October Global Big Day 2018

Yesterday was the eBird event called October Global Big Day. Data is still coming in. The following stats were relevant at 9:00 pm MST Sunday October 7.

Colombia had the most species, of course, getting 53% of there all-time species count on one day! Congratulations Colombia! 

Canada did pretty well, too, getting 47% of our all-time species! What is especially cool is that the East Kootenay contributed first records for a couple of species in Canada. From what I can tell, based only on the names of contributors I recognize, the East Kootenay contributed the first Barrow's Goldeneye and American Avocet and...

And last but not lesser, the only record so far of Lesser Goldfinch!  This is my personal motivation for checking out these stats and writing this post, because, of course, I and birding buddy Joe, are the ones who found it! Haha.  This is a first for the East Kootenay and a lifer for me!  I haven't found a new bird for my region since the Tufted Duck back in 2013.  I was so excited when I saw it my heart was pounding and I almost fell over.

We would have missed it if we hadn't turned right instead of left or called it quits. It was a beautiful autumn day so why not check out just one more spot.  I have been waiting for one of these to be recorded in the region for some time, since the rest of the southern part of BC seems to have them quite regularly now.  (I am also waiting for Crested Caracara, long shot but you never know).

Anyway, just a happy little Big Day story.

View the Canada list here on eBird.

Shorebird Identification Aid

East Kootenay Shorebird ID Guide by shape and size

Threw this together today for the field trip I am leading tomorrow.  It is the Rocky Mountain Naturalists annual "Shorebird" field trip.  We always do it the second week of August, hoping to get a good mix.  However, the shorebirds seemed to have started trickling in a bit earlier this year.  We never get many and love to spend hours studying them.

These are the species most common to the East Kootenay in August.  Feel free to download.  Perhaps you find a better quality photo on Flickr at https://flic.kr/p/MSaNo1

It is still a draft, really.  My intention is to go through O'Brien and tabulate id tips.  The sizes are relative and done mostly by eyeball but the ruler over the Greater Yellowlegs is to show that I am somewhat acurate in my photoshopping.

Thanks!  Enjoy!

More on Junco "Erruption"

Yes, I think we can call this an erruption of Dark-eyed Junco ... and it continues ( see previous post robin junco flip).

Let's see if eBird observations support that; let's compare this year (on the right) to last year, and then to previous years combined.

 Comparison of "Total" Dark-eyed Junco, East Kootenay, spring 2017 to spring 2018:

check out the scale on the left: 2017 upper limit = 420, 2018 upper limit = 1000

Comparison of "Abundance" of Dark-eyed Junco, East Kootenay, spring pre-2018 and spring 2018

again, check out the scale on the left: pre-2018 upper limit = 2.6, 2018 upper limit = 6.5

There are over twice as many juncos this year as we normally record.  What's up with that?  Are they coming here rather than heading to places that were burned up in forest fires last year?  Was it a good winter further south for them?

And they seem to be staying around a bit longer, rather than dispersing quickly to breeding territories.  Maybe because the snow is on the ground later and melting not so fast?

I know they are "thick" in my little yard - a dozen hanging around every day for the past two weeks.  There are still a couple of patches of snow back there but they seem happy and sing most of the day until late afternoon.

And yesterday I had quite a strange mix of birds.  Besides the juncos, and usual American Robin, there was a Mourning Dove,  a couple of Clark's Nutcracker, a Pileated Woodpecker, and a dozen Common Redpoll still!  AND a Varied Thrush later in the day.  (Redpolls seems to be holding back a bit this year.  Someone else reported a hundred of them out on a prairie.)

Nature! Always interesting!

And thanks! to all eBirders for reporting!  With so many more eBirders, we are going to be snowed under by volumes of data at this rate!

Solar veered

Long-billed Curlew "Solar" changed his mind on returning here, maybe. He was headed this way from California but veered East to Kalispell.

I posted on the Montana birding yahoo group in case anyone there could go look for him and low and behold someone did! They saw him, and maybe his new mate, and got pics of him eating a fat worm. Sweet! Thanks, Dick Walker! Great to know he is fine and has company. We shall see if he returns here or tries out a different place.

Meanwhile, Pine and Mojo were snapped on Skookumchuck Prairie and pics posted on eBird. Remote stalking is awesome! Getting out there and seeing for yourself is fun, too! Argyle is out there somewhere.

eBird works

Study shows that eBird data is actually pretty useful and just as accurate as professional studies. I knew it, I told ya so.

