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04 November 2023

My Google Earth mapping of nests and more

Breeding bird species at risk on Skookumchuck Prairie KBA (orange outline)

 Here is a map of documented nest trees, breeding territories, and nests of Lewis' Woodpecker (Threatened, SARA) (Blue, BC), Long-billed Curlew (Special Concern, SARA (Blue, BC), and American Kestrel on Skookumchuck Prairie KBA.  There are more nests than this - we just haven't found them.

The orange in the middle - between the Lewis' Woodpecker pins (green trees) and Long-billed Curlew pins (red and yellow pins) - is the crown land being requested for solar farms.  See previous post.



 

01 November 2023

BC utility-scale solar farms - where to put them.

There's no need to cover up natural land with solar panels.  Ecologically functioning land should be maintained as it is or even enhanced so it can keep contributing to mitigating the climate crisis.  There are plenty of human-impacted places and structures where solar panels can go.


This is about solar farms in British Columbia.

A crown land tenure is being requested with the ultimate goal of building a large solar farm on ecologically valuable land.

Please read below.


This is for Solar.  The Gov't doesn't have a category for solar yet so companies have to submit under "Wind".

Also Note the pin on the map doesn't represent the right place.  Because the parcels they want stretch from Elko to Skookumchuck - so the pin gets put in the middle between them.

If you scroll down on the Application Details on the left you will see a map of the parcels.


You can submit comments to the BC Government on this tenure application at: 

https://comment.nrs.gov.bc.ca/applications?clidDtid=4406427&id=6529b28b646c73002270b4ab#details

BC Government – Applications, Comments & Reasons for Decision 

Crown land file #4406427 

Comment by December 3, 2023 

If you feel you can’t comment right now for whatever reason.  No worries.  In future, please keep an eye on this issue because it won’t be going away.  Thanks for reading!


Background information: 

https://www.rockymountainnaturalists.org/rmn-projects--issues/communique-industrial-scale-solar-in-the-east-kootenay

A few years ago, the attention of renewable energy companies turned to the wide-open spaces in the East Kootenay Valley.  Their intent was to start the development process for large-scale utility-grade solar farms.  That’s great! Right!?  If we’re going to wean ourselves off fossil fuels, we’re going to need more electricity from renewable sources. 

The problem:  SOME of them wanted to ruin ecologically valuable grassland like at Skookumchuck Prairie Important Bird Area.  And they wanted rangeland.  They would take land that is currently helping slow the rate of climate change, maintaining biodiversity, turn it into electricity … and call that green. 

After it was pointed out by MANY groups and people, how hypocritical that was because of this land’s ecological importance, SOME of the land grant requests were turned down by the BC Government.  Fortunately, development has NOT progressed on the natural land that WAS granted, but UNFORTUNATELY the BC Government STILL HAS NOT formalized any policies - guidelines - laws to make sure large-scale solar development is done ecologically responsibly in British Columbia.

An example of responsible development is the Sun Mine in Kimberley which is on old Cominco land heavily impacted by ore milling activities related to the Sullivan Mine.

Anyway, they’re at it again – the development companies; well, one development company again SO FAR.  They’re trying to get the cheapest land they can, of course, in proximity to existing power lines and roads.

But the land they have chose is: 

·         critical habitat for many species at risk, deer, elk, badgers, etc., 

·         critical grazing for cattle 

·         natural carbon sinks 

·         part of the most endangered ecosystem in the world - temperate grassland - more endangered than Amazon rainforest and tropical reefs (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) 

As many of you know, I am the volunteer caretaker of Skookumchuck Prairie Key Biodiversity Area.  I have spent a lot of time there, at my own expense, documenting the Lewis’ Woodpeckers – a Threatened species and a very cool bird.  In the past eight years, I have found 63 nests and four dozen nesting trees.  It’s probably the densest breeding population of Lewis’ in Canada.  I have submitted the data to the Provincial database (not an easy task) to try to make sure lawmakers know about it.  In all that time, only one government biologist has ever come out to see my discoveries (a two-hour field trip).  A sad situation. 

