The annual Williams Lake Field Naturalists Christmas bird count was held on Dec. 20, 2015 under variable weather conditions.
The 30 participants in the field as well as over a dozen feeder watchers ended the day with a total species list of 59 with two birds seen during the count week; a Harris’s Sparrow which showed up at a Borland Road feeder the next day, and an American Three-toed Woodpecker reported from Hodgson Road the day before.
This was the second best count in our 48 year history with the highest count of 62 species happening in 2008 under more favourable conditions when several ducks, grebes and even a loon were counted on the mostly open Williams Lake.
A snow squall which came across the area in the morning made bird counting close to impossible for a short time.
After it cleared the remainder of the day was fairly pleasant but gave no indication we would end up with a record total count of 5,251 birds.
Keeping in mind that one third of this number consisted of Bohemian Waxwings, this was still an impressive total.
Impressive was also the word used by several parties to describe the spectacle of a swirling flock of well over 1,000 waxwings which appeared over town shortly after the snow cleared and which split and joined as they crisscrossed the city.
The final total was estimated at a conservative 1,751 birds.
The previous high total for the count was 4,908 in 2006, another good waxwing year. The average for the last 10 years stands at 4,153.
Despite the high numbers there were no new species for the count and less than usual high species counts.
Not even the waxwings were a count high.
Making the list this year were 18 Eurasian Collared-Doves which were not recorded on the count until 2011 and had a previous high of 6. Spotted Towhee (5), White-throated Sparrow (4) and American Goldfinch (102) all exceeded their previous highs by one.
The only truly unexpected bird was a Yellow-headed Blackbird on South Mackenzie which had only previously appeared on the count in 1969.
Three species of owl is always good to find in daylight and we had a good selection of raptors.
White-winged Crossbills have recently returned after a lengthy absence from the local area and Gray-crowned Rosy Finches made the their first appearance since 1995. Pine Grosbeaks also made an impressive showing.
Results of this and over 2,000 other counts across North America are submitted to the National Audubon Society and Bird Studies Canada which make the data readily available for researchers’ studying the dynamics of wintering bird populations.
59 bird species in the count
A total of 5,251birds in 59 species were recorded during the Williams Lake Christmas Bird Count as follows:
Mallard 66
Nothern Pintail 1
Green-winged Teal 1
Common Goldeneye 2
Ruffed Grouse 1
Bald Eagle 19
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2
Northern Goshawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Golden Eagle 2
Killdeer 3
Wilson’s Snipe 1
Rock Pigeon 410
Eurasian Collared-Dove 18
Mourning Dove 2
Northern Pygmy-Owl 4
Great Gray Owl 1
Short-eared Owl 1
Downy Woodpecker 28
Hairy Woodpecker 28
American Three-toed Woodpecker (during count week)
Black-backed Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 47
Pileated Woodpecker 10
Merlin 3
Northern Shrike 7
Gray Jay 12
Black-billed Magpie 15
American Crow 342
Common Raven 379
Black-capped Chickadee 265
Mountain Chickadee 163
Red-breasted Nuthatch 64
Brown Creeper 4
American Dipper 21
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
Townsend’s Solitaire 28
American Robin 12
Varied Thrush 1
European Starling 201
Bohemian Waxwing 1,751
Spotted Towhee 5
American Tree Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 36
White-throated Sparrow 4
Harris’s Sparrow (during count week)
White-crowned Sparrow 4
Dark-eyed Junco 107
Red-winged Blackbird 3
Yellow-headed Blackbird 1
Brewer’s Blackbird 5
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch 10
Pine Grosbeak 308
House Finch 282
White-winged Crossbill 35
Common Redpoll 131
Pine Siskin 5
American Goldfinch 102
Evening Grosbeak 9
House Sparrow 279
Total Birds 5,251
Total Species 59