East Kootenay, British Columbia, Canada
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Early Morning Birding at St Eugene Mission, Prairie Bridge and Clearview Road

16/2/2025

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- Submitted by Daryl C (Posted February 2025)

Last week, birders had a productive outing at St Eugene Mission/Clearview Rd, and a fine Bird Count over at the Jaffray - Wardner Christmas Bird Count on Saturday.
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At St Eugene, birders braved typical mid-December conditions, thankful that trudging through crusty snow was a good way to warm up. We had splendid views of the icy St Mary River and surrounding hills, with a variety of tough bird species who were making a living by feeding on tiny invertebrates or tree seeds. Approximately 20 species of birds were recorded.
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Black-capped Chickadee (BCCH) Photo Credit - Bob/BW
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Townsend's Solitaire (TOSO) Photo Credit - Bob/BW
Later, we moved N and W to Clearview Road, where we were treated to a Rough-legged Hawk fly-over and several feeder-related species. In the distance, a small dark blob on a tree tip prompted us to set up the scope. It was no surprise to find a Pygmy Owl in a classic pose.​
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Black-billed Magpie (BBMA) Photo Credit - Bob/BW
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Cow Elk Photo Credit - Bob/BW
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Early Birding Revisited at Cranbrook Circle North and Fort Steele Campsall Road

9/12/2024

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- Submitted by Daryl C (Posted January 2025)

Last week, we checked a section of the Cranbrook circle, close to the N end of town. Grey skies and fewer than usual active feeders were encountered. However, when we visited Campsall Road near Fort Steele, skies brightened and birding became more exciting.
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Eagle Photo Credit - Theckla/TS
PictureNorthern Pygmy Owl Photo Credit - Helga/HK
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A Northern Pygmy Owl was spotted, perched in a cottonwood tree top at considerable distance. Various woodpeckers called and tapped in the woods and waterfowl hugged the shore of the Kootenay River. Three Bald Eagles flew over and Three American Dippers worked the shallows.
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American Dipper Photo Credit - Theckla/TS
​Curiously, and difficult to see, half a dozen Northern Flickers foraged amongst the snow-free boulders close to the waters' edge, presumably searching for invertebrates.
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Northern Flickers Photo Credit - Theckla/TS
When our session was nearing an end, a final glance at the active feeder and shrubbery revealed a European Collared-Dove, Dark-eyed Juncos and a House Sparrow or two.
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Dark-eyed Juncos Photo Credit - Theckla/TS
Blackish blobs in tall cottonwoods near the highway turned out to be 10 Wild Turkeys perched quietly on skinny twigs.
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Wild Turkeys Photo Credit - Theckla/TS
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Fairmont Hot Springs Area - Bluebird Trails

10/11/2024

 

- Submitted by Claude R (Posted November 2024)

It's always a great day when wandering the hillsides along the Spirit Trail. You never know what you might spot while enjoying the views along the trail.

At one box, (5A), a baby Mountain Bluebird (MOBL) poked his head out waiting for the parents to come with more food. He's probably the strongest of the brood and will fledge first, followed by the others once they feel ready to leave the nest.

Baby MOBLs start out speckled before they get their blue colour, and have a baby mouth with the soft corners, a remnant of their soft stretchy wide gape as hatchlings.  We don't often catch a baby at the door, so this was a special moment for us.

The parents are very busy at this time keeping the babies fed. It's amazing to see how many bugs they come back with after every flight or forage.

We were fortunate to spot a Vesper Sparrow nest with four eggs and watch it over the following weeks to see them as hatchlings.

Fairmont Hot Springs Area - Bluebird Trails

14/10/2024

 

- Submitted by Claude R (Posted October 2024)
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On the last day of May, we headed out to the Fairmont Meadows nestbox trail to see how all the Tree Swallows (TRES) were getting along with their nest boxes and soon-to-be families.

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The morning started off cool, and the TRES were all puffed up to stay warm, but things warmed up quickly. Once the sun broke through the clouds, the birds became more active and started to sing.

We were soon surrounded by Clay-Coloured Sparrows (CCSP), Western Wood-Pewees (WWPE), Eastern Kingbirds (EAKI) and Cedar Waxwings (CEWA).  Everywhere we looked, birds were flying about, chasing insects and each other.

