Monday, 6 January 2020: temperature is -3C (windchill -8C). Sunrise is at 8:38 am, sunset is at 4:46 pm. Beautifully sunny. Just discovered that we are in for bitterly cold weather for the next week. Supposed to get down to -25C on Monday 13 January (windchill -33C).
I have fallen behind with editing and posting photos, as I have taken part in a number of the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Counts, plus a BirdYYC2020 full day that included different locations within the city. A few photos from 1 January and 3 January will have to be added in the next few days, now that all the Counts are over with till December 2020. Much as I absolutely love participating in the Counts each year, I do find them exhausting and have to admit to feeling relief when the last one has been done. They really don't fit with my being a dreadful 'night owl' and having to try and function on very little sleep, and with dealing with a lot of constant pain - but I have to keep doing them as long as I can. Actually, I was going to have to cancel the last two days out because they would have meant driving in the dark with poor night vision. Along came friend, Tony, to the rescue when he offered me a ride both days. Thanks so much, Tony - greatly appreciated!
The 8 photos posted today were taken the day before yesterday, 4 January 2020, when several small groups of us took part in a Bird Count in the Priddis area, SW of the city. These are the last few photos taken that day. This time last year was the very first Count in this area and it was put together by a most impressive young man (teenager!) named Gavin McKinnon. Not only is he an extremely keen and knowledgeable birder, but he comes up with great ideas of things to organize for us all. I should also add that his parents are obviously highly supportive and helpful in their encouragement of their son, He is also very fortunate that several of our long-time, very experienced birders generously act as mentors. Gavin's resume is going to be very impressive!
We all met up at 8:30 am by Jane's Cafe in Priddis. There, we divided into several groups to cover different sections of the Count circle. Our section included many backroads that were familiar to me. A few were for the very first time - including some rather scary, snow-covered roller-coaster roads. So thankful that I wasn't the one who was driving.
The day started off very slowly as far as birds were concerned, but livened up somewhat as the day went on. Fifteen species of bird were eventually seen, though I was unable to do a walk along a side road, so missed a few species - only Chickadee species and Nuthatches, that I have been seeing for years. Fortunately, no owl was seen along that road. In fact, we didn't manage to find any kind of owl at all during the day, which was rather disappointing.
At lunch time, we all met back at Jane's cafe, where their Mustard, Onion and Bacon soup was much enjoyed. plus a few other foods. This is such a handy cafe/restaurant when birding in that whole area. The afternoon had us back out on the side roads, trying to find a few more species.
After the Count finished, some of us ended up at a Tim Horton's in the city, to hand in our reports. I suspect that this will turn out to have been a good Count, better than last year. Well done, Gavin, for organizing all this!
Talk about a strange day of mixed weather! We had sunshine, cloud, and some snow. At least the temperature was reasonable, which makes a huge difference.
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