A total of 54 Christmas Bird Counts (CBC) were completed in Alberta this past season, one count less than the year previous. Calgary was the only circle to breach the 60 species mark with 63, followed closely by Medicine Hat and Edmonton, which had 52 and 47 species, respectively.
The weather this past CBC period can be described as typical for the province. Milder weather in November allowed some larger water bodies to remain open later than usual, although a cold snap in December effectively closed up many water bodies before the count period. Snow cover was generally average throughout the province. A few counts were conducted on days with poor weather, high winds in particular, which may have contributed to lower than average totals.
A total of six Snow Geese were a new species from Calgary, and a great winter bird for the province. Two Cackling Geese, also from Calgary, were the only ones reported. Other waterfowl highlights include one Blue-winged Teal at Tofield, one Northern Shoveler at Hinton, and one Ring-necked Duck at Calgary.
Sharp-tailed Grouse numbers were average throughout the province, although the three birds at Calgary were the first after an over 20 year absence!
A count week Great Blue Heron at Waterton Lakes N.P. was the only reported for the season.
One Pied-billed Grebe was at Wabamun Lake, while a second bird was at Calgary.
Wilson’s Snipe was the only shorebird to be recorded during the CBC season in Alberta with single birds coming from the mountain/foothills region: Banff-Canmore, Crowsnest Pass, and Hinton.
Gulls during the CBC season were few and far between with one Ring-billed at Calgary, and one presumed Franklin’s at Lethbridge, the latter being one of the rarest species for the count period.
Owl numbers seemed low as compared to most years although 11 Northern Pygmy-Owls at Cochrane Wildlife Reserve were notable.
Single Gyrfalcon records came in from Edmonton, Spirit River, and Wabamun Lake.
Similar to last year, one Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was counted at Strathcona this year. The only Belted Kingfisher in the province was at Calgary.
Limited open running water forced American Dippers to descend to lower elevations, and an astonishingly high count of 68 individuals was at Crowsnest Pass alone!
The only Varied Thrush for the province was at Greenshields.
It seemed to be a successful year for overwintering Harris’s Sparrows in Alberta with four birds at Nanton, two at Dinosaur, one at Fort McMurray, and a count week bird at Lethbridge. Wintering White-throated Sparrows seem to be on the rise with 20 birds at Edmonton alone! Snow Buntings were detected in typical numbers with the highest count coming in from Innisfail with 3000.
Rusty Blackbirds were in their typical small numbers although a high count of 10 were at Cochrane Wildlife Reserve. High River and Medicine Hat each contributed three Brewer’s Blackbirds. High River also had two Common Grackles while singles were detected at Beaverlodge, Cold Lake (CW), Elnora, and Fort McMurray.
It was not an especially ‘finchy’ year but healthy Common Redpoll totals numbering over 500 came in from Athabasca, Opal, and Wabamun Lake. A total of 24 Hoary Redpolls were reported from eight circles. Crossbill numbers were noticeably low compared to irruption years.