Elizabeth Lake Turtle Day - April 23, 2024

26/6/2024

 

- Submitted by Marianne C (Posted June 2024)

​Turtle Day participants enjoyed sunny, warm weather. Three schools of two classes each, rotated through three stations to learn about Western Painted Turtles at Elizabeth Lake.

At the demonstration nesting sandbox, Greg and Katrin explained the egg laying and monitoring process. Angus from the Fish and Wildlife Compensation program and several Ktunaxa Natural Resource staff taught turtle facts where each student was able to hold a baby turtle.

The third station was located at the new dock where Susie explained the foods turtles eat, and children were able to locate and identify some of these invertebrates by dip netting, with help from Naturalist volunteers.

The public event was opened by Ktunaxa Chief, Joe Pierre, who told a story of a recent Western Painted Turtle encounter he had experienced followed by the singing of a song. About 600 members of the public, of all ages, enjoyed learning about turtles by visiting the three stations and several display tables.

Thank you to all the volunteers who help make Elizabeth Lake Turtle Day, started in 2014, such a positive, fun and educational event.



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Painted Turtles Sunning Photo Credit - Claude/CR
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Turtle Day 2024 Group Photo Credit - Angus/AG
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Chief Joe Pierre Photo Credit - Stewart/SW
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Baby Turtle Photo Credit - Stewart/SW
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Katrin and Greg Photo Credit - Wayne/WS
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Alan Helping at Dip Netting Photo Credit - Stewart/SW

Cavity Nesting Group Spring Outings – 2024

19/5/2024

 
- ​Submitted by Katrin P and Greg R (Posted May 2024)
In the spring of 2024, the Cavity Nesting Group (CNG) had four outings where we cleaned out existing boxes and erected five new boxes. It's been very exciting going out with the various Rocky Mountain Naturalist volunteers as we excitedly ‘unbox’ a nest to see what we would find inside. We take turns looking, observing and giving deductions as to what used the box based on what we see, and with monitor notes from the previous season.

The CNG group now has 22 volunteers who come out and help with the opening of the boxes once a year, to decipher what has used them and to clean them out. The monitors, by putting everything together, determine the species use and the outcomes, having learned a lot over the past two years.

Monitors also ‘adopt’ a box for the nesting season and take some time each week to observe it from a distance, approximately once a week for 30-60min (or to whatever degree the monitor is able), noting any use of the box as well as any cavity nesting species in the area.

Out of the 16 boxes we monitored in 2023 located at Elizabeth Lake, Community Forest and Irrigation Fields, seven had successful fledglings of ducks, most of which were Barrows Goldeneye. There was also a Goldeneye species (unconfirmed which one), and one wood duck, or WODU, at Elizabeth Lake. Notable mention also goes to the Bufflehead that used a box at the Irrigation Fields, but something must have happened to the female, as the chicks were partially developed in the eggs and did not come to a fledgling state.

We are overjoyed that the monitors have been so keen! We have heard such remarkable experiences from everyone, just by sitting quietly in nature once a week and being able to share those experiences with the group. The CNG is growing to become something quite remarkable, leading people to ‘slow life down a little’ and ‘experience nature’ as well as learning about our feathered duck friends and other appreciated species that use cavities - owls included!

2023 marked the second year that we’ve had a dedicated Cavity Nesting Group. Thank you so much to the monitors, past and present! If you would like to learn more about the CNG or get involved, please contact via the webforms here on the website or email [email protected]
 
Below are photos from this spring’s ‘unboxing’ events.