Time for professionals to use it more often. And while we're at it, let's keep getting all that historical data from people's journals and notebooks into eBird.  It's worth it.

Click here to go to Science Daily article

It also talks a bit about the decline in common species.

Pine heading back

Curlews returning?

Yay!  First movement of the return of the Skookumchuck Prairie IBA Long-billed Curlews returning from their wintering grounds in California.

Pine was the first of the satellite-tagged curlews to head south last year.  SHE left Skookumchuck 21st of June 2017 and headed to Enterprise, Oregon for a bit.  Then, after another couple of days stop near Arok, Oregon, she headed over Nevada for California, arriving closer to where she wanted to be for the winter, which was near Cimarron, Calif., on 27 June 2017.

She's been hanging pretty close to either side of Hanford since then.  Now, she's heading back!  Where will she go?  Will she return here or go somewhere else!

Who will be next?  Mojo was the next to leave Skookumchuck last July. Then Solar. Then Argyle.  Will they reverse their chronology?

There is still a foot of snow on the fields close to my home.  In the Kootenay River valley bottom the snow is a bit thinner, but not by much!

Robin Junco flip

I perceived we were having an unusual influx of Dark-eyed Junco this spring so I generated some eBird charts to double check.

Sure enough, there are a lot of them all of a sudden and this is quite different from last year.

With this year, 2018 on the left, and last year on the right, we can see there's been a total flip of numbers of Juncos compared to Robins.  AND they both have arrived (according to eBird reports) a bit earlier.  Mind you, we did not get the huge late dumps of snow this year as we did last year.  Still, it is mostly road edges and bare spots under trees that are providing habitat.

This makes me very happy - that there are lots of Juncos.  There has been a darth of them in the fall the last couple of years so perhaps this bodes well for the population.

I loved watching them below my living room window this morning, just feet away, no binos (or "goggles" as the RDEK planner called them the other night at a Wasa OCP open house) required.  How they could find last year's salsify seeds, minus parachute, in between the stems of creeping Thyme boggles my mind.  Then, one was actually singing from its perch on my orange honeysuckle - a rare treat.

Happy birding!

Ponderosa Silhouette

I have made a silhouette of one of the Lewis’ Woodpecker wildlife trees on Skookumchuck Prairie IBA which you can use as a photoshop brush or whatever you wish.

Link to possibly better resolution image.

Edit eBird Checklist iPad Screen Recording

Here is a demonstration of how to edit one of your eBird checklists, as captured by my iPad “screen recording” app. I did not record sound so a description is below.

This video show you

- how to quickly find the checklist you want if you know the date.

- two ways to add a species: first for one already in the list, and second to add a species not on the list.

- how to delete a species from the list

You may pause the video at anytime.

Pop up sub menus happen - ONLY to show you which button is being pressed. Take note of the button but ignore the pop ups.

Although this was recorded on an iPad, the steps are valid from any device and any web browser (Safari, Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Internet app on Android, Firefox, etc) since the eBird webpage is the same as viewed by any browser, at present.  The eBird webpages do not (yet) have “mobile” versions / formats, of their webpages. It would look the same from a desktop.

I want to find a checklist from the year 2002, so I
- show all my checklists
- use the browser’s search function - aka address bar of Safari web browser, up at the top
     - to type in the date, then
     - “Find on page” - in the drop down - scroll down til you see that, touch/click on the date
     - it will take you to the place on the webpage showing that date

To do a “find” on a desktop use ctrl-f (click on the “ctrl” key and hold, while simulateously clicking the “f” key).

- look over to the right of the checklist for “view or edit” and click on that
- your checklist will now show

- look for “edit checklist” and click on that.
- if you do your data submissions through the webpage, that is, online, you will be familiar with this layout, buttons and boxes.

In the screen recording, I was going to add “Blue Jay” - put a number in the box to the left of Blue Jay, but changed my mind.

I thought I’d show you how to add a species that is not on the list:
- click in the blue box, near top left, with the words “Jump to species” -  also on blue
- start typing a weird Bird name for around here, like “Western gull”
- eventually a pop up will appear saying “No matches on this checklist” and a big green button labelled “Add species” - click on that.
- a blue box will appear on the left
- start typing in the species you want to add and keep an eye on the drop down list that appears below
- choose the species in that drop down - click it
- fill in the details, including good field marks which distinguish it from similar species.
- you have to click the checkbox beside “Complete” before it will save.

