Woodpeckers and collared doves dominate bird count. Also, keep your dogs leashed in Riverlot 56, please.

Birds counted

There were collared doves and giant woodpeckers aplenty in this year’s Christmas Bird Count, and possibly a record number of a certain patriotic sparrow.

Count co-ordinator Alan Hingston released the results of the 28th annual St. Albert Christmas Bird Count this week. Held Dec. 28, the count saw 117 people watch feeders and beat bushes all day in a 24-kilometre-wide circle centred on the old St. Albert Airport as part of an ongoing effort to track trends in bird populations.

Hingston said he was a bit disappointed by the turnout, which was the second lowest in the last decade despite the pleasant -5 C weather and on par with last year’s paltry participation.

Spotters identified some 4,622 birds from 33 species during the count – the second-smallest number of birds spotted in the last 10 years.

A record 15 Eurasian collared doves turned up in the count, 11 of which were spotted in one place by Hingston himself. These sandy-brown doves favour spruce trees and feeders in the winter and are known for the black crescent on the back of their neck.

First spotted in St. Albert in 2010, these birds have been gradually moving up through Alberta over the decades, sometimes leap-frogging areas only to backfill them later, Hingston said.

“They seem to like those subdivisions around (Edmonton) as their prime habitat,” he said, noting that they have yet to show up in the Edmonton bird count.

Counters noted a record 24 pileated woodpeckers (black, white, red crest, huge), continuing an upward trend in the species since 1991. The inexorable rise of the house finch (a brown and white finch that looks like it just finished a cherry-pie-eating contest) seems to have stalled, with numbers dropping for the second year in a row following the 2016 peak.

Five snowy owls swooped in for the count, three of which were still hanging around Ray Gibbon Drive to the delight of city residents this week. Hingston said this was the first time in 35 years he’s seen these stealthy predators linger near that road, and he suspected that they may have been drawn there by mice displaced by construction work at the nearby Riverside development.

Counters may have spotted a record 18 white-throated sparrows (yellow eyebrows, white throat, sings “oh sweet Canada Canada Canada”), but Hingston said he had yet to verify 12 of those sightings. If confirmed, this would be a very unusual jump in this bird’s population – there are usually no more than two of these birds in town during the count, and the current record is five.

The count data has been forwarded to Bird Studies Canada for further analysis, Hingston said.

Visit tabsoft.co/2Vybpcm for an interactive graph of all St. Albert bird counts since 1991.



Riverlot is on leash

St. Albert skiers and river-lot watchers say dog-owners need to keep their pets leashed so people can stay safe in Riverlot 56.

Georges Binette of the Riverlot 56 Natural Area Society called the Gazette this week to remind people that the riverlot was an on-leash zone for dogs.

Binette said the society (which is the riverlot’s steward) has seen an uptick in reports of loose dogs and uncollected dog poop this winter, in addition to large “fetch” sticks left on ski trails set by the St. Albert Nordic Ski Club (STANSKI).

STANSKI president Katie Kohlenberg said loose dogs mess up ski trails and spook wildlife, the latter of which could cause moose to charge at humans. The sight of a big dog running at them can also make people feel unsafe, Binette added.

Kohlenberg and Binette asked dog owners to keep their pets leashed in Riverlot 56 and to clean up after them.