Irrigation Fields and Rampart
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Bufflehead eggs in box at Irrigation Fields
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Nest used by a ‘biggish bird’ at Irrigation Fields (please let us know if you have ideas to identify)
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Feather in nesting box of ‘biggish bird’ - very technical!
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Enlarged photo of ‘poop’ in nesting box of ‘biggish bird’
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Possible beginnings of a house wren nest in small box from alternate school at the installation of new box at Rampart Irrigation fields. It even had feathers with hearts!
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Ft Steele - Westport and Community Forest
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Installation of 2 boxes at Westport, by Ft Steele
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<3
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A happy group of monitors!
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Egg membranes when whole, make it easier to count success! Egg fragments always mean success!
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Deciphering eggs in the Community Forest
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Elizabeth Lake 
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Lots going on here - a nesting box swung upside down and was still used!
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Many hands make light work
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We’re learning more about identifying WODU eggs versus Bufflehead eggs, which we used to not be able to tell apart. Thanks to Gretchen’s donation of a ‘Birds of the World’ account from Cornell, we now have better information than we would have had just by googling. WODU eggs can vary from elliptical to sub elliptical. Bufflehead eggs are elliptical to oval. The egg on the left is sub elliptical, and the one on the right is elliptical. The one on the left is too short to be a BUFF egg, and the one on the right is too wide to be a BUFF, based on minimum and maximum sizes from Cornell data, but they both meet the specs for a WODU. Strange, as they are so different. One cannot be too quick to make assumptions! But we are open to discussion as we are learning too!
McGinty Lake – Cavity Nesting Box Project
​- by Theckla S
Thursday, April 4th, McGinty Lake was the focus of the Cavity Nesting Group, with the permission of the Executive from the Meadowbrook Community Association – the Stewards of the McGinty Lake Recreation Area. 12 participants took part in placing two cavity nesting boxes close to the lake. One box is highly visible from the main picnic area, which will make for ease of monitoring as well as offer up an opportunity for instruction of school groups that make good use of the area. The second box was placed at the south end of the lake close to a known nesting area for Common Goldeneye.
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Installation of Box #1, easily visible from the main picnic area
​Cavity nesters that we were able to observe while installing the boxes:
Bufflehead – a successful fledging of 5 ducklings in June, 2022, 2 families in June 2023!
Common Goldeneye – the largest number was 19 in June 2022; a cavity nest can be spotted
in a poplar tree along the south trail.
Barrows Goldeneye – successful fledging of 10 ducklings in June 2022
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Installation of Box #2, south end of the lake.
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Barrows Goldeneye Male
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Barrows Goldeneye Males showing off for the ladies
Other cavity nesters seen at McGinty Lake in the past include:
Hooded Merganser - last seen in April 2023.
Wood Duck – no reports from 2021-2024.

Turtle Day 2023

19/4/2023

 
Turtle Day coming to Elizabeth Lake on April 26, 2023
Western painted turtle hatchlings are the star of this free, family event
 
(CRANBROOK) Turtle Day will return to Elizabeth Lake in Cranbrook on April 26. This year, western painted turtles have laid 76 nests in the wetland, and at the end of April, hatchlings will begin to emerge from their nests and make their way to the lake. See the newly emerged hatchlings and learn about their journey, as well as the efforts of the Rocky Mountain Naturalists to protect this Blue-listed, vulnerable species at Turtle Day.
 
Turtle Day is hosted by the Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program (FWCP) together with the Rocky Mountain Naturalists. The free, family event runs from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on April 26 beside the Elizabeth Lake Visitors Centre. Parking is provided behind Elizabeth Lake Lodge.
 
The nesting area at Elizabeth Lake is maintained and monitored by the Rocky Mountain Naturalists working with biologists for the Province of B.C., with funding from the FWCP. Efforts to maintain fencing around the nesting area were successful last year, with only six nests lost to predation. Without intervention, western painted turtles would lose 90% of their nests to predators—primarily skunks.
 
“Habitat loss due to human activities has impacted the Southern Interior population of the western painted turtle, along with road mortality and introduced species,” says Jen Walker-Larsen, the FWCP’s Columbia Region manager. “The work of the Rocky Mountain Naturalists to provide safe nesting habitat and intervention for hatchlings is helping the FWCP conserve and enhance fish and wildlife in watersheds impacted by BC Hydro dams.”
 
The Rocky Mountain Naturalists have a long history of fostering awareness and understanding of our natural environment. They are committed to sharing the message of the western painted turtle’s life cycle—from the egg, to hatching, growing, maturing, and reproducing.
 
The FWCP is a partnership between BC Hydro, the Province of B.C., Fisheries & Oceans Canada, First Nations, and public stakeholders to conserve and enhance fish and wildlife in watersheds impacted by BC Hydro dams. Turtle Day is also made possible with the support of the Ministry of Forests.
 