At the end of the video is how to remove a species - which is just by clicking on “remove species” to the right of the species name. (Do not do it by changing the number seen to “zero” - zero means you were expecting to see it but didn’t)

Cranbrook and Kimberley Christmas Bird Counts

The 20^th annual Cranbrook and Kimberley Christmas Bird Counts were held on Wednesday December 27th and Saturday December 30^th, 2017 respectively.  Twenty-two people took part as field observers on one or both counts, and 20 people contributed feeder counts.  Most field observers live in Cranbrook or Kimberley but some came from Fernie and people from Edmonton and Burnaby, visiting family in the area, also helped out.  Cranbrook and Kimberley people also participate in counts in other areas; this year they went to Fernie, Creston, and Eureka, Montana.

On Count Day, teams of counters cover as much of the 24-km diameter circle as possible to tally all birds they see; feeder counters tally the highest number of a species in their yard.  Count Week extends three days either side of Count Day.  Any species NOT seen on Count Day but seen during Count Week can be included in the official report to Bird Studies Canada but numbers of individuals of “count week” species are not added to the count tally.

Cranbrook Results

Count day:  27 December 2017

Count week: 24 – 30 December 2017

Audubon / Bird Studies Canada Count #118

Total species, count day:  53

Total species, count week:  57

Total number of individuals: 2,922

The weather for the Cranbrook count was cold, as usual, with temperatures ranging from -22 C to -15 C.  Moyie Lake and the Cranbrook sewage lagoons were partly unfrozen.  People going out into the field, driving, cross-country skiing, or walking numbered 14 intrepid birders and 13 people counted at their feeders.  The 24-kilometer diameter circle goes from St. Eugene Mission to Green Bay on Moyie Lake and from Old Wycliffe to Gold Creek.  Also included is the Trans-Canada Trail to Rampart Rest Area.

Fifty-three species were recorded on count day.  This breaks the record of 52 species from December 2012.

One entirely new species was added to the total of 96 species ever seen on a count day – American Coot (1).  They are regular and common in the breeding season but usually migrate south for the winter.  During count week (3 days before and after count day), two additional species were seen: Brown Creeper, which has been relatively abundant this fall, and a Brown Thrasher, another new species for the count circle.

The Brown Thrasher is a rare visitor to Cranbrook, having been seen twice previously, in the early months of  2013 and 2015.  The bird here this year has been visiting a feeder adjacent to Joseph Creek north of the Rec Plex since the 9^th of December; but was not seen on count day.

Another rare bird in Cranbrook this winter was a female Northern Cardinal.  This is the first confirmed record for the species in British Columbia.  She too, was living along Joseph Creek from the 7^th of November to the 8^th of December.  Several birders from all over the province have driven or flown to Cranbrook to view her to add her to their British Columbia life list.  It would have been nice to see it on count day but she has not been spotted for a while.

The total number of individual birds counted was 2,922 which is about in the middle range (1,000 – 6,000).

Bohemian Waxwing (825) was the most numerous species, as usual.  Other numerous birds included Mallard (406), Rock Pigeon (246), Common Redpoll (268), House Finch (176), Common Raven (148), and American Crow (147).

Record high counts were recorded for Bald Eagle (17), Northern Flicker (37), and Blue Jay (27).  The 406 Mallards counted were the second highest ever and the 246 Rock Pigeons counted were the fifth highest.

Only 1-3 individuals were seen for 24 species such as American Goldfinch, American Robin, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Black-billed Magpie, Mourning Dove, Rough-legged Hawk, Northern Goshawk, Golden Eagle, Great Blue Heron, and Common Merganser.

For only the third time in the count’s history, Hoary Redpoll (1), Common Merganser (1), and American Wigeon (2) were sighted.

Our favourite feeder birds such as Black-capped (125) and Mountain Chickadee (113), Downy and Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Stellar’s Jay, Song Sparrow, House Finch, and Pine Siskin were counted in their usual numbers over all, even if scare at some feeders.  Evening Grosbeaks (3), low in number over the past several years, seem to have been replaced by their red-hued cousins, the Pine Grosbeak (74).

Species whose numbers appear lower than usual were Common Raven (148, average 259), Mourning Dove (1), Clark’s Nutcrackers (5), Dark-eyed Junco (7), Red Crossbill (2), and House Sparrow (11).

