Birders gather in groups, just like the creatures they count, and Christmas is one of their favourite times to get together.
This is Charlotte Wasylik’s seventh season counting birds at Christmas.
She and 30 other birders from Vermilion, Alta., were scheduled to get together Dec. 19 and count birds.
The Christmas Bird Count is conducted across North America on a single day chosen by local groups between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5 .
“The goal is for all of the birders who take part in the count to become citizen scientists, and their job is to count all the birds, which in turn helps scientists look at population trends of birds during the winter so they can see if some species are increasing or decreasing in population,” said Wasylik, who organized the traditional Christmas bird count as well as a bird count for kids.
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“We have lots of kids signed up this year, so it will be a good turnout. We encourage everyone to enjoy nature and to get outside even in the winter because there are lots of things to see. We are not going to be looking specifically at birds, but also any mammals we see or any tracks and get the kids to have lots of fun outside.”
She expected the children to see finches, common redpoll, red and white winged crossbill, pine grosbeaks, bohemian waxwings and black capped chickadee in the park in Vermilion.
Wasylik said it’s difficult to know if the bird population is increasing or decreasing in the area because some years there are more bird counters than other years.
“It’s a little difficult to tell, but overall, the population of chickadees, especially, is very healthy and ravens are really increasing in population.”
Last year a volunteer spotted a black backed woodpecker, which is common in southern Alberta but not in the Vermilion area.
“It was one of the most unusual species the Christmas bird count has ever produced in our area. That was a really good bird.”
Wasylik said it’s always exciting to see a snowy owl during the count.
The bird counters also want people to record the birds that appear in their backyards.
“If you have a feeder, spend at least 15 minutes watching your feeder and recording how many birds of each species come to your feeder. Just do the best you can for estimating how many species you have,” she said.
“I know with black capped chickadees, they’ll fly to the feeder and fly away and come back and sometimes it’s hard to know if that is one chickadee or seven. The highest number you count at once will be your total number.”
Bird Studies Canada organizes the Christmas Bird Count. Bird watchers can visit the group’s web-site at www.birdscanada.org/volunteer/cbc/ to find Christmas bird counts in their area.
