Victoria has earned top crowing rights after being declared winner of B.C.’s annual Christmas bird count.
Birders in the provincial capital recorded 144 species, compared with 133 in Ladner, 128 in Vancouver, 110 in Parksville-Qualicum, 105 in Comox, 102 in Oliver-Osoyoos, 96 in both Penticton and Chilliwack, 93 in Kelowna, 92 on the Pender islands, and 91 on the Sunshine Coast.
Ladner, Victoria’s traditional rival, came first in 2012 with 146 species, and the two communities tied at 140 species in 2011. Victoria holds the record of 154 species, in 2004.
Victoria benefits from a variety of marine and terrestrial habitats and more than 200 volunteers, Dick Cannings, co-ordinator of the Christmas bird count, said Monday.
Ladner is located within the productive Fraser River delta, but typically has closer to 50 volunteers.
Weather conditions on the day of the count can also help tip the scales between the two communities.
Highlights of the Victoria count included sightings of the red knot, rock wren, palm warbler, rusty blackbird and sora.
In Stanley Park, birders spotted the rare black-and-white warbler, which should be wintering in Central America, Cannings said in an interview.
North Vancouver birders missed a black-headed grosbeak, a species that should also be wintering in Central America and which was observed before and after the count at Maplewood Flats.
Ladner reported a house wren, another uncommon visitor in winter, and there were numerous great grey owls reported in the Interior.
Cannings noted that snowy owls, which were observed in large numbers in south Delta the past two years, are down this winter in B.C.
Numbers are up significantly along the eastern seaboard, probably related to southerly movements of a different population from northern Quebec, he noted.
The Christmas bird count is conducted on any one day from Dec. 14 to Jan. 5 within a 24-kilometre diameter circle that stays the same from year to year.
Final statistics won’t be available for about a month, but won’t alter Victoria’s first-place finish, Cannings said.
A record 95 B.C. communities participated this year, including newcomers Atlin, Bella Coola, Rivers Inlet, Sparwood, Elkford, and Peachland.
