

Also missed was a bird representing the first documented sighting of the species in the East Kootenay. Throughout the fall and early winter, a single Anna’s Hummingbird was frequenting a heated feeder on Clearview Road. This was the first documented Anna’s for the East Kootenay. Unfortunately, the bird has not been seen since 16 December 2017. Reports of it being chased by a Northern Shrike may explain its disappearance. The Anna’s is known to be less likely to migrate and will brave cold temperature and snow, even when nesting. It has been expanding its range northward from California since the 1960s.

The Count-up was hosted by Marysville Pub who are always very accommodating to our group and have great food and service. Thank you!

Thanks to all field counters, drivers, recordists, hikers, feeder counters and everyone that helps make these counts successful! Special thanks to new-to-the-circle CBCrs Shannon and Martin for stepping up and taking on a whole area on their first time out. Hope you all had fun and can be a CBCer again next year!

Kimberley Christmas Bird Count #118 – Complete list of species – 30 Dec 2017

1          Canada Goose 19
2          Common Goldeneye 1
3          Common Merganser 6
            Duck sp. 1
4          Wild Turkey 39
5          Cooper's Hawk 1
6          Bald Eagle 14
7          Rough-legged Hawk 1
8          Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 20
9          Eurasian Collared-Dove 9
10        Northern Pygmy-Owl 2
11        Downy Woodpecker 38
12        Hairy Woodpecker 17
13        Northern Flicker 39
14        Pileated Woodpecker 16
15        Northern Shrike 2
16        Steller's Jay 3
17        Blue Jay 2
18        Black-billed Magpie 11
19        Clark's Nutcracker 26
20        American Crow 49
21        Common Raven 54
22        Black-capped Chickadee 131
23        Mountain Chickadee 106
24        Chestnut-backed Chickadee 4
            chickadee sp. 10
25        Red-breasted Nuthatch 43
26        White-breasted Nuthatch 4
27        Pygmy nuthatch 4
28        Brown Creeper 2
29        American Dipper 4
30        Townsend's Solitaire 10
31        European Starling 17
32        Bohemian Waxwing 757
33        Snow Bunting 90
34        American Tree Sparrow 4
35        Song Sparrow 5
36        Evening Grosbeak 23
37        Pine Grosbeak 102
38        Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch 1
39        House Finch 111
40        Cassin's Finch 10
41        Common Redpoll 369
42        Red Crossbill 12
43        Pine Siskin 2
44        House Sparrow 12

Cranbrook #117 28-Dec-2016
Fifteen field observers in four teams and 10 feeder watchers participated on the Cranbrook Count on the 28th of December, 2016. Temperatures were chilly that day, starting at -8 C, and snow depth was up to a couple of feet; but the roads were clear. After a warm autumn and the late arrival of snow, the chill set in quickly the beginning of December. Many birds were caught off guard then, as was I on Count Day when I was awoken by my cell phone ringing in my ear rather than my alarm clock – I had slept in!

A first time on any count for us was Northern Shovelor – four hung around the sewage lagoons from late autumn to be counted! Now (January), even the top component is frozen over, so I hope the big-bills have found somewhere else to go.

Bufflehead and Common Goldeneye numbers were low, but this year gave us the highest number of Mallards ever! We’ve averaged 176 over 33 years but this year got a whopping 434 – this even after the city banned feeding them at the Mall last summer.

Bald Eagle numbers were up a bit – 9 compared to a 4.2 average. 2 Red-taileds and a Cooper’s showed but we dipped on Rough-legged. Single requisite Pygmy-Owl and Merlin complied.

Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers showed good numbers, both a bit above average which is about a dozen each. Flickers-18 and Pileated-8 likewise.

Our three jays, Gray, Steller’s, and Blue, were more or less average in number – usually a half dozen of each. We got 7 Blue Jay this year compared to an all-time high of 25 in 2014 – they can be surprisingly quiet when they want to.

Clark’s Nutcrackers were down to 3 from the average of 18. Raven and Crow (American) numbers did a total flip! We usually get twice as many Ravens as Crows but this year we got 293 Crows and only 188 Ravens! Very unusual and contrary to our recently updated checklist. What’s going on there?

