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'Like a treasure hunt': Christmas bird count numbers in from NWT

Birders went out and gathered numbers for the annual Christmas Bird Count in Yellowknife and Hay River, N.W.T.

'In 1973, and we had 300 ravens. Now, we're over 2,000 ravens,' says Bob Bromley

Priscilla Hwang · CBC News ·
A Bohemian Waxwing in Hay River, N.W.T. in December. They come in large flocks for the berries, says Vizniowski. (submitted by Gary Vizniowski)

Yellowknife birder Bob Bromley says every Christmas Bird Count is "a little bit like a treasure hunt."

"You just never know what you'll see," says Bromley, a bird biologist and former N.W.T MLA.

This past December was the start of the 117th annual bird count. There were more than 12.2 million birds counted in North America this bird-counting season — December to today — according to the National Audubon Society, a non-profit environmental organization that seeks to protect birds and other wildlife.

Yellowknife seeing more ravens, woodpeckers and magpies

Birders are seeing more magpies in Yellowknife and it might be for man-made reasons, says Bromley.

A House Sparrow on Vizniowski's feeder in Hay River, N.W.T. (submitted by Gary Vizniowski)

"When we started to have a lot of dog teams put up in town, just the waste from feeding those dog teams provide the food supply for the magpies," says Bromley.

Raven counts in Yellowknife have also significantly increased over the years, says Bromley.

"Our first bird count was in 1973, and we had 300 ravens. Now, we're over 2,000 ravens."

A male Pine Grosbeak on Vizniowski's feeder. 'They are regulars,' he says. (submitted by Gary Vizniowski)

Birders in the city are also sighting more woodpeckers.

"The last number of years, we've been seeing a lot of woodpeckers as well. This year, we've got three species of woodpeckers."

The Pine Grosbeak and Bohemian Waxwings have also been on the increase, says Bromley.

"We have probably half a dozen core species in Yellowknife and then the challenge is to build that up into more," says Bromley. "Lately, we've been getting over ten species which is pretty good compared to the old days."

Hay River numbers

Overall bird numbers were down over a hundred in Hay River, according to Gary Vizniowski. Birders counted 15 species in total in Hay River which is the average.

"Our Gray Jay numbers were down this year, our Bohemian Waxwing numbers were down," says Vizniowski, who feeds and counts birds as a retirement project.
The Gray Jay is one of three regulars at a local feeder, says Vizniowski. (submitted by Gary Vizniowski)

But Hay River's magpie population saw an increase like Yellowknife.

"Our magpie numbers are way up, from ten to fifteen years ago."

The only "out of range" bird this year was the American Robin. "We didn't see it on count day, but we saw [them] a couple of days before which we call count week. Robins are common in the summer as everybody knows, but we had a number of them sticking around in the fall."

Red-Breasted Nuthatches are found in Hay River and not in Yellowknife. Birders are also noticing Willow Ptarmigans are lingering in Yellowknife and not crossing the Great Slave Lake to Hay River. 
'I was crossing the ice bridge to the Hay River reserve when I encountered it. It made a circle around me, stopping to check me out, and then continued looking for lunch," says Vizniowski, recalling a surprise encounter with a red fox, during his bird counting expedition. (submitted by Gary Vizniowski)

"It would be lovely to see some of those nuthatches from Hay River," says Bromley.

Bromley says these fluctuations and changes in the migratory patterns may be associated with the changing climate.

with files from Loren McGinnis, Joanne Stassen

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