Tweets,

Sorry this took so long. One of my observers fell terribly ill for several
weeks, and was unable to send me their results. I did not want to send
incomplete results.

Here are the final three area totals (17 out of 18 areas were surveyed;
Pitt Meadows South was incomplete) for the January Raptor Census
organized by the Vancouver Natural History Society and the Burke Mountain
Naturalists. Thanks again to all volunteers.

Surrey North:

Brian Scott, Larry Cowan


Bald Eagle-- 13 ad, 3 imm
Northern Harrier-- 4 female/imm
Red-tailed Hawk-- 5 adults (1 dark phase), 21 unaged


Delta North of Highway 99:

Sandy Lee, Danny Tyson, Andrea Tanaka

Red-tailed Hawk-- 2 adults, 3 juveniles, 1 unaged
Bald Eagle-- 139 adults, 64 juveniles, 6 unaged
Rough-legged Hawk-- 1 adult, 1 unaged


Iona and Sea Islands

Martin McNicholl

Bald Eagle-- 3 adults, 5 immatures
Northern Shrike-- 1 adult
American Kestrel-- 1 adult female
Red-tailed Hawk-- 2 immatures, 3 adults
Rough-legged Hawk-- 1 adult female
Northern Harrier-- 4 adults, 1 immature

Total Species: 14

Total Individuals by Species:

Bald Eagle: 466 (about a 3:1 adult-juvenile ratio; most juvies seem to be
hanging out at the dump)

Red-tailed Hawk: 136

Rough-legged Hawk: 17

Northern Harrier: 57 (mostly female/immature birds, as usual)

Sharp-shinned Hawk: 2

Cooper's Hawk: 5

American Kestrel: 1

Merlin: 5

Peregrine Falcon: 4

Barn Owl: 2

Great Horned Owl: 2

Long-eared Owl: 3

Short-eared Owl: 3

Northern Saw-whet Owl: 1


For Comparison:

January 1973 and 78 totals (compiled by Jude Grass): note these totals do
not include all areas counted in 1998--Surrey and Colony Farm areas were
not counted

Marsh Hawk: 54 (1973); 91 (1978); 57 (1998)
Red-tailed Hawk: 30 (1973); 97 (1978); 136 (1998)
Rough-legged Hawk: 42 (1973); 12 (1978); 17 (1998)
Sharp-shinned Hawk: 1 (1973); 4 (1978); 2 (1998)
Cooper's Hawk: 1 (1973); 2 (1978); 5 (1998)
Bald Eagle: 9 (1973); 10 (1978); 466 (1998)
American Kestrel: 1 (1973); 3 (1978); 1 (1998)
Merlin: 1 (1973); 4 (1978); 5 (1998)
Peregrine Falcon: 3 (1973); 1 (1978); 4 (1998)
Gyrfalcon: 1 (1973)
Turkey Vulture: 1 (1978)
Short-eared Owl: 57 (1973); 29 (1978); 3 (1998)
Snowy Owl: 54 (1973); 8 (1978)
Barn Owl: 2 (1973); 4 (1978); 2 (1998)
Great Horned Owl: 1 (1978); 2 (1998)
Long-eared Owl: 2 (1978); 3 (1998)
Northern Shrike: 4 (1973); 11 (1978); 1 (1998)

COMMENTS:

This count is till in its infancy, and we are still smoothing all the
wrinkles out, so this is only part of the picture, but what a
picture it is! Short-eared Owl numbers are way, way down. In the 70s it
was "the third most common summer raptor and fourth most common winter
raptor." Now it is fifth least common!! This has long been evident, but it
is still amazing to see exactly how small their population has become.

Rough-legged numbers are also down, from third most common to fourth
(although this change does not reflect how dramatically fewer birds there
are). It is interesting that Jude remarks in her summary: "This species
is exceptionally tame and is therefore susceptible to hunting." Hopefully
this is not the cause of its decline. I have a feeling that habitat
destruction alone in this area could be the cause. However, I plan to
speak to Reggie Ho, who is the representative of several organisations,
including the Vancouver Natural History Society on the Vancouver Airport
development controversies. The VNHS has been refused access to information
about the bird-kill campaign since it received a copy of a contractor's
report on the effects of bird strikes on aircrafts. The "scientists" found
that bird strikes had increased dramatically in recent years. Of course,
they didn't mention that one reason why the strikes have increased in
recent years is because people are being paid to look now, while before
only strikes which caused dammage were reported. We'll see what
happens--I"m sure Reggie will know best how to tackle this problem.

As I have already mentioned, we have lots to straighten out still with the
count. Timing is definitely important, and might help increase the owl
numbers. I have also noticed that the eagles tend to be in the fields
until about 11:00, then head to the dump. So, observers out before 11 will
count many more than those out after 11. However, especially on windy
days, harriers and other small species will often sleep in until the late
morning.

We attempt to count morphs, sex and age where possible. As of next count,
Great Blue Herons will also be included in the count, to help out the
Heron Stewardship Program.

The next count will happen on March 21-22. Everyone is welcome.

Thanks again to all who volunteered,

Kyle Elliott
khelliot at unixg.ubc.ca
Delta, BC