We awoke to two feet of fresh snow as far as the eye could see for the Pemberton and Mount Currie Christmas Bird Count on Dec. 18. Nonetheless, a dozen brave souls set out for the 125th annual Christmas Bird Count in North America.
Some cars wouldn’t start and some were snowed-in, but the count continued.
The bird of the day was a lonely Anna’s hummingbird, which looked lost surrounded by so much snow: Snow, snow, everywhere, nor any drop to drink.
It was named after Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, the Mexican leader at the Alamo in 1836.
Of interest was an American three-toed woodpecker, which is new to our area. Back in the day when they were still lumped, a European three-toed was seen near Lake Baikal, Russia.
A hermit thrush turned up, which is an unusual sighting in winter.
Some of our traditional routes were impassable and any lesser road off the Whistler highway was blocked by snow.
The soil-making company was open, allowing a count of 223 American crows. Dark-eyed juncos held the record with 277 seen.
Thirty-one bald eagles were noted, and three rough-legged hawks, which are not common.
Chestnut-backed chickadees (four of them) were seen despite being uncommon in our area. American dippers (five spotted) are always a joy to see bobbing their way up icy streams.
One deranged individual set out alone at 4 a.m. in search of owls. After three hours of wandering around in the dark, three owls were added: Great horned owl, barred, and northern saw-whet.
Later, during the day, a northern pygmy owl was seen.
Altogether, 53 species were seen, which compares favourably with previous years. However, the sum of birds recorded was 1,058, significantly less than in the past.
This was probably due to the adverse conditions.
We also want to give a big thank you to the Pemberton Wildlife Association for supporting us for the post-count wrap-up, held at the Town Square Restaurant in Pemberton.
