As part of Project FeederWatch, I’m keeping an eye on our feeders two days out of the week to help scientists track winter bird activity, abundance and diversity. It’s a great way to spend an hour or two drinking coffee and peering out into the rain. I’ve also decided to start a yard list of all the birds that visit our backyard. These bird observations are important citizen science.
We live fairly close to the downtown core of Courtenay (population 20,000) but our neighbourhood has lots of good bird habitat – a few empty lots here and there, old Douglas Firs, and yards with mature landscaping. Quite a contrast from the new subdivisions that are going up on the edges of town.
This weekend, bird observations were low, probably due to the weather. It was cold on Saturday and today the rain has returned with a vengeance, perhaps in retaliation for the glorious weather of the early part of the week.
Bird Observations for this week:
- White-crowned Sparrow
- Bushtits
- Song Sparrow
- Dark-eyed Junco (including one Slate-coloured Junco)
- Chestnut-backed Chickadee
- European Starling
- Spotted Towhee
- American Goldfinch
- House Finch
- Downy Woodpecker
- Mourning Dove
- Bewick’s Wren
