The 30th Annual Prince George Christmas Bird Count was held Dec. 21, 1997. The
weather was fantastic with sunny skies, light winds, and temperatures just below
freezing. The mild El Nino winter weather to date and lack of a significant
snowpack allowed several species which normally leave the area in winter to
linger and be counted. The 34 field observers tallied 4902 birds of 45 different
species, both numbers a bit above the longterm average for the count. Some unusual
totals included the eight Rough-legged Hawks at the airport, three American Robins,
an American Kestrel, and three Canada Geese - only the 2nd time that Canada Geese
have been recorded on the census. Also, record high numbers of some species were
encountered including 52 Bald Eagles at Veeken's Poultry Farm on Blackburn Road
(average 6-10 eagles), an astounding 19 Short-eared Owls at the airport, 15 Song
Sparrows, 15 Northern Flickers, and 224 Red-winged Blackbirds. Counts for Fort
St. James and Quesnel are scheduled for this coming weekend.

An enumerated species list will follow when I get back from holidays!




Jack Bowling
Prince George, BC
jbowling at direct.ca

cc: Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>