This time, the developer wants even more land on Skookumchuck Prairie – in the Lewis’ Woodpecker area AND the Long-billed Curlew nesting habitat.  I have done volunteer work on Curlew too – helping put solar satellite tags on them and tracking their movements.  That work was done by Bird Studies Canada.  Unfortunately, the area has almost NO conservation protection recognized by the federal or provincial governments.

 

Me releasing "Mildred" who had a white leg flag with the letters "AA".
Her mate had letters "AX", named "Solar".

It doesn’t make sense to me. Solar panels can be placed on roof tops, parking lots, old mine sites, in old gravel pits, on man-made reservoirs, squeezed in along freeways, etc., etc.  There is no need to put solar farms on natural, ecologically functioning land. 

So, if avoiding wrecking sensitive ecosystems makes sense to you too, please submit your comments and concerns to the BC Lands Branch so that we can once again steer these companies away from destructive practices.

And urge the government to responsibly develop solar technology for net ecological benefit.  Nip this in the bud NOW.  The pressure on natural lands is only going to get worse unless Government steps up and says NO. 

In all of British Columbia, the East Kootenay has the highest levels of solar irradiance, so WE are the testing ground for developing solar farms in BC – but this affects EVERYBODY.  Are we going to do it responsibly?  We’ve already flooded thousands of hectares of grassland for hydro (the Libby Dam for power to the US).  Are we willing to wreck some more here?  WE are the government, ultimately, so it’s up to us – "tuum est"

Go to the link above by December 3, 2023, to submit your comment.  I have provided some examples of concerns you might agree with which you can copy/paste.  Or check out the online info communique I wrote (see link above) for more information about this particular development plan. 

 

Some examples of things you can say: 

·         The solar farms would need to be fenced off for security and fire protection.  This means: 

o    Loss of winter ungulate range for the elk and deer 

o    Loss of high-value rangeland for local cattle ranches 

o    Loss of habitat for species at risk that are dependent on grassland and open pine forest 

o    Severe costs to protecting those facilities from wildfires and prescribed burning done for ecological restoration 

·         solar irradiance can be measured from satellite, so there is no need for crown land usage for this purpose 

·         portions of this request were previously disallowed, and we believe that decision should be upheld

·         “The area selected is within an endangered grassland ecosystem which is being actively managed and restored.  This ecosystem provides critical habitat for ungulates (primarily elk) and species at risk and is an important cattle grazing area.  The government and organized groups have spent approx. $14 Million dollars on ecosystem restoration in the Rocky Mountain Trench …” (Lands Branch, Reason for Decision, ca. 2017, Crown land file #4405732) 

 

·       Parcels requested are on Skookumchuck Prairie Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) – an area recognized internationally as necessary for maintaining global biodiversity. 

o    Examples of impacts: 

§  elk and deer would be impacted through loss of habitat, particularly ungulate winter range 

§  Lewis’ Woodpecker would be impacted through loss of feeding habitat, loss of nesting trees, and alteration to the microclimate affecting the free-flying insects they feed on 

§  Lewis’ Woodpecker would be impacted by human activity during construction and maintenance of solar farms 

§  Long-billed Curlew would be impacted by loss of habitat for nesting, brood-rearing, and pre-migration staging and by human activity during construction and maintenance of solar farms 

 

o    Statistics about Skookumchuck Prairie: 

§  Twelve breeding territories of species-at-risk Long-billed Curlew occur on the parcels requested 

§  Sixteen nest trees of species-at-risk Lewis’ Woodpecker occur on parcels requested.  This is the densest breeding colony of Lewis’ Woodpecker in Canada 

§  70 % of the bird species found in the East Kootenay are also in the Skookumchuck Prairie KBA making it the richest bird area per hectare in the Region.  227 species have been documented (see website: eBird).

 

·         Other points 

  • Utility-scale solar plants are an industrial use incompatible with our objectives for managing our agricultural rangelands and natural ecosystems.

  • The parcels encompass or directly impact 6 Wildlife Habitat Areas (BC Ministry of Forests designation), for Long-billed Curlew, antelope bitter-brush, endangered Williamson’s Sapsucker, and endangered American Badger.

