The end of 2022 is upon us. I'm going to assume that nothing will dramatically change bird-wise tomorrow.
It's a quieter time of year in 100 Mile House. I only added one new species for the year since the last update: a calling flyover Snow Bunting. Not a bad over-the-yard bird for a wooded neighbourhood, but I didn't see it. My annual total is 224 species, up from 223 last year. (My eBird lists are off after the recent update--it says 225, including a non-countable escaped Helmeted Guineafowl not far from a farm).
There was open water at a few places into late November. This is from the last open patch on Watson Lake. Bonus points if you can name them all!
On one of my last walks of the season at 108 Mile Lake I had a Red-breasted Merganser there for the second consecutive year.
At Lac la Hache I found a flock of at least 1550 Bohemian Waxwings, maybe closer to the 2000 mark. A small sampling:
A friendly neighbourhood Black-capped Chickadee in Walker Valley
I was away for some time in Texas and didn't do much local December birding until the Christmas Bird Count. I coordinate the count, and we had 32 species total from 24 volunteers (an above average year). I spent the day west of town near a landfill and some forest roads through burned and clearcut areas. I had 12 species, a lower count.
There were hundreds of Ravens and a good number of Crows and Bald Eagles at the landfill.
While driving, a few Sharp-tailed Grouse flushed into nearby trees. These were a first for our count, and another group also found one individual elsewhere.
A female Black-backed Woodpecker in the burn. I had to do some wading through snow and climbing of logs to see it.
We've had a mega year for Red Crossbills, including 74 on the bird count.
Last week I snowshoed a long way up Walker Valley on the frozen marshes. Because of the access to the usually remote west shore of the large north marsh, I was able to find Three-toed Woodpeckers in a thin but long line of spruces.
Just this evening I went looking for a Short-eared Owl reported by a neighbour in Walker Valley. It wasn't there, but I did find a pair elsewhere on the walk at Watson Lake. This is a usual spot in winter. It was my first for the non-motorized birding list I keep.
I made another recent trip to my intended focus Canim-Hendrix area for the year, but I ran into car troubles and haven't been back. I don't really expect any new birds for the zone in the winter. I did find some great birds in the area this year: Great Gray and Northern Hawk Owls; Pacific Loon; Harlequin Duck; Magnolia, Blackpoll and Tennessee Warblers; Black-headed Grosbeak; Gray-crowned Rosy Finch; and White-tailed Ptarmigan.
So, here are all the weird lists I keep for the year:
BC: 251 (My second highest, trailing the year I visited the peace)
Cariboo: 224
My non-motorized transport list walking and biking from home (cumulative since last year): 186
The larger 100 Mile to Lac la Hache patch: 191
Walker Valley/Watson Lake: 173
108 Mile Ranch residential area and lake: 127
And the Canim-Hendrix area patch that was my less local focus this year: 158
I tried to bird south Walker Valley frequently enough to finish the year as the #1 Cariboo hotspot. It was ahead for most of the year, but once frozen November came there was no way to compete with the grebes, loons, gulls, owls and feeder birds at Scout Island in Williams Lake. Final score: Scout Island 162, Walker Valley 