Mountain and Black-capped Chickadee are pretty much equal in number here, with this year’s ratio favoring the latter slightly: BCCH 94 and MOCH 113. No Chestnut-backed compared to 6 two years ago. Even though they breed just up the Saint Mary’s River a bit, they are usually only a rare winter feeder visitor in the valley – maybe they all head to the West Kootenay side of Purcells in winter.

Red-breasted Nuthatch were up a bit to 51 individuals – still not as high as the maximum of 84 on the 101st count. One White-breasted was ticked as was a surprise Pygmy Nuthatch at a feeder in count week. They usually hang around Wycliffe or Fort Steele, not Cranbrook.

Thrushes (TOSO, AMRO) were down or did not show (VATH). Take away a zero from our high of almost 5000 Bohemian Waxwings in December of 2005 and you will get how many we recorded this year. So variable! But we average about 900.

House Finch numbers were up a bit (266/214 avg.) but it was an ‘off’ year for the rest of the ‘winter finches’ – Red Crossbill, White-winged Crossbill, Common Redpoll, and Pine Siskin; Evening Grosbeak were missed completely and zero is quite disappointing compared to the 105 Pine Grosbeaks from last year.

So the Northern Shovelor gives us a total of 101 species ever seen on the Cranbrook Christmas Bird Count. Our species count this year, not including the 3 in count week, was spot on average at 42 species, of which we are very proud.    Thank you to Bob and Gretchen for hosting the count up. D. Cooper reporting.

Species and numbers list: Green = good, Dark Red = very good, Gold = normal, Pink = low,
Mallard 434
Northern Shovelor 4
Common Goldeneye 3
Hooded Merganser 2
Ruffed Grouse 1
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Bald Eagle 9
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Rock Pigeon 98
Northern Pygmy-Owl 1
Downy Woodpecker 19
Hairy Woodpecker 14
Northern Flicker 18
Pileated Woodpecker 8
Merlin 1
Northern Shrike 3
Gray Jay 3
Steller's Jay 4
Blue Jay 7
Black-billed Magpie 1
Clark's Nutcracker 3
American Crow 293
Common Raven 188
Black-capped Chickadee 94
Mountain chickadee 113
Red-breasted Nuthatch 51
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Pygmy Nuthatch cw, 1
Brown Creeper 2
American Dipper 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
Townsend's Solitaire 3
American Robin 4
European Starling cw
Bohemian Waxwing 507
Dark-eyed Junco 10
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 3
Song Sparrow 12
Red-winged Blackbird 1
House Finch 266
Cassin's Finch 1
Red Crossbill 9
Common Redpoll cw, 1
Pine Siskin 2
House Sparrow 2

42 species reported
2230 Individuals

Missed:
Bufflehead
Great-Blue Heron
Mourning Dove
Pine Grosbeak
White-winged Crossbill
Evening Grosbeak

Kimberley #117 4-Jan-2017 Full Report
Fifteen field observers in 5 teams braved the clear bitter morning temperature of -32 C to go count birds from Wycliffe to Wasa, Kootenay Reserve to Kimberley. A couple of us even cross-country skied the Rails to Trails. Six feeder counters helped us out, too. The warmest it got was -18 C.

The cold made for fewer numbers of individual birds (not counters, fortunately); we got three-quarters of what we usually get. This made the day seem long, and the warm pub promised for the end of the day more inviting, but our species count was actually a bit above average at 43 full species compared to the average of 39 over 25 years.

Waterfowl are always few without warm sewage lagoons like Cranbrook – Wasa Lake is usually frozen – but 19 Common Goldeneye and a Common Merganser were picked up on the St. Mary’s River. Three teams got Wild Turkey including a flock of 27 in an alley in Chapman Camp. Then there’s the three that have been hanging out at the Mark Creek Bridge in Marysville for the past few weeks; someone has even put up a “Turkey Crossing” sign because it is such a sharp and blind corner.

Like Cranbrook’s count a week earlier, Bald Eagle numbers were above average with 14 seen in the circle. Other raptors and such seen were one Golden Eagle, one Northern Goshawk, 2 Red-tailed Hawk, and one Northern Pygmy-Owl. We’ve dipped on Merlin the last three years in a row! What?

Eurasian Collared-Doves are increasing slowly but steadily from 3 being recorded first on the December 2011 count to 18 this year. Kimberley usually gets a few more Downy, Hairy, and Flickers than Cranbrook and this year did not disappoint with 24, 18, and 33 respectively. Flicker were particularly higher than the average of 21. Their maximum of 39 was recorded on Count #113 and #115.

