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LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
Two red-breasted nuthatches created one of the highlights of an annual holiday tradition in Fort Simpson.

Residents are reporting that willow ptarmigan are more common than usual this winter in Fort Simpson, a trend that was reflected in the Christmas bird count numbers. - photo courtesy of Doug Tate

The nuthatches were two of the approximately 544 birds that were sighted on Dec. 27 during the 12th annual Christmas bird count in the village. This is the first time that the species has been found during the count, said Doug Tate, who organized the event.

"They are not very common," he said.

Fort Simpson is at the edge of the species' range and many migrate south in the winter. The two nuthatches were spotted at a bird feeder in Nogha Heights.

On Dec. 27, 15 volunteers scanned the skies, bird feeders, bushes and trees around the village to record both the number of species and the number of birds in the area for the count.

The event in the village is part of a much larger count that takes place across North and South America between Dec. 14 to Jan. 5. In Canada the findings from the counts are sent to Bird Studies Canada and then on to the National Audubon Society in the United States, which has been organizing the count for more than 110 years. The census helps assess the health of bird populations in the survey areas.

Having organized the count for 12 years in Fort Simpson, Tate said it's always interesting to get outside and see what is active in the winter.

"There's always the chance of finding something new," he said.

Most participants in the count volunteered to look for birds in a specific area or at their bird feeder. Tate started the count day early by listening for owls on the highway to Wrigley before daybreak.

He later snowshoed in the Martin River area, walked along the road to the wood lot and did a survey of the landfill and around the village to get as many birds for the count as possible.

In addition to the sighting of two red-breasted nuthatches, one of the other highlights of this year's count was the higher number of willow ptarmigans. In general residents have said they are seeing more this winter and 16 were seen during the count, said Tate.

White-winged crossbills, a finch species, were also more abundant with 58 spotted. The species has only been seen once before during the count.

The white-winged crossbill feeds almost exclusively on the cones of white spruces and tamaracks and there seems to be a good white spruce crop this year, Tate said.

As usual, the common raven topped the list of the most common species seen with at least 243 counted. The pine grosbeak, which is fairly common every year, came in second with 80.

Some species were notable because of their absence. Evening grosbeaks, a finch species identified by their yellow and black plumage, are usually seen in small numbers during the count. This year there were none. Tate said their absence could be part of a national trend, noting that the evening grosbeak is being reviewed as a possible species at risk.

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