For more information about Turtle Day and other projects funded by the FWCP, visit fwcp.ca/events.
 
 
For more information:
Angus Glass
FWCP Communications Coordinator
250-352-1300
[email protected]

Spring Arrival of Birds in the East Kootenay

15/3/2023

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Here is a quick guide to "general" arrival week of bird species in the East Kootenay.

It is based on the eBird barchart for the region available here:
ebird.org/canada/barchart?byr=1901&eyr=2023&bmo=1&emo=12&r=CA-BC-EK

As you can see, ducks are generally the first group to return northward but this year we are still waiting for the following:
Tundra Swan           TUSW
Wood Duck              WODO
Redhead                  REDH
Ring-necked Duck    RNDU
Northern Shovelor    NSHO
Blue-winged Teal      BWTE
Gadwall                   Gadwall

Also, Ring-billed Gull (RBGU) and California Gull (CAGU) are late; and Common Loon (COLO).

At time of writing, I find it difficult to believe we could see Tree (TRES) and Violet-green Swallow (VGSW) any day now because I still have a foot of snow in my yard in Kimberley.

And we usually have Western (WEBL) and Mountain (MOBL) Bluebirds back by now, as well as Say's Phoebe (SAPH).  Please come soon.

Western Meadowlark (WEME) are sometimes here the end of February.  One year they arrived to snow-covered fields and had to forage along the plowed road edges - poor things.  Looks like it will be the same this year.  Actually, it has been the same for the past THREE years, I think.

And where are the Brewer's Blackbird (BRBL), Spotted Towhee (SPTO), and Fox Sparrows (FOSP)?

Anyway, look for the above soon, and Osprey (OSPR).  Happy Birding!

Dianne C.

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Little Big Day 2022

3/6/2022

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We had 'Little Big Day' last week on May 28th. Congratulations to the the team 'Dipperette’s' for seeing the most species seen ever recorded by a single team: 130 species! The Dipperette’s consisted of Gretchen W, Helga K, Jo Ellen F. and Wendy H. Well done! The closest year to them was in 2007, when a single team saw 128 species (seen by team ‘Stalkers 4’ which consisted of Cathy, Al, Art and Lois).
 
Together, all the teams this year saw 148 species, the 4th highest year recorded. There were 3 teams in total. The other 2 teams were the Three-toed Muskateers (Greg R, Jim H and Katrin P) and the Ruthless Birders (Ruth G, Lyle G, Dianne C, Emma B).
 
Little Big Day is a fun birding competition to see which team (up to 4 people) see the most birds (teams need to stay together and at least 2 people from each team need to see each species). Birding takes place between 6am and 6pm, although you can bird less if you want and you don't really need to 'compete'. It's all for fun. Teams contribute $25, which goes to a worthy nature related cause.

This year, the money is being donated to the 'Elizabeth Lake Shoreline Restoration Project’, being done by the Rocky Mountain Naturalists.
 
A combined list of what we saw:
Canada Goose
Trumpeter Swan
Wood Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
Eurasian Wigeon
American Wigeon
Mallard
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Barrow's Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Wild Turkey
Ruffed Grouse
Pied-billed, Horned, Red-necked, and Eared Grebes
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Vaux's Swift
Black-chinned, Calliope, and Rufous Hummingbirds
Virginia Rail
Sora
American Coot
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Killdeer
Long-billed Curlew
Wilson's Snipe
Wilson's Phalarope
Spotted and Solitary Sandpipers
Bonaparte's and California Gulls
Black Tern
Common Loon
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-naped Sapsucker
Lewis', American Three-toed, Downy, Hairy, and Pileated Woodpeckers
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Western Wood-pewee
Willow, Least, Hammonds, Dusky, and Pacific-slope Flycatchers
Say's Phoebe
Western Kingbird
Eastern Kingbird
Cassin's Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Stellar's Jay
Blue Jay
Black-billed Magpie
Clark's Nutcracker
American Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped and Mountain Chickadees
Northern Rough-winged, Tree, Violet-green, Bank, Barn, and Cliff Swallows Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets
Red-breasted, White-breasted and Pygmy Nuthatches
House, Pacific and Marsh Wrens
American Dipper
European Starling
Gray Catbird
Western and Mountain Bluebirds
Townsend's Solitaire
Swainson's and Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
House Sparrow
American Pipit
Evening Grosbeak
House Finch
Cassin's Finch
Red and White-winged Crossbills
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
Dark-eyed Junco
Chipping, Clay-coloured, White-crowned, White-throated, Vesper, Savannah, Song and Lincoln's Sparrows
Spotted Towhee
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Bobolink
Western Meadowlark
Bullock's Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Northern Waterthrush
Orange-crowned, Nashville, and MacGillivray's Warblers
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Townsend's, and Wilson's Warblers
Western Tanager
Lazuli Bunting

