Fort Simpson (Jan 12/07) - Wherever local birds were on Dec. 23, they weren't hanging around Fort Simpson waiting to be counted.

Twelve people turned their eyes to the skies, trees and bird feeders around the village as part of the annual Christmas Bird Count.

With a pair of binoculars in hand, Doug Tate watches the birds at a backyard feeder in the village. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

This was the eighth count held in Fort Simpson and the 107th in North America.

Even with a good turnout of watchers, the birds were few and far between. Only 10 species were found, fewer than the average of 14 from other years, said Doug Tate. Among those missing were two woodpecker and one finch species. Only one woodpecker species of the usual three and four of the five finch species were found, said Tate.

"It's been quiet out in the bush," he said.

The number of individual birds spotted was also lower than normal. Only 323 were counted.

Most notable in their absence were the redpolls - small white and brown finches about the size of a chickadee. Usually there are hundreds around but this year only two were seen, Tate said.

The low numbers might be linked to birches. The redpolls eat a lot of birch seeds so if there was a poor crop of seeds the birds likely travelled elsewhere to find food, he said.

Also missing from the count were ptarmigans. There seems to have been few around during the past few winters, said Tate. The species goes through a population cycle so the area might be at a low point, he said.

Some birds were still found in abundance including 174 common ravens, 70 house sparrows and 25 evening grosbeaks.

Tate was among those who used his Saturday to count feathered friends.

By 8:45 a.m. he was on his way to the Martin River bridge stopping along the way to play his tape of owl calls. Unfortunately no owls responded and during a hike on snowshoes along the Martin River nothing was moving except two gray jays.

"It was really, really quiet," said Tate.

Things picked up on the way back into town when he spotted a flock of boreal chickadees near the dump and one spruce grouse on the road. The usual flock of ravens were also hanging out at the dump.

More birds were seen in town, but other volunteers were also canvasing the golf course and Wild Rose as part of the 24 km circle around the village.

Counting the birds does more than just help put together a national picture of the bird populations, it's also a great way for people to learn more about the world we live in, said Tate. In northern winters it's easy for people to spend little time outside.

"The ways wild species deal with Northern winters are quite fascinating," Tate said.