With so many birds to be found in southern Alberta, keeping track of them all may seem like a daunting task. Luckily for the man doing it, he's got plenty of help.
Bob Lefebvre, who manages the popular Birds Calgary blog, has been keeping a comprehensive list of birds found in Calgary and surrounding area during winter.
"I started doing that for the Calgary area to try to get more people out there birding and keeping track of the winter lists, and more discussion going on about where to find things," he said.
Since starting the list in 2017, Lefebvre has compiled over 150 bird species in the Calgary count circle, which is an 80-kilometre radius around the Centre Street Bridge. On the first day of the count, which runs from Dec. 1 to Feb. 28, 65 bird species were recorded, setting a record for Lefebvre.
"There's a lot of people now talking about where you'll find these birds," said Lefebvre. "They see what's been recorded and where people are finding them, and it gets people more interested in keeping track of a winter list because it is the slowest time of year, as far less species are around."
The list covers everything from garden-variety magpies and mallards to more elusive birds such as snowy owls and golden eagles.
The count circle stretches into numerous municipal districts, including Foothills, Rocky View, Wheatland, Clearwater, Mountain View and Bighorn.
Lefebvre can't be everywhere all at once, so he's enlisted the help of fellow Calgary-area birders as well as online resources such as birdwatching database eBird and the popular Alberta Birds Facebook group to collect data on bird sightings.
Birders are also welcome to send Lefebvre details on any rare birds they've spotted.
"We will take any verified reports we can get," said Lefebvre, who can be reached at [email protected].
The winter bird count goes hand-in-hand with the ever-popular Christmas bird count, deemed the world's longest-running citizen science initiative, which is held across North America by Birds Canada and the U.S.-based National Audubon Society.
"Teams of birders go out everywhere within the circle and record the numbers of every bird they see," explained Lefebvre. "They've been going on for over a hundred years now. The Calgary one has been running about 75 years."
The 2023 Calgary Christmas bird count documented 72 species and a total of 35,833 birds.
"It's a long running thing, so we get an idea of changes in bird populations over time," said Lefebvre.
This year's Calgary Christmas bird count will be held on Dec. 15. Learn more and register here.
Lefebvre promotes birding as a hobby to be enjoyed year-round.
"It's a great way to get outside at any season, anytime," he said.
"Birds are always interesting, there's always lots to learn. It's one of those endless hobbies. You never get to the bottom of it because biology is so fascinating, nature is so fascinating, you can always go into more and more detail... I'm just getting out, getting a lot of exercise, meeting people. It is a really good hobby."