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Mildred V. White and Her Nature Journals

26/3/2022

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by Dianne Cooper
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The six Blueline Brand nature journals of Mildred White
Here is a brief biography about founding Rocky Mountain Naturalists member Mildred White (1916 – 2001), her birding sightings and their journey into the public archive on the occasion of the last of her birding data finally getting entered into eBird.
 
Mrs. White recorded her bird sightings between April 1964 and December 2001.  She wrote them down in 6 Blueline brand record books, which are in journal-style, and 5 black ringed binders, in list-style.


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Mildred V. White (1916 - 2001) founding member of the Rocky Mountain Naturalists
She began recording her natural history observations on 05-Apr-1964 when she was 48 years old.  At first, she re-used loose sheets of letter-size paper to record her "home" sightings of birds and animals.  The paper was rescued from the trash at the gift shop in the Kimberley Hospital where Mrs. White was a volunteer with the Hospital Auxiliary.  Every once in a while she would copy these notes into Blueline-brand bound record books, in a narrative journal-style with wonderfully legible cursive handwriting.  For field trips, she used little pocket notebooks, also transferring these notes to the Bluelines.  After doing it this way for about 25 to 30 years, she switched to list-style for her "final copy" in medium-sized black ringed-binders.  She also re-copied some of her journal-style sightings as lists in the black binders.
 
In December of 1974, Mildred and her husband, King, moved from a modest house on a small city lot in Kimberley to a newly built one on several acres south of Ta Ta Creek.  The acreage was on the western edge of the vast grassy benchlands bordering the Kootenay River.  They built a river-rock birdbath, standing over one meter tall.  It attracted many birds, deer, coyote, and small mammals.  They also put up several nest boxes and feeders for the birds and squirrels.  A shelf-type feeder below the utility room window was easily accessed from indoors during the winter.  In especially cold weather Mrs. White stocked it with her homemade shortbread, a special treat for the birds.
 
A variety of bird habitats were within walking and listening distance of their property.  There was a creek with beaver ponds — Waite Creek, which flows into Bartholomew Lake, and Sun Marsh, named after Joe Sun, a resident of the acreage adjacent to the Whites'.  The Suns operated a market garden with home delivery service of vegetables.
 
Mrs. White enjoyed traipsing around Wasa Sloughs.  The lack of city services gave her an excuse to make the trip across the Kootenay River Valley to the refuse station south of the Sloughs.  From there she would head for the Sloughs, taking a dirt track north through the pine forest to a clearing we now call "Mildred's Meadow".  It was her tradition to check this field for the first of the spring buttercup blooms peeking up between the thick litter of pine needles.  This signaled spring was in full flight, the ice would soon be off Wasa Sloughs, so it was time to start looking for the spring arrival of birds.  Mr. White built a small boardwalk and viewing blind at the end of a spit on the east side of the Sloughs where they photographed waterfowl.  It was still functional in 1979 and I used it several times myself when I first started birding; I didn't know the White's then but had heard about them, everybody had.  They also had a portable blind they set up at Sun or Bartholomew Marshes.
 
She recorded sightings for Project Feederwatch, the Breeding Bird Survey, American Birds / Northwest Field Notes and the BC Sight Record and Nest Record Schemes, the latter two provided data for the four-volume work "The Birds of British Columbia", by R. W. Campbell and others.  Other activities and projects she worked on were for the Rocky Mountain Naturalists, the Federation of BC Naturalists, and the Rocky Mountain Trench Natural Resources Society.  She helped start two of the local Christmas Bird Counts.
 
