Statistics are critical when it comes to knowing what lives in the wild world because we lose so much all the time. Rising sea levels due to climate change erode the beaches of Haida Gwaii and our constant incursions into the wild places are so destructive. It’s important to record what is here now so it can be compared to what will be here in the future. How do we measure? Well, we can count birds. They are visible evidence of the health of the planet; where there are birds, there is life and there are birds on Haida Gwaii. We have now completed 198 Christmas Bird Counts over 41 years, the longest continuous stretch of winter records ever undertaken on Haida Gwaii. They will be an important reference in coming years. Without the participation of countless numbers of volunteers, it would never have been possible. Overall, this year we counted 102 species and 16,075 individual birds throughout the islands.

Nee Kun Rose Spit

The counts started at Rose Spit and what a brisk day it was. Waves pounded on shore and we were lucky to pick out 50 Sanderlings on the tide-line first thing; it wasn’t easy as they skittered through the foam and seaweed from the recent westerly winds. It seems as though it’s colder each December; the three-year influence of La Nina might have something to do with it. Despite the wind, a cold, foggy gloom hung over land and sea. Visibility was limited and the small ducks far offshore were hard to identify, except for 20 Black Scoters with their bright yellow bills. At Hl’Yaalan Galguusd Agate Beach and the Horseshoe it was even foggier and only four Black Turnstones poked among the rocks. We returned to Taaw Tlldaawee Tow Hill Beach where we upped the Sanderling count to 239, added 50 Surf Scoters and three species of Loon: Pacific, Common and Red-throated. A surprising Hairy Woodpecker called from the forest behind us, nine Pacific Wrens were dotted throughout the designated route and one lonely Brown Creeper called from high in the trees. The foggy drizzle and reduced visibility finally got the better of us; we left the long, lonely beach before the sun went down.

Total species: 35.

Total individuals: 583.

Gaw Tlagée Old Massett

The tide was too high to walk the Sanctuary in the beginning, so the beach was the place to be. At Skonun Point, a flock of 1,730 Dunlin streamed over the inter-tidal against a backdrop of Tow Hill. Smaller flocks of Sanderlings and Black Turnstones fought the waves crashing ashore and distant diving ducks rose and fell in the swell. But it wasn’t until the photos were checked that we discovered one tiny Ancient Murrelet away offshore with Surf, Black and White-winged Scoters. Common, Pacific and one Yellow-billed Loon also fed out there and five tiny Horned Grebes mixed with the Common Goldeneyes. Back at Gaw Kaahlii Masset Inlet 18 Red-breasted Mergansers surfed the falling tide but the most amazing bird of the day caught Robert’s eye at Gaw Tlagée Old Massett. “It was blue,” he said. “And smaller than a robin.” It was, in fact, a Mountain Bluebird. They have been seen on-island before in December, but it’s the first one ever for the Greater Massett count. Another surprising find was a Wood Duck, bright and handsome among the scaup feeding in a local pond. A Canvasback duck also fed there; they are mostly seen in the prairie potholes so it was way out of range. A very unusual winter Sooty Grouse showed up and four Red-tailed Hawks made up for the lack of hawks island-wide. A tiny Ruby-crowned Kinglet and two Anna’s Hummingbirds completed the exotic streak.

Total species: 84.

Total individuals: 5,133.

Wáan Kún/Gamadiis Llnagaay Port Clements

There was snow everywhere and we had to maneuver around the snowploughs that worked to clear the village streets. It was seasonal but as the day warmed up, the lovely white snow began to melt, a low dark drizzle arrived and fog settled over the water. Visibility was about as bad as it gets but that didn’t deter the Red Crossbills overhead and the 27 Trumpeter Swans feeding in Yakoun Estuary. The lovely swans are always a pleasure to see as their low trumpet call echoed over the quiet water. They fed with 193 Northern Pintail and 181 American Wigeon. The big surprise was a flock of 66 Ring-necked Ducks that were startled out of the pond on the way to Kumdis Bay. It was one of the few places where there was open fresh water. You won’t find them in many other places on island; the relative calm of Port Clements seems to attract them. Forest birds were few; the snow-covered trees along with a rising wind made for difficult conditions. However, two Brown Creepers, 10 Pacific Wrens and 30 Golden-crowned Kinglets appeared. Fourteen European Collared Doves were the most seen island-wide. Their numbers have declined sharply since they arrived about fifteen years ago; they are easy prey for hawks. Twelve robins faded into the fog as the day drew to a close; they brought a bright end to an overcast day.

Total species: 42.

Total individuals: 2,822.

K’il Kun Sandspit, Daajing Giids and HlGaagilda Skidegate

Plans were made, people were organized and they all found birds. Even in the snow with the temperature at minus five. We are a hardy lot on Haida Gwaii. The birds were initially reluctant to show up except for a surprising Wilson’s Snipe perched in the middle of the snow-covered highway. Clearly, not its usual habitat. We shooed it towards the shoulder lest it be run over. Water coverage was from land except for the 20-minute trip aboard the “Kwuna” from where a single Marbled Murrelet was picked out from a bevy of Common Murres. Western Grebes were scant; over 4,000 have been seen in Skidegate Inlet on previous counts but there were only eight this time around. We slogged through the snow to get to Kilkun Bay and found a nice flock of 170 Brant geese and those marvellous winter Mallards that ride the wild surf all winter. Two Hermit Thrushes that should have left in September braved the sharp northeast wind that swept over the spit. These lovely summer songsters usually winter in Mexico. There was great waterfowl coverage from Daajing Giids to Skidegate and two Anna’s Hummingbirds came to a local feeder to prove that the cold hadn’t driven all the exotic birds away. Sparrow sightings included White-crowned, Golden-crowned and Savanna along with one Fox and seven Song Sparrows. Not bad.

Total species: 74.

Total individuals: 6,217.

Tll.aal Tlell

Our count in Tlell started on a sad note at Sitka Studios where we learned that their whole flock of chickens and some of their geese had died from Avian Flu in early December. Noel advised that anyone with chickens needs to be super cautious; keeping them in a run is no guarantee that they won’t get the virus. Whole colonies of birds in other countries were wiped out this winter; this flu has always been around but the recent outbreak is particularly virulent.

"Two Anna's Hummingbirds came to a local feeder to prove that the cold hadn't driven all the exotic birds away."

Two Sandhill Cranes wintered over last year and four returned this year. They could be the original pair with chicks. We are not sure where these cranes are from; they could be Lesser Sandhill Cranes from Siberia or northern Alaska and they seem smaller than the island birds. It’s an interesting, unusual occurrence; cranes have never wintered here and the nesting pairs are usually all gone by early October. The count continued. We struggled through a howling gale at Misty Meadows for some ‘scratch birding’ as we didn’t think we’d find anything in the storm. However, 10 Black-bellied Plovers, 51 Sanderlings and 36 Dunlin braved the weather to feed on the inter-tidal flats as the tide fell. It was hard to hear anything in the roaring forest but Martin’s keen ears picked up the sound of a Red-breasted Sapsucker tapping on a spruce. The southeast gale blasted Southeast Harbour but brought in a flock of Mew Gulls, a California and a Ring-billed Gull, the latter a first for the Tlell count. The wind eased in the afternoon and as daylight faded, a mixed flock of juncos, crossbills and chickadees took a bath in an upright skiff near the dunes. There had been lots of warning chatter from them until a Sharp-shinned Hawk that had hidden in the nearby trees took to wing. Then they all went quiet.

Total species: 50.

Total individuals: 1,320.

Uncredited photos by Margo Hearne