We dipped on Gray Jay but got usual numbers of Steller’s (8) and Blue’s (5). Our Crows and Ravens did not show the same flip in numbers as Cranbrook Count but our American Crow count was over twice the average (65 seen/26 avg.), perhaps because the CBC coincided with the first day of school; our kids go out at recess even at -18; a guaranteed snack bar is inviting.

Black-capped Chickadee numbers were up, recording 200 individuals, and Mountains were average at 96. Both nuthatches were low in number (28 and 4) but Kimberley got 3 more White-breasted than Cranbrook. There are usually a few American Robins around, surprising to non- and new birders, and this year there were 5. A feeder watcher in Wasa managed to turn up a Varied Thrush, and Townsend’s Solitaire numbers were up a bit to 9. The Mountain Bluebird reported throughout December living at the airport was not picked up. Hopefully, it was somewhere cozy and warm.

Bohemian Waxing numbers were low with only 253 seen out of the usual average of at least a thousand. Junco numbers were high at two instead of one dozen. House Finch numbers were also over double the average with almost 200 recorded. The other winter finches were significantly lower at about a fifth of what is usually seen, except for American Goldfinch which was double the average at 26 recorded. Thank you to Marysville Pub for accommodating our count up. D. Cooper reporting.

Species and numbers list: Green = good, Gold = normal, Pink = low, Black = cool to get
Common Goldeneye 19
Common Merganser 1
Ruffed Grouse 4
Wild Turkey 66
Golden Eagle 1
Northern Goshawk 1
Bald Eagle 14
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Rock Pigeon 28
Eurasian Collared-Dove 18
Northern Pygmy-Owl 1
Down Woodpecker 24
Hairy Woodpecker 18
Northern Flicker 33
Pileated Woodpecker 14
Northern Shrike 1
Steller's Jay 8
Blue Jay 5
Black-billed Magpie 18
Clark's Nutcracker 33
American Crow 65
Common Raven 76
Black-capped Chickadee 200
Mountain Chickadee 96
Red-breasted Nuthatch 28
White-breasted Nuthatch 4
American Dipper 5
Golden-crowned Kinglet 6
Townsend's Solitaire 9
American Robin 5
Varied Thrush cw, 1
Bohemian Waxwing 253
Snow Bunting 5
American Tree Sparrow 7
Dark-eyed Junco 24
Song Sparrow 6
Red-winged Blackbird 8
House Finch 195
Red Crossbill 10
Common Redpoll 10
Pine Siskin 12
American Goldfinch 26
Evening Grosbeak 15

42 species
1372 individuals

Missed:
Gray Jay
Brown Creeper
Pine Grosbeak
House Sparrow

Cranbrook #116 - December 27, 2015
This year we had 16 birders out in the field split into 4 groups and WOW, 12 feeder counters. 9AM to 4:30PM.
Overcast all day, -10 to -6 with no snow or rain.
There were 1876 birds and 49 different species as listed below
Last Year 2333 birds and 46 different species

Species # seen
Canada Goose 9
Mallard 171
Bufflehead 2
Common Goldeneye 17
Barrow's Goldeneye 2
Hooded Merganser 7
Wild Turkey 41
Cooper's Hawk 2
Bald Eagle 12
Rough-legged Hawk 1
Merlin 5
Rock Pigeon 116
Eurasian Collared-Dove 1
Downy Woodpecker 25
Hairy Woodpecker 20
Northern Flicker 28
Pileated Woodpecker 6
Northern Shrike 3
Gray Jay 6
Steller's Jay 8
Blue Jay 18
Clark's Nutcracker 22
Black-billed Magpie 1
American Crow 100
Common Raven 163
Black-capped Chickadee 169
Mountain Chickadee 84
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 1
chickadee sp. 3
Red-breasted Nuthatch 61
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
American Dipper 10
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
Townsend's Solitaire 5
European Starling 25
Bohemian Waxwing 105
Song Sparrow 15
Dark-eyed Junco 4
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch 35
Pine Grosbeak 105
House Finch 282
Cassin's Finch 10
Red Crossbill 15
White-winged Crossbill 10
Common Redpoll 90
Hoary Redpoll 7
Pine Siskin 6
American Goldfinch 9
Evening Grosbeak 12
House Sparrow 24
...................................................................................................

