This year’s Oliver/Osoyoos Christmas Bird Count recorded more than 21,000 birds of 110 species.
File photo
The 36th annual Oliver-Osoyoos Christmas Bird Count was held on Saturday, Dec. 27 with 36 observers in 14 parties taking part, plus four additional feeder watchers.
It was a great day for doing the count with mild temperatures and light winds, but there was a bit of snow in the afternoon at higher elevations.
This year there were 21,224 birds of 110 species found. Although the total birds is well above the 36-year average, the number is well below the average for the last 10 years which is probably a better comparison to look at.
Many of the local breeding species, birds like House Finch, House Sparrow and Chickadees, were in very low numbers this year which probably means they had a poor breeding season.
Our 110 species recorded this year is the highest total in the BC Interior with Penticton and Kelowna being second with 98 species, so our count again retains its title as the best count in the BC Interior.
Our most abundant species this year was European Starling with 4613 birds found, but Bohemian Waxwings have invaded the valley in great numbers this winter and only missed top honours by 45 birds.
The Bohemian Waxwing flocks often perch in the tops of cottonwoods or poplars before descending to feast on berries such as mountain ash and juniper.
There were a few interesting highlights for the day. At the north end of the lake a flock of Canada Geese contained a lone Snow Goose for only our 5th record. A long-tailed duck at the Osoyoos sewage lagoons provided our second record.
The Peregrine Falcon that was found at the SIBCO feedlot is our first ever record for the count. Peregrines have recently re-established themselves as a breeding species and are now trying to winter here as well.
A Rock Wren found on the Indian reserve is only our 8th count record, while our 7th Fox Sparrow and our 6th Swamp Sparrow were certainly good rarities to find.
Although they couldn’t be located on count day, a Cinnamon Teal and a Ruddy Duck found during count week (three days before and three days after the count date) were both new species for winter.
Of interest were the seven Ruby-crowned Kinglets and 13 Yellow-rumped Warblers. These two species only occasionally winter here, however, our mild fall kept these species around this winter in good numbers.
The data collected from our Christmas Bird Count, along with the 2400 other counts done throughout the Americas, is part of the longest running wildlife survey in the world.
The information collected is critical to the monitoring of the health of our bird populations and helping to guide conservation actions. Thanks to all those who took part and helped make the count a huge success.
(This article was submitted by Doug Brown.)
