Guy Quenneville
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, January 9, 2008

YELLOWKNIFE - One boy's dream came true during the annual Christmas Bird Count organized by Ecology North.

Twelve-year-old Reid Hildebrandt, a bird enthusiast, was hoping to spot a northern goshawk.

Reid Hildebrandt, 12, holds one of several bird books from his small library. Hildebrandt took part in the annual Christmas Bird Count, and spotted a northern goshawk. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo Some results of the bird count in Yellowknife on Dec. 31, 2007: Ravens: 1,525 Gray jays: 21 Willow ptarmigan: 325 Redpolls: 370 Black-billed magpies: 22 Gyrfalcons: none

"Except for these northern goshawks, all other birds of prey around here go down south," he said.

He was in the passenger seat of a vehicle driven by fellow bird count participant and family friend Vicky Johnston, when the very bird he eagerly sought made an appearance.

"We were just driving between Dettah and Ingraham Trail and one of them flew across the road," said Hildebrandt, his voice like that of a child recalling the unwrapping of his favourite Christmas present. "I thought to myself, 'It's a hawk staying over winter!'"

To the average person the sighting would be barely worth a moment's thought.

But to Hildebrandt, whose interest in birds was kindled when he was around six-years-old and who has "a lot of bird books," it was a treat - a chance for him to see his book studies come alive.

Johnston, Hildebrandt's adult chaperone during the count, said, "We froze, but we had a blast. Reid and I went out to the dump at Dettah and we scared up nine magpies in one place."

The tradition of the annual Christmas bird count began in the U.S. in 1900, and is now observed by birders in more than 2,000 locations across North America and the Caribbean.

Reid and Johnston were two of 21 people who took part in the count in Yellowknife last month, up from 16 participants last year, said organizer Bob Bromley.

Participants went out in pairs to cover different parts of the city, keeping track of the types of birds and their numbers and travelling by foot, car, ski and, in one case, bicycle.

"(The counts) are proving to be useful for scientists," said Bromley. "They're starting to use our data more and more to study long-term trends in bird populations like changing distributions."

The social side of the event makes it fun, too, added Bromley.

"It's a good way to get together over the holidays - not to mention get some exercise after eating all those big turkey dinners."

Among the surprises in this year's count was the total number of magpies: 22.

"They're a southern species, a Prairie bird, that moved in the area since the mid-1980s," said Bromley. "It's a record for them."

The group also counted 325 willow ptarmigan - a disappointment to Bromley.

"We were hoping to see more," he said. "We saw a lot of tracks, but relatively few birds."

The number of ptarmigans recorded last year was 414.