{"id":8435,"date":"2020-02-22T14:09:13","date_gmt":"2020-02-22T19:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/?p=8435"},"modified":"2020-08-30T14:43:09","modified_gmt":"2020-08-30T18:43:09","slug":"cortes-island-christmas-bird-count","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/cortes-island-christmas-bird-count\/","title":{"rendered":"Cortes Island Christmas bird count"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Roy L Hales<\/p>\n

When you talk about Cortes Island\u2019s population, most of us think of humans but there is an even larger avian population. The\u00a0Cortes museum\u00a0<\/a>has been taking an annual\u00a0Christmas Bird Count<\/a> since 2001. There were 38 participants this year. Most were in five groups, but there were also a number of people who reported birds visiting feeders, or parts of the island not on the established routes.<\/p>\n

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\"christmas<\/a>

Photo from 2018 bird count - courtesy Cortes Island Museum<\/p><\/div>\n

The December 2019 Christmas bird count<\/h2>\n

They counted 3,149 birds from 65 species, which is about average.<\/p>\n

When I inquired about interviewing someone, the museum suggested I contact\u00a0Laurel Bohart<\/a>, who led the team in Squirrel Cove.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason we do a winter bird count is these are residents, and this gives us a better understanding and idea of the resident bird populations. What we did see, and I didn\u2019t see it, but it was seen near Mansons Lagoon and Hollyhock: was\u00a0Greater Yellowlegs<\/a>. This is a shorebird, related to gulls \u2026 and they\u2019re very rare. They shouldn\u2019t even be here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"2018
2018 Bird Count \u2013 Courtesy Cortes Island Museum And Archives<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Human Impacts On Bird Population<\/h2>\n

One of the most intriguing aspects of Laurel Bohart\u2019s analysis of the changing populations is the degree to which non-climate change related human activities are believed to be the cause:<\/p>\n