CANADIAN PRAIRIES AND NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
Richard Cannings

This is another new region for Christmas Bird Counts, essentially the eastern section of Western and Northern Canada. I had hoped to turn this area over to a genuine prairie resident, and Wayne Harris, the long time organizer of Christmas Counts in Saskatchewan, offered to take on the task. Unfortunately, the production schedule impinged on the spring field season and he had to withdraw his offer at the last minute.

A total of 68 counts was submitted this year, up significantly from 57 last year. Seven brand new counts are welcomed from Fort McLeod and Saint Albert in Alberta; Kennedy, Kinloch and Leader South in Saskatchewan, and Fort Smith and Norman Wells in the Northwest Territories (NWT). Across the region 119 species were recorded, 110 in Alberta, 70 in Saskatchewan, 77 in Manitoba and 20 in the Northwest Territories. Calgary topped the Alberta counts as usual with 62 species, but this year Edmonton was right behind with 61. Saskatoon was far ahead of rival counts in Saskatchewan with 41 species, but the big story on the prairies was from Manitoba, where Winnipeg came up with a record 52 species. In the north, the sophomore Fort Simpson count led the territorial counts with 14 species.

The weather story this year started in early December with a cold snap that sent many birds southwards before the count began. During the count period, weather was quite variable--some counts were bitterly cold (such as Lac La Biche, AB at -34ºC (-29ºF)) while others such as Biggar, SK had unseasonable rain. I hasten to add that it was still only -6ºC (21ºF) at Biggar, so the rain quickly froze and created "treacherous conditions and rather brutal birding" to quote compiler Guy Wapple. The Seine Valley, MB count was rescheduled because of a blizzard, while Hinton, AB counters were blasted by a chinook, a warm wind out of the Rockies, with temperatures up to 5ºC (41ºF).

The Canadian Prairies are generally not a hotbed for waterfowl in winter, and this year as usual, most reports came from a handful of counts in Alberta. A Snow Goose at Lac La Biche was completely unexpected. Calgary reported a Trumpeter Swan, three Wood Ducks, a Harlequin Duck, and a Long-tailed Duck, the latter easily being the biggest surprise there. The powerplants at Wabamun Lake produced enough open water to attract the region's only Ring-necked Ducks, Greater Scaup, and Ruddy Duck. A single Gadwall at Gardiner Dam, Saskatchewan's winter haven for waterbirds, was a highlight there. The most exciting duck in Manitoba was Winnipeg's first ever Hooded Merganser.

Bald Eagles were unusually numerous in Alberta, with 84 reported, but the high total for an individual count was 23 at Gardiner Dam, SK. Northern Goshawk numbers were at record levels too, particularly in Manitoba, probably in response to a crash in snowshoe hare populations in northern Canada. High numbers such as these haven't been reported since 1991 after the last hare population crash. Only one goshawk was reported from NWT this year. Gyrfalcons also came south in good numbers this year with 16 seen, including two at Calgary, two at Winnipeg and three at Gardiner Dam. These are also the highest numbers since 1991.

Conversely, Willow Ptarmigan numbers have gone down in the NWT as predators turn on the ptarmigan now that the hares are gone. Yellowknife had 99 ptarmigan, about half their normal count, and Norman Wells only 18. As usual, Churchill, MB reported the only Rock Ptarmigan--21 of them.

Any gull is a rarity on the prairies in winter, and this year there was only one--a Ring-billed at Cochrane, AB. A total of seven Mourning Doves toughed it out across the region, most of them losing toes to frostbite in the process. Interestingly, Great Horned Owl numbers didn't increase dramatically this year (as they did on the Pacific coast) as hare numbers declined in the north; only 152 were counted across the region. While this is slightly above normal, it is still well below the numbers usually reported at the cycle peak. Northern Pygmy-Owls were in good numbers in foothills of the Alberta Rockies, where Sheep River tallied seven.

The big owl stories were from the two enigmatic northern owls--the Northern Hawk Owl and the Great Gray. Forty hawk owls were seen--38 of them in Alberta, one in Red River-St. Adolphe, MB and one in Norman Wells, NWT. Lac La Biche had seven, while The Snake's Head and Cochrane Wildlife Reserve had six each. Great Gray numbers were more evenly spread across the prairies, with 48 in Alberta , 22 in Saskatchewan and 36 in Manitoba. High numbers were 24 at Pinawa-Lac-du-Bonnet, MB, 18 at Turtle Lake-Fairholme, SK, and 11 at Snake's Head, AB. Three Long-eared Owls at Edmonton and a single at Snake's Head were noteworthy. Edmonton's keen owlers also had four Boreal and 20 Northern Saw-whet owls.

Six Black-backed Woodpeckers at Edmonton was a good total for this species; Fort Simpson had the only one from NWT. Edmonton also had nine Townsend's Solitaires wandering out of their mountain stronghold; one got as far east as Medicine Hat, AB. A few Varied Thrushes also drifted east; Edmonton and Fort McMurray, AB had one each, while Saskatoon had two and Winnipeg one. Bohemian Waxwing numbers were mediocre across the region, with only 27,377 reported, the high count was 7078 at Calgary.

Unusual feeder birds across the prairies included a Spotted Towhee at Saskatoon, a Fox Sparrow at Fort McMurray, a White-crowned Sparrow at Edmonton, a Brown-headed Cowbird at Saskatoon (huddling in a shed for the second winter in a row), and a Northern Cardinal at Winnipeg. Forest finches put on a very lacklustre performance across the region. Redpoll numbers in particular were low, with only 2514 Commons and 115 Hoaries reported. Most of the few Red and White-winged crossbills were in Alberta. Perhaps the most interesting finch story was the fact that House Finches are finally solidifying a beachhead in Alberta, with 137 at Medicine Hat and 60 at Calgary.