Notable species seen, and always nice to get were Northern Shrike (3), American Dipper (7), and Townsend’s Solitaire (13) – all showing average numbers.   Two Chestnut-backed Chickadee were recorded – they sometimes frequent feeders here in the winter, having come down from higher elevations where they breed.  A few American Robins may not go as far southward as the rest – only one was recorded this year, as was one American Goldfinch.

   

Northern Pygmy-Owl, White-breasted Nuthatch, and Brown Creeper are normally seen on count day but were not to be found this year, although the Creeper was spotted during count week.

The Count-up potluck was graciously hosted by Bob and Gretchen again this year and much warm and good food was provided and consumed.

Thanks to field counters, drivers, recordists, skiiers, hikers, feeder counters and everyone that helped make these counts successful once again!  Mark your calendars for similar dates next year!

Cranbrook Christmas Bird Count #118 – Complete list of species – 27 Dec 2017

Species	Indiv_Nr
American Wigeon	2
Mallard	406
Green-winged Teal	2
Common Goldeneye	27
Barrow's Goldeneye	1
Hooded Merganser	2
Common Merganser	1
Ruffed Grouse	2
Great Blue Heron	1
Golden Eagle	1
Northern Goshawk	1
Bald Eagle	17
Rough-legged Hawk	1
hawk sp.	1
American Coot	1
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)	246
Eurasian Collared-Dove	2
Mourning Dove	1
Downy Woodpecker	19
Hairy Woodpecker	13
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted)	37
Pileated Woodpecker	9
Merlin	4
Northern Shrike	3
Gray Jay	3
Steller's Jay	7
Blue Jay	27
Black-billed Magpie	1
Clark's Nutcracker	5
American Crow	147
Common Raven	148
Black-capped Chickadee	125
Mountain Chickadee	113
Chestnut-backed Chickadee	2
chickadee sp.	9
Red-breasted Nuthatch	50
Brown Creeper	0.1
American Dipper	7
Golden-crowned Kinglet	1
Townsend's Solitaire	13
American Robin	1
Brown Thrasher	0.1
European Starling	69
Bohemian Waxwing	825
Dark-eyed Junco	7
Song Sparrow	5
Red-winged Blackbird	5
Evening Grosbeak	3
Pine Grosbeak	74
House Finch	176
Cassin's Finch	2
Common Redpoll	268
Hoary Redpoll	1
Red Crossbill	2
Pine Siskin	14
American Goldfinch	1
House Sparrow	11

Kimberley Results

Count day:  30 December 2017

Count week: 27 December 2017 – 2 January 2018

Audubon / Bird Studies Canada Count #118 BCKB

Total species, count day:  44

Total species, count week:  4

Total number of individuals:  2,203

The weather for the Kimberley count was cold, as usual, but a little warmer than for the Cranbrook count and warmer than some of the previous years.  Temperatures ranged from -15 C to -11 C.  Significant amounts of snow overnight meant that some participants could not attend and side roads were still unplowed. Open water was visible only on the Saint Mary’s and Kootenay Rivers.

People going out into the field, driving and walking, numbered 12 intrepid birders and 7 people counted birds at their feeders.  The 24-kilometer diameter circle, although named “Kimberley”, goes from Alpine Crescent on the ski hill eastward include Bummer’s Flats, and from Wycliffe northward to Wasa.

Forty-four species were recorded on count day, which is an average number of species for the Kimberley Circle.  

Two new species were added to the all-time species list for the Kimberley circle.  One Cooper’s Hawk was spotted in Ta Ta Creek and one Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, often seen at a feeder on Wycliffe Cherry Creek Rd in winter, was finally gotten on count day.  This now puts Kimberley’s total number of species seen on count day at 80 species. 

No additional species were added during count week.  The total number of individual birds counted was 2,203 which is about in the middle range (1,200 – 6,500) for Kimberley.

Bohemian Waxwing (757) was the most numerous species, as usual, but this is one quarter of the almost 3,000 seen on the January 2000 count and a bit less than on the Cranbrook count.  Other numerous birds included Common Redpoll (369 – over a hundred more than Cranbrook), Black-capped Chickadee (125 – about the same as Cranbrook), House Finch (111), Mountain Chickadee (106), and Pine Grosbeak (102 – missed last year).