Mildred was also a guest speaker at Wasa Lake Provincial Park, using her own and King's slides in her presentations.  She wrote a nature column in the Kimberley Bulletin for many years.  In 1996, she and other members of the Rocky Mountain Naturalists composed the "Rocky Mountain Naturalists Wildflower Checklist" commemorating the tenth anniversary of the RMN.  And they also made a "Birding Tour" brochure.
 
In 2000, at the age of 84, she took a computer class at Kimberley Campus of the College of the Rockies to learn Microsoft Excel.  Because of her experiences with other data banks, she was determined to get her data digitized and distributed.  She would contribute records to many organizations and people but then would never hear of how the data were used or what help it had been.  In some cases, reports and publications were unpublished and difficult to access.  In other cases, the cost of obtaining published copies was prohibitive.  If she'd been around when cell phones and the eBird app came out, I have no doubt she would have embraced them both whole-heartedly.  Also, Mrs. White wanted to acknowledge the hundreds of fellow bird watchers who told her of the birds they'd seen, accompanied her on field trips, sharing their enjoyment of birds.


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Some original first draft nature notes which she would later transcribe into the Blueline journals
I met Mrs. White in July of 2001 and because of my interest and background with the beginnings of the digitization of bird records, I agreed to digitize hers.  We got a grant from Columbia Basin Trust for tuition for a course in MS Access and the software program; then a grant from BC Nature to publish the database and pay me for some of my time (which worked out well because with my "wages" I was able to replace my stolen spotting scope - but that's another, shorter story).  In the autumn of 2001, we photocopied her 5 black binders at the Kimberley Hospital—they allowed us to use their machine because of all her work with the hospital auxiliary.  She passed away in December.
 
I continued with the project and five years later, in 2006, "published" a database containing data from her black ringed binder notebooks: almost 24,000 bird, animal, and plant sightings of Mrs. White's and over 200 other contributors over 27 plus years.   The database was disseminated to anyone who requested a copy.  The Species Inventory Project, Government of British Columbia uploaded the sightings to their online database, making it available to everyone.  Dr. Mike Panian of the Species Inventory Project said the database was the “largest one-time contribution by a single person in the history of the provincial databank!”

Also in 2006, Dick Cannings, an ornithologist with Bird Studies Canada at the time, and current MP for South Okanagan—West Kootenay, uploaded approx. 17,500 of the bird sightings to eBird.  eBird is an online database of bird sightings contributed by citizen scientist launched in 2002 and operated by Cornell University, New York.  Mrs. White's sightings jump-started eBird in the region.  Twenty years later, birders, researchers, and naturephiles find eBird almost indispensable for its data and an inspiring and invaluable resource for their birding activities.
 
Now, thanks in part to the pandemic which allowed me to focus my undivided attention on the onerous task of going through her narrative journals, I was able to glean another 6,900 or so bird sightings from her Blueline books.  Between the interesting antics of chipmunks, what plants were in bloom, what subjects were deemed promising enough to use up costly photographic film and maybe good enough to pay for printing, where King went fishing and with whom, who dropped by for a visit - friends, family and fellow birders, and what birds and animals they reported, were records of her first time seeing many East Kootenay species.
 
eBird now houses over 24,000 of Mrs. White's bird sightings.  Perusing the East Kootenay checklist on eBird, looking at the date of "first seen": Mrs. White recorded the first sightings of 160 species in the region (we have 348 species but only 306 are on eBird).  This is eight times more than the contributor with the next "most firsts", Ian McTaggart-Cowan.  Dr. McTaggart-Cowan visited the Newgate area in May of 1930 and recorded the first sightings of 20 of our species.  Mrs. White's first "first" was two Killdeer flying down Mark Creek on 5 Apr 1964, and her last East Kootenay "first" was 19 Black-necked Stilt at Elizabeth Lake on 26 Apr 2001.
 
Her journals will be digitized and housed at the Royal British Columbia Museum for anyone to read.  It has been over twenty years since Mrs. White's passing yet her 37 years-worth of fauna and flora sightings remain as an inspiration and a valuable source of information about nature in the East Kootenay.

The End

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The complete set of Blueline journals and photocopies of the black ring-bound list-style bird sightings
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Mildred's eBird profile
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