Featured in I Love Creston Magazine - Apr, 2012
Carla Ahern, Director of Communications, Stewardship and Education Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area
I was looking at the results from the Christmas bird count – wow, we are sure lucky to have such a huge diversity of bird species here in Creston. There were 76 species and 12,214 individuals counted. And it was the middle of winter!
At our house we have noticed a steady increase in the number of species and individuals at our
feeders as spring unfolds. I am on a daily routine of filling up the feeder in the morning and, if I am a little late, I seem to detect chips and chirps laced with a subtle tone of agitation.
April marks the return of many migratory bird species. The ice has mostly melted by now and temperatures are warming up. That is all that is needed to trigger the migratory clock of the various bird species that make the north-south journey each season.
In late March the Canadian Wildlife Service conducted aerial bird surveys over the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area, with help from our resident biologist, Marc-André Beaucher. Even then, when ice still lingered on some of the ponds, thousands of ducks were seen throughout the CVWMA.
Rafts of coots, an estimated 7,000 individual birds, were seen on Duck Lake. There were also lots of mallards, geese, northern pintails, American wigeons and many species of diving ducks.
I always eagerly await the arrival of the ospreys. To me, that means spring has officially arrived.
Usually they return in early April but many factors can contribute to an earlier or later arrival date. After all, it is a long journey from the Gulf of Mexico.
The CVWMA has a camera ready and installed on a nest located near the Wildlife Interpretation Centre in anticipation that a pair will return to the nest and make it their home for the season. If the birds do return to the nest, make sure to keep
yourself tuned to our Web site
(www.crestonwildlife.ca) as we will be showing the live feed from the nest here in late May or early June.
If you would like to keep up to date on projects, programs and events at the CVWMA, please contact us to get on our e-newsletter or mailing list by calling (250) 402-6900, e-mailing askus@crestonwildlife.ca or visiting our Web site at www.crestonwildlife.ca.
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