Record high counts were recorded for Snow Bunting thanks to a report of a flock of about 90 birds which has been using the fields off Porteous Road.  Record or tied-with record numbers were also counted for Canada Goose (19), Bald Eagle (14), Downy Woodpecker (38), and Pileated Woodpecker (16).  Also high were Northern Flicker (39 – 3^rd time for this highest number), and Common Redpoll (369).

Only 1-3 individuals were seen for 11 species such as Common Goldeneye, Rough-legged Hawk, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Northern Shrike, Steller’s Jay, Brown Creeper, and Pine Siskin.  Other species making a rare or unusual appearance were Chestnut-backed Chickadee (4 – 4^th time on count), Pygmy Nuthatch (4 – 4^th time), and Rough-legged Hawk (1 – 6^th time).

For the remainder of favourite feeder birds, some numbers were average and some were down.  Average or above average were Hairy Woodpecker (16), Mountain Chickadee (106), Red-breasted Nuthatch (43).  Below average were: Steller’s Jay (10), Blue Jay (2), Black-capped Chickadee (131 – even though they are one of our more numerous species), Dark-eyed Junco (7), Evening Grosbeaks (23 – still much higher than Cranbrook’s 3 birds), Red Crossbill (12), Pine Siskin (2) and House Sparrow (11)..

The number of the larger corvids, Common Raven (54) and American Crow (49), was a half to a third of their usual – perhaps because school was not in session when the Kimberley count was done so the birds were spread throughout the towns.  Clark’s Nutcracker (26) was also low.

One species seemingly increasing is the Eurasian Collared-Dove (9) which first appeared on Christmas Bird Counts in the area 6 years ago.  They were first found in Florida in 1982 and have since expanded northwest as far as Alaska, reaching this latitude in the 2010s.

Regarding Wild Turkey.  This species is seen more frequently on the Kimberley count than the Cranbrook one.  The 3 or 4 turkeys that made a corner of Marysville their winter home late last winter were not to be seen, but 39 were counted in other areas within the count circle.

Other notable species seen, and always nice to get were American Dipper (4) along Mark Creek and the St. Mary’s River, as usual, and Townsend’s Solitaire (10).

   

Species missed, which are usually seen on half the counts over the past 20 years were Red-tailed Hawk, American Robin, Dark-eyed Junco, and American Goldfinch.

Also missed was a bird representing the first documented sighting of the species in the East Kootenay.  Throught the fall and early winter, a single Anna’s Hummingbird was frequenting a heated feeder on Clearview Road.  This was the first documented Anna’s for the East Kootenay.  Unfortunately, the bird has not been seen since 16 December 2017.  Reports of it being chased by a Northern Shrike may explain its disappearance.  The Anna’s is known to be less likely to migrate and will brave cold temperature and snow, even when nesting.  It has been expanding its range northward from California since the 1960s.

The Count-up was hosted by Marysville Pub who are always very accommodating to our group and have great food and service.  Thank you!

Thanks to all field counters, drivers, recordists, hikers, feeder counters and everyone that helps make these counts successful!  Special thanks to new-to-the-circle CBCrs Shannon and Martin for stepping up and taking on a whole area on their first time out.  Hope you all had fun and can be a CBCer again next year!

Kimberley Christmas Bird Count #118 – Complete list of species – 30 Dec 2017

Species	Indiv_Nr
Canada Goose	19
Common Goldeneye	1
Common Merganser	6
Duck sp.	1
Wild Turkey	39
Cooper's Hawk	1
Bald Eagle	14
Rough-legged Hawk	1
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)	20
Eurasian Collared-Dove	9
Northern Pygmy-Owl	2
Downy Woodpecker	38
Hairy Woodpecker	17
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted)	39
Pileated Woodpecker	16
Northern Shrike	2
Steller's Jay	3
Blue Jay	2
Black-billed Magpie	11
Clark's Nutcracker	26
American Crow	49
Common Raven	54
Black-capped Chickadee	131
Mountain Chickadee	106
Chestnut-backed Chickadee	4
chickadee sp.	10
Red-breasted Nuthatch	43
White-breasted Nuthatch	4
Pygmy nuthatch	4
Brown Creeper	2
American Dipper	4
Townsend's Solitaire	10
European Starling	17
Bohemian Waxwing	757
Snow Bunting	90
American Tree Sparrow	4
Song Sparrow	5
Evening Grosbeak	23
Pine Grosbeak	102
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch	1
House Finch	111
Cassin's Finch	10
Common Redpoll	369
Red Crossbill	12
Pine Siskin	2
House Sparrow	12