By Liza Barney, Education Program Coordinator, Bird Studies Canada
The 2018-2019 Christmas Bird Count for Kids season has wrapped up in Canada. Thank you to all who made it a success! Sixty-nine events across the country gathered young birders to identify and count winter birds in their local neighborhoods, parks, cities, and wild spaces. This grand effort led to a total of 133 species being reported! The top five most commonly-observed birds were: Black-capped Chickadee, Bald Eagle, Mallard, American Crow, and Downy Woodpecker. You can view all the stats and highlights in the season summary graphic (see below).
Participant Highlights:
Surrey, British Columbia – “The kids got to watch the flock of Surf Scoters through the spotting scope, which was a first for all of them to see!”
Fredericton, New Brunswick – “We were able to get very close to 2 White-breasted nuthatches and observed how they travel head first down the trees!”
Birds Hill Provincial Park, Manitoba – “There were two families in attendance that had attended our CBC4Kids event last year. The kids remembered how to identify some of the birds we had learned about the previous year, based on their features and habits. They were very proud of themselves that they remembered this information and shared it with the other participants this year. After the walk, families made bird feeders from toilet paper rolls to take home to feed the birds, and we enjoyed hot chocolate and a marshmallow roast around the bonfire.”
Stratford, Ontario – “A Brown Creeper!!! Woodpeckers, Kingfisher, Great Blue Heron!!!”
Moncton, New Brunswick – “The class was very excited to learn that the data they collected will be submitted to a Citizen Science program! They said they liked helping scientists learn about the birds at Sunny Brae School.”
Delta, British Columbia – “We saw a banded Bald Eagle which all of the kids were very excited about (aluminum band that we couldn’t read). We also saw a Harris’s Sparrow that was one kid’s favorite bird. One group of the kids also successfully identified Sanderlings on their own!”
Stonewall, Manitoba – “Finding a flock of Bohemian Waxwings eating Mountain Ash berries. The kids also liked seeing a red squirrel eating a frozen crab apple. After a cold walk we all enjoyed hot chocolate and looking at pictures of the birds we saw.”
Congratulations and many thanks to the organizations, event coordinators, sponsors, volunteers, families, and young birders who participated in the CBC4Kids program. Bird Studies Canada acknowledges the generous support of our 2018-2019 national program sponsors, Armstrong Bird Food and the W. Garfield Weston Foundation.
To learn more or plan an event in your region, please visit Bird Studies Canada’s CBC4Kids webpage or the website of our U.S. Partner, Sonoma Birding. You can also be part of the CBC4Kids community by following @BSC_Education on Twitter and using the hashtag #CBC4Kids.
