A well-known birding jewel once again could be counted on for what has become a Christmas tradition.
Frank Lake, located approximately five kilometres east of High River, was an ideal location to find our fine-feathered friends for the annual Christmas bird count.
“We spotted a mourning dove by Frank Lake,” said Greg Wagner, a biologist and one of the organizers of the High River and area Christmas bird count. “It’s not the first time we have seen one on the count but it’s been a number of years.”
The lake, which is managed by Ducks Unlimited, has been a popular birding site for years and is well known for the waterfowl, which visit the lake in the spring and warmer months.
However, more than a few ducks and other birds were hanging around for the winter.
“We had three duck species, the lesser scaup, green-winged teal and gadwall,” Wagner said. “There were also several killdeer and a song sparrow which was interesting to have because it is not a bird we see every year.
“It’s a bird that is hanging around the open water at Frank Lake.”
The bird with the Beethoven No. 5-like song and speckled chest had been seen in mid January.
“It’s surviving at Frank Lake and we will see if it makes until spring,” he said.
He said the bird may be calling the lake home due to the mild winter so far in the Foothills area.
A large number of common redpolls were found at Frank Lake and in southern Alberta.
“The number of redpolls were really huge, there are some years when you won’t see any and it is related to food production,” he said. “There is just a lack of seed production in northern areas, they come further south.”
Similar things were happening about 45km northwest of Frank Lake.
The Sheep River Christmas bird count took place after the holiday on Dec. 30, it encompasses an area of an approximate 12-km radius northwest of Turner Valley.
The count yielded 3,482 birds of 41 species.
There was also a record that might have had some thinking it came from south of the 49th parallel.
“Fifty-one wild turkeys and 15 bald eagles, 12 adults, were new high counts,” said Sheep River bird count organizer Doug Collister.
The birders were on the mark this year.
“Nine pileated woodpeckers was a high count but not a new record, while 12 northern shrikes tied the previous high count,” he said.
The redpolls, a dainty, pretty bird with a drop of red on its head and its chest, were also making its presence known over the holidays.
“Pine grosbeaks, white-winged crossbills and common redpolls are irruptive winter visitors to the Sheep River CBC (Christmas bird count) area and this is a high, although not record, year with counts of 223, 777 and 298 respectively,” he said.
The bird counts are part of a North American-wide initiative of the Audobon Society to track trends in species across the continent. For more information go to www.audubon.org/conservation/science/christmas-bird-count
