Submitted by The Buffalo Lake Nature Club
Started in 1900, the Christmas Bird Count is North America’s longest-running Citizen Science project. Counts happen in over 2000 localities throughout the Western Hemisphere.
The information collected by thousands of volunteer participants forms one of the world’s largest sets of wildlife survey data. The results are used daily by conservation biologists and naturalists to assess the population trends and distribution of birds.
Each Christmas Bird Count is conducted on a single day between December 14 and January 5. Counts are carried out within a 24-km diameter circle that stays the same from year to year. They are organized, usually as group efforts, at the local level, often by a birding club or naturalist organization.
The Buffalo Lake Nature Club is requesting any local residents who enjoy watching and /or feeding birds to help us with the three Christmas Bird Counts in our area. Each circle is 24-km wide, so there is a lot of ground to cover to spot the birds!
If you would like to count, please contact Chris Pfeifle at 403-740-3636.
Knowing who is counting and where, prevents overlap of counting areas.
If you have family, especially grandchildren visiting for the holidays, this is a great way to engage the family in nature and the outdoors.
You may participate by watching at your feeders, while driving or using any mode of transportation or when out for a walk in your local area.
Counters record the species and numbers of all wildlife, how long they observed and how many people were participating. Driving or walking distance is recorded, as are the high and low temperatures, snow depth, wind and sky conditions. You may count anytime between 9 AM and 5 PM, with no minimum time required – even 15 minutes is helpful. You can also Owl, which is counting before 9:00 AM or after 5:00 PM. Information on Christmas bird counts can be found on the website birdscanada.org
On December 17, In the Stettler area, the Buffalo Lake Nature Club will do the Stettler Circle. This area includes the town of Stettler, East to Botha, west to Shuckburgh Slough, South past Warden to Ross Lake Road and North to Highway 601 East of Red Willow. These areas are very large so more people observing in their area helps to have more accurate data.
If you are living in this area and enjoy watching birds at your feeders and while you are out driving please consider keeping a record and submitting your findings. If you would like to join us in a driving route, the more vehicles and eyes are always appreciated. We will be meeting at St. George’s Anglican Church 4817-51 Street, Stettler at 1.p.m.
Anyone is welcome to submit their individual findings; you can also join us about 4:30 p.m. at the lower hall of St George’s Anglican Church for a potluck dinner and share our findings and rare and interesting sightings. You can also send your findings to buffalolakenc@gmail.com .
Join in the fun, spend a day focusing on nature and appreciate the wildlife near you by participating in the annual Christmas Bird Count.
Check www.buffalolakenature.com for more information on meeting places for the other Buffalo Lake Nature Club bird counts:
December 24, Buffalo Lake Count -North of Township Rd 39 -2 South of Highway 53 East Rg Rd 202 and West to the village of Mirror. This area also includes: Pelican Point, White Sands, Rochon Sands, and The Narrows.
December 31,Red Deer River Count -South of Twp Rd 392 North of Twp Rd 364 West to Rg Rd 230 and East to Rg Rd 204 including Erskine Lakes, Foxall Lakes, Ewing Lake and the Red Deer River, Erskine, and Nevis.
These circles are especially difficult for us to cover due to the difficult terrain, so if you live in the area and would be interested in submitting your observations we would greatly appreciate the assistance. Please send us an email with your sightings or join us after for refreshments (Place and time TBA)
For information on the Buffalo Lake Nature Club bird counts and our regular monthly meetings and activities Call Chris Pfeifle at 403-740-3636 and check out the website.