  • Solar panels can be placed on roof tops, parking lots, old mine sites, in old gravel pits, on man-made reservoirs, squeezed in along freeways, etc., etc. There is no need to put solar farms on natural, ecologically functioning land.

  • The Province of BC needs to develop and implement policies and guidelines for the responsible placement of solar technology including identifying places where large-scale utility-grade solar farms can be placed so that areas that are ecologically valuable can continue to contribute to slowing climate change

  

Thanks everyone!  Take care!

Dianne Cooper

volunteer caretaker, Skookumchuck Prairie KBA

Kimberley, BC 

11 August 2023

Bird photo identification help in BC

Not sure what species your looking at in your photos?

You can find a very kind good birding friend and send them your photos or!

There are many online groups to help identify your bird photos.  Here are ones available to anyone or specifically for British Columbia

 

Visible to everyone:

facebook:  What's this Bird? - American Birding Association https://www.facebook.com/groups/791856010863127

facebook:  Advanced Bird ID https://www.facebook.com/groups/357272384368972

BC Interior birding group - on Groups IO:  https://groups.io/g/bcintbird

What Bird:  https://forums.whatbird.com/index.php?/forum/2-help-me-identify-a-north-american-bird/

Birding in British Columbia: http://birding.bc.ca/community/index.php

Private:

RECOMMENDED:  Discord app:  British Columbia Birds - ask member for an invite link

     Also has channels for rare bird reports and much more


Privacy set by you:

Flickr - post your photos and wait for someone to answer or send link to someone or share to the following group

Flickr group: Field Guide: Birds of British Columbia https://www.flickr.com/groups/birdphotographybc/

eBird - attach your photo to a sighting where the species is a "spuh" such as "emipdonax sp." and send link to someone; you can set your checklist to "hidden" if you don't want the photo public.


 

14 January 2022

Changes in eBird frequency since 2016

 

The eBird bar charts give us "frequency: the percentage of checklists reporting that species within a specified date range" - so it gives you an idea of how likely are you to encounter that species during that time frame in appropriate habitat.

These data don't really tell us about the actual abundance of the species - the size of their populations (because of the variety of counting methods and observer effort used to get these eBird data, and other things) ... but ... intuitively, if there are changes in frequency for really common birds - that must say something.

So, I have compared a species' frequency from December 2021 to the frequency from 2016 - in a very imprecise way that would not stand up to statistical analysis.  I have summed the year's frequency for 2016 and for 2021 and compared them by subtracting the 2016 number from the 2021 number.  Here are the results for the top and bottom 30 species - the 30 species that show the greatest increase or decrease in frequency since 2016.

 eBird Regional District of East Kootenay Frequency Difference

Showing 60 of the greatest frequency differences between the sum of eBird frequency for 2016 compared to the sum of eBird frequency for 2021 for 60 species in the Regional District of East Kootenay

English Name
BC_Game
Abundance
Diff_2021
American Crow       vc   3.912559532
Common Raven   g   vc   3.267595681
Canada Goose   g   vc   2.520634189
Northern Flicker       vc   2.459357979
Bald Eagle       c   2.431250047
Mallard   g   vc   2.289990853
Red-breasted Nuthatch       vc   2.125886915
Dark-eyed Junco       vc   1.596265554
American Robin       vc   1.506643623
Rock Pigeon   g   vc   1.454782405
Blue Jay       sc   1.313311740
Eurasian Collared-Dove   g   sc   1.255200966
Black-billed Magpie       c   1.118253242
Bufflehead   g   c   1.115452534
American Wigeon   g   c   1.098214353
American Coot   g   c   1.089445026
Turkey Vulture       sc   0.987196201
Pine Siskin       vc   0.920770842
European Starling       vc   0.916598597
Townsend's Solitaire       c   0.910150795
Red-tailed Hawk       c   0.876833943
Ring-necked Duck   g   c   0.863093321
Trumpeter Swan       sr   0.862401577
Tree Swallow       vc   0.835159263
Osprey       c   0.786232455
Green-winged Teal   g   c   0.763347806
Vesper Sparrow       c   0.760730881
Western Bluebird       c   0.744897794
Eastern Kingbird       c   0.731731785
Killdeer       c   0.730740303
             
English Name   BC_Game   Abundance   Diff_2021
Ruffed Grouse   g   c   -0.068174952
Barrow's Goldeneye       sc   -0.074931879
Calliope Hummingbird       sc   -0.088113133
White-crowned Sparrow       sc   -0.088878485
Black-headed Grosbeak       sr   -0.098174169
Brown-headed Cowbird       c   -0.098403200
Common Grackle       sc   -0.100154859
Northern Shrike       sc   -0.116332190
Black Tern       unc   -0.122280235
White-throated Sparrow       sr   -0.140874202
Northern Waterthrush       c   -0.155879991
MacGillivray's Warbler       c   -0.172119636
House Finch       vc   -0.181452069
Clark's Nutcracker       vc   -0.199776593
Warbling Vireo       c   -0.228123752
Great Blue Heron       sc   -0.229904927
Townsend's Warbler       c   -0.245286146
Hairy Woodpecker       vc   -0.249200275
Song Sparrow       vc   -0.265412316
American Dipper       c   -0.286035808
Vaux's Swift       c   -0.316657000
Rufous Hummingbird       c   -0.454750968
Bohemian Waxwing       c   -0.540717624
Common Redpoll       c   -0.571101261
Pine Grosbeak       c   -0.779422544
Black-capped Chickadee       vc   -0.803501285
Evening Grosbeak       c   -0.962873544
White-breasted Nuthatch       sc   -1.054325951
Downy Woodpecker       vc   -1.114156219
Steller's Jay       c   -1.154665009

 

So, now you are more likely to see American Crow, Common Raven, Canada Goose, Northern Flicker, and Bald Eagle, etc. when you go out birding; and less likely to see Steller's Jay, Downy Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch, Evening Grosbeak, Black-capped Chickadee, etc. than you would have five years ago.

I think decreases in the very common (vc) species indicates there are some population problems with them: they used to be commonly seen but are seen less often now, probably because there are fewer of them around, not because of some change in their behaviour or birders' behaviour.  And fewer of them around either because their populations are smaller or because there is less habitat available for them.

This is troublesome to think about for Downy Woodpecker and Black-capped Chickadee, especially.  Why?  They are easily identifyable and still fairly common but why would they be reported less unless there are just fewer of them to report?  And Hairy Woodpecker and Song Sparrow?  What's up with them?  And Rufous Hummingbird - hmm.

Clark's Nutcrackers and Great Blue Heron we know are having trouble. Nutcrackers with food supply in higher elevations: less productive limber pine seed crop, limber seeds having higher energy rewards than lodgepole pine.  And Herons having trouble with finding suitable nesting sites - and maybe more predation from a higher Bald Eagle population?

It's good to see Northern Flicker increase in frequency - they carve out lots of cavities for other birds to use as nests and help recycle dead trees.  Eurasian Collared-Dove we know has just "recently" arrived in the area and their population is currently growing rapidly.  They used to be rare but it didn't take long for them to become quite noticeable in human-settled areas.

The increasing frequency of seeing Bald Eagles:  if their numbers are indeed growing, that is fine - we need "top of the food chain" species as part of the overall balance.  Why would they be increasing?  Maybe warmer springs lets them get going earlier laying eggs and that translates to better survival of young?  Maybe they are taking advantage of having more Mallards around to eat?

So, yeah, the 2021 frequency data is cumulative and includes the same data as in the 2016 number.  Both frequency numbers contain all the data in eBird up until that point in time.  That adds some evening.  This is not comparing 2016 and earlier to the time frame of 2017 - 2021.

You can see the eBird bar chart here: https://ebird.org/barchart?byr=1900&eyr=2020&bmo=1&emo=12&r=CA-BC-EK

 And you can change the dates to see the differences for yourself, and you can download the numbers - scroll to bottom, "Download Histogram Data".

Yes, there are more eBirders now, but this is frequency data - so that is factored in.  What is not factored in is skill of the eBirder at detection and many other things - that's why this discussion is not very rigorous scientifically but it does give one something to think about.