On Saturday, December 20th, many birders, young and old, will spend the day outdoors searching for wild birds in the Cranbrook area. We will meet at the West entrance visitor area beside Elizabeth Lake at 8:45, form groups and cover as much area as possible within our count area quadrants. 4 door vehicles with clean windows are best, to move each team safely and efficiently. Whenever it is safe to pull over to the side of the road, we hop out quietly, listening and looking. Sometimes, one or more team members will walk ahead across a field or along a path, to be picked up a few minutes later.
Our day promises to be mild, calm and dry. Thinking back to previous counts, conditions which are uncomfortable for humans are not necessarily bad for birds. Fogged windows are a nuisance to us, but strong, warm winds cause birds to disappear as they seek shelter. The experienced team members will be checking all the ‘hot spots’ they can think of. Patches of open water, grasslands, forest edges, bird feeders and the shopping cart corrals at Superstore are sure to produce. If a particular group was well organized and adventurous, a traverse of the Community Forest, or other longer distance on foot would likely yield useful results.
Last Sunday, I was fortunate to join the gang from the Elk Valley and Crowsnest Pass for the Fernie CBC. Birding was good for us and the birds. However, because there was so much open water in the Elk River, the river ducks were not concentrated in their usual hot spots. On a quiet back road, with the window rolled down, I stopped whenever chickadees were heard. This is a good strategy because other quieter birds form mixed flocks with the noisy chickadees. Not only that, all four types of chickadees may be observed. In one way, noisy, heavy trains were annoying. But, by focussing the binoculars at an oncoming train in the distance, I was fortunate to record several species as they were flushed from thickets and ditches.
Fernie birders were relieved that many of the winter finches have returned following their dramatic disappearance last year. One of the larger members of it’s family, the Pine Grosbeak is a bird of the boreal forests. A large, unwary finch, it makes periodic winter irruptions into southern Canada and northern US. It is the largest and rarest of the ‘winter finches’. With his pinkish-red head, breast, back and rump, the male is a handsome fellow, while the golden yellow of the female also adds a splash of colour to a winter scene.
The tameness and slow-moving behaviour of the Pine Grosbeak gave rise to the local name ‘mope’ in Newfoundland. Winter flocks may stay near a tree with abundant fruit until all of it is consumed. A breeding adult bird develops pouches in the floor of it’s mouth for carrying food to it’s young. During most of the year, 99% of it’s diet is vegetable matter, especially buds, seeds and fruits of spruce, pine, juniper, elm, maple, mountain ash, apple and crabapple. It feeds insects and spiders to it’s young, though, often mixed with plant foods. It drinks water or eats snow daily. This finches’ conservation status is largely unknown because of the difficulty when assessing populations. On Saturday, it will be a treat to observe these fine birds.
The list: Birds we should see on count day near Cranbrook.
Loons
Grebes
Herons
Geese
Mallards
Goldeneye
Mergansers
Eagles
Hawks
Grouse
Killdeer
Snipe
Rock Doves
Owls
Kingfishers
Woodpeckers
Flickers
Jays
Nutcrackers
Magpies
Crows
Ravens
Chickadees
Nuthatches
Creepers
Wrens
Dippers
Kinglets
Solitaires
Robins
Waxwings
Shrikes
Starlings
Sparrows
Juncos
Blackbirds
Grosbeaks
Crossbills
Redpolls
Siskins
For those birders who wish to participate as a feeder watcher, please contact me and submit your results after 5 PM. At that time, field birders will meet for a potluck and count up. Best of luck to everyone for a fine day.

Submitted by Daryl Calder 250-489-1601 on behalf of Rocky Mountain Naturalists 

Every winter, backyard birders look forward to possible bird irruptions that will bring new and welcome guests to their feeders. But what exactly is an irruption , and what does it mean for birding?
An irruption is a dramatic, irregular migration of large numbers of birds to areas where they aren’t typically found, possibly at great distances from their normal ranges. Several factors can lead to irruptive years for different birds. The most common cause is a lack of food in the birds’ normal wintering grounds. Famine can force large numbers of birds to seek more plentiful habitats until seeds, flowers and insects return in the spring. Birds that feed on the seeds and catkins of birch, maple, pine spruce and hemlock trees often irrupt when those types of trees have poor seed crops. Different birds of prey may also irrupt when the seed crops are poor and cannot support the necessary rodent populations for raptor food sources. Other causes for bird irruptions include unduly harsh cold or severe weather that may force birds to more temperate wintering grounds, or over breeding that may further deplete even plentiful food supplies. No matter what the cause of the irruption, however, it is difficult to predict where or when irrupting species may appear.
Many bird species found in boreal and other northern habitats can irrupt if circumstances require it. Certainly, with the recent erratic weather patterns in the East Kootenay and elsewhere, we anticipate unexpected visitors at our feeders. When large numbers of birds appear, it is important to keep birdbaths and feeders clean to keep birds healthy. Provide a variety of fresh, high quality seed and suet. Sometimes, irrupting birds can bully or intimidate other backyard birds, restricting their access to feeders and monopolizing the seed. Birders can change the types of feeders and seed they offer to discourage such behaviour; or they can put up extra feeders to welcome all the new guests to their yard. Spacing feeders out will minimize territoriality and aggression while ensuring all birds can enjoy the buffet.
Bird irruptions can add excitement to winter birding. While birders should never count on an irruption, it can be a pleasant surprise when northern birds appear at southern feeders.
The list:
Irruptive Birds we may see on Count Day
Pine Siskins
Bohemian Waxwings
Evening Grosbeaks
Boreal Chickadees
Pine Grosbeaks
Common Redpolls
Red Crossbills
White-winged Crossbills
Northern Shrikes
Red-breasted Nuthatches
Hoary Redpolls
Varied Thrushes
Great Grey Owls
Snowy Owls
Rough-legged Hawks
Flocks of tiny Pine Siskins may monopolize your thistle feeder one winter and be absent the next. This nomadic finch ranges widely and erratically across the continent each winter in response to seed crops. Better suited to hanging from branch tips than to hopping along the ground, these brown-streaked acrobats flash yellow wing markings as they flutter while feeding or as they explode into flight. Flocks are gregarious, and you may hear their insistent wheezy twitters before you see them. Pine Siskins can temporarily store seeds totaling as much as 10% of their body mass in a part of their esophagus called the crop. The energy in that amount of food could get them through 5-6 cold night hours. The ‘State of the Birds Report’ listed them as a Common Bird in Steep Decline. Domestic cats, red squirrels, hawks, jays and crows can prey on adult birds or on their eggs or young. Pine Siskins’ fondness for mineral deposits can lure them onto dangerously busy roadways salted to remove ice and snow. Loss of habitat from forest clearing may be balanced by replanting and by the Siskins' willingness to nest in shrubs and ornamental trees. It’s good to see the little finches have returned to our feeders.
Feeder watchers are encouraged to help with the Christmas Bird Counts again this year. Keep an eye on your feeders, count the largest number of each species seen at one time and contact us with your list at around 5 PM on Count Day.

Local Christmas Bird Counts:
Cranbrook: Saturday, December 20. Greg Ross, 250 489 2566
Kimberley: Sunday, January 4. Dianne Cooper 250 427 1921

Submitted by Daryl Calder on behalf of Rocky Mountain Naturalists.