Bird Count Reports

Forty-three people participated in the Saskatoon Nature Society fall count on September 7th, 2024. The day had a clear sky with light wind, and was scorchingly hot when out birding in the afternoon sun (33 C). The species count of 151 was slightly below the long-term average (LTA) of 152, but Smith’s Longspur and Virginia Rail were counted for the first time, bringing the total species seen in the history of the count to 237.

2024 was not as dry as 2023, resulting in fewer dry sloughs than last year. Despite this, most waterfowl species were slightly down as compared to 2023; perhaps this can be explained by how hot it was on count day resulting in more birds staying hidden to escape the sun. The only exception amongst the ducks was Green-winged Teal (441% of LTA). A flock of 75 Black-bellied Plovers (3287% of LTA) in the SE/B zone smashed the previous record for that species (21 individuals in 1996). Baird’s Sandpiper (377%) Wilson’s Phalarope (741%), and Bonaparte’s Gull (865%) were all up this year. Double-crested Cormorant (160%) and Great Blue Heron (96%) seem to have recovered this year after very poor showings in 2023’s dry fall.

2024 continues a multi-year trend of low grebe counts, with Pied-billed grebe hitting a new low count of 3 (4% of LTA), and all but red-necked Grebes being well below the longterm average.

Turkey Vulture (430%) set another record high count this year at 28. This suggests they might be migrating later each year, as the population has been trending generally up since 2013. Other raptors were not significantly off from expected levels.

White-breasted Nuthatch (323%) hit a new high of 15, and Common Grackle (524%) a new high of 1140 due to a huge flock of at least 1000 birds observed near Blackstrap. Otherwise, the 2024 count had below average showings of songbirds, perhaps attributable to the heat on count day. Dark-eyed Junco (3%) was particularly low, with just a single bird seen, which suggests they had not yet migrated to Saskatoon on count day.

Thank you to all who participated in the count this year. We hope you will join us again on future counts.

Kerry Hjertaas (compiler)

Stan Shadick (organizer)