Kimberley CBC 116 – January 2, 2016
It was very cold this year starting at 9 AM it was -16c warming to only -14c.
Likely why we had only 6 people coming out into the field which made only 3 teams exploring the 24 kilometre diameter circle.

Total Individuals 1845 Total Species Reported 48
Last Year 4064   Total Species Reported 41

Species # seen
Mallard 1
Common Goldeneye 15
Wild Turkey 4
Bald Eagle 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Rough-legged Hawk 1
Wilson's Snipe 2
Rock Pigeon 25
Eurasian Collared-Dove 5
Mourning Dove 2
Northern Pygmy-Owl 1
Downy Woodpecker 31
Hairy Woodpecker 19
American Three-toed
Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 19
Pileated Woodpecker 7
Steller's Jay 17
Blue Jay 11
Clark's Nutcracker 51
Black-billed Magpie 14
American Crow 49
Common Raven 93
Black-capped Chickadee 95
Mountain Chickadee 80
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 6
chickadee sp. 20
Red-breasted Nuthatch 32
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Pacific Wren 1
Brown Creeper 3
American Dipper 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet 4
Townsend's Solitaire 2
American Robin 2
Varied Thrush 3
European Starling 4
Bohemian Waxwing 490
Snow Bunting 65
American Tree Sparrow 6
Dark-eyed Junco 12
Song Sparrow 2
Pine Grosbeak 87
House Finch 32
Red Crossbill 68
Common Redpoll 311
Pine Siskin 2
American Goldfinch 11
Evening Grosbeak 78
House Sparrow 55

Fernie CBC December 14, 2014
2056 individual birds
42 species
Had 15 participants this year and the weather was great. The birds were spread out given the easy pickin's with food sources, i.e. there is still plenty of berries, and open ground and water within the circle this year. Some species appear to be low but I think this is due to the factors above. - Kevin Knight

Mallard 224
Common Goldeneye 62
Common Merganser cw
Ruffed Grouse 2
Bald Eagle 5
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Merlin 1
Wilson's Snipe 2
Rock Pigeon cw
Northern Pygmy Owl 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Downy Woodpecker 6
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 25
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Northern Shrike 2
Gray Jay 1
Steller's Jay 8
Blue Jay 9
Black-billed Magpie 16
American Crow 26
Common Raven 79
Black-capped Chickadee 192
Mountain Chickadee 22
Red-breasted Nuthatch 6
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Brown Creeper 2
American Dipper 7
Golden-crowned Kinglet 11
American Robin cw
European Starling 4
Bohemian Waxwing 867
Cedar Waxwing 3
Song Sparrow 3
Dark-eyed Junco 17
Snow Bunting 14
Pine Grosbeak 233
House Finch 5
Red Crossbill 6
Common Redpoll 140
Pine Siskin 6
House Sparrow 45
.............................................................................................

Elkford on December 18, 2014
Cloudy all day with highs of 0 and a low of -4c
5 people in 3 parties out in the field and 3 feeder watchers - Ulrike Sliworsky
Total Individuals 454
Total Species 27

Mallard 12
Spruce Grouse 1
Coopers Hawk 1
Rock Pigeon 2
Downy Woodpecker 5
Hairy Woodpecker 4
Northern Flicker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Grey Jay 17
Steller’s Jay 34
Blue Jay 1
Clark’s Nutcracker 34
Black-billed Magpie 11
American Crow 7
Common Raven 22
Black-capped Chickadee 24
Mountain Chickadee 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch 11
White-breasted Nuthatch 5
American Dipper 2
Townsend’s Solitaire 2
Bohemian Waxwing 12
Pine Grosbeak 25
Common Redpoll 60
Hoary Redpoll 6
Pine Sisken 6
Evening Grosbeak 138
...........................................................................................

Cranbrook - December 20, 2014
There were 13 birders out in the field split into 4 groups and 7 feeder counters. 9AM to 4:30PM.
Overcast all day, -1 to -3 with no snow or rain.
There were 2333 birds and 46 different species as listed below. - Greg Ross

HC = High Count
cw = seen during count week but not on count day (3 days before and after)

Species # seen HC/CBC# # prev. counts seen
Canada Goose 1             160/90 12
Mallard 389             389/115 31
Green-winged Teal 2             6/105 6
Bufflehead 37             37/115 14
Common Goldeneye 17             45/108 31
Hooded Merganser 2             5/85 5
Common Loon 1             1/115 2
Bald Eagle 4             10/103 27
Northern Goshawk cw             2/108 10
Red-tailed Hawk 1             3/101 13
American Kestrel 1             1/115 2
Merlin 2             3/103 13
Rock Pigeon 132            281/108 12
Eurasian Collared-Dove 1             2/113 2
Mourning Dove   cw             5/105 11
Northern Pygmy-Owl 1             8/104 23
Belted Kingfisher 1             3/114 20
Downy Woodpecker 15             19/96 31
Hairy Woodpecker 10             23/86 31
Northern Flicker 26             34/114 28
Pileated Woodpecker 10             11/106 29
Northern Shrike   cw             5/105 22
Gray Jay 12             12/115 27
Steller's Jay 9             15/114 28
Blue Jay 25             25/115 19
Clark's Nutcracker 14             90/112 31
Black-billed Magpie 1             5/91 23
American Crow 89             147/111 28
Common Raven 180             849/96 31
Black-capped Chickadee 122             183/103 31
Mountain Chickadee 86             161/101 31
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 6             6/115 4
chickadee sp. 7             47/101 26
Red-breasted Nuthatch 34             84/101 31
White-breasted Nuthatch 1             14/104 28
Brown Creeper 2             5/109 20
American Dipper 3             23/106 31
Golden-crowned Kinglet cw             13/100 15
Townsend's Solitaire 8             39/102 26
American Robin cw             103/102             18
European Starling 181             181/115             27
Bohemian Waxwing 452             4950/106 28
Song Sparrow 6             40/99 27
Dark-eyed Junco 8             40/101 17
Pine Grosbeak 23             92/95 16
House Finch 169             465/102             24
Red Crossbill 32             241/101             23
Common Redpoll 110             392/102             22
Pine Siskin 40             86/102 19
American Goldfinch 4             30/96 8
Evening Grosbeak 30             296/96 27
House Sparrow 26             348/105 24
...................................................................................................

Kimberley CBC 115 – January 4, 2015

Total Individuals 4064 Total Species Reported 41

Species # seen HC/CBC# # prev. counts seen
Mallard                                     cw             24/99 16
Common Goldeneye cw             42/114             12
Common Merganser 1             10/103 4
Ruffed Grouse 2             4/108 17
Wild Turkey 59             158/101 15
Bald Eagle 2             14/98 23
Rock Pigeon 28             69/114             12
Eurasian Collared-Dove 3             17/114 4
Mourning Dove 5             12/113 9
Northern Pygmy-Owl cw             5/111 13
Downy Woodpecker 26             32/104 23
Hairy Woodpecker 23             27/111 23
American Three-toed
Woodpecker 1             3/106 3
Black-backed
Woodpecker 1             1/115 2
Northern Flicker 39             39/115             23
Pileated Woodpecker 7             11/96 23
Gray Jay 1             16/96 20
Steller's Jay 6             18/107 21
Blue Jay 2             14/101 18
Clark's Nutcracker 48             221/107 23
Black-billed Magpie 9             33/103 23
American Crow 17             111/101             22
Common Raven 122             333/94 23
Black-capped Chickadee 156             313/104             23
Mountain Chickadee 132             201/104             23
chickadee sp. 6             194/98 22
Red-breasted Nuthatch 21             87/112 23
White-breasted Nuthatch             1             21/95 23
Pygmy Nuthatch                         3            4/113 3
Brown Creeper 1             4/113 14
American Dipper                         3             7/112 20
Townsend's Solitaire 2             19/104 20
American Robin 3             30/100 16
European Starling 18            62/111 16
Bohemian Waxwing 2932 2975/100 23
American Tree Sparrow 4             27/104 9
Song Sparrow 1             18/103 14
Brewer's Blackbird 1             1/115 2
Pine Grosbeak                         143             167/113 19
Cassin's Finch cw             32/100 9
House Finch 104             180/102 21
Red Crossbill 3             116/96 18
Common Redpoll 1             LC 807/102 18
Pine Siskin 48             231/102 11
American Goldfinch 37             HC, 37/115             6
House Sparrow                         39             124/103 16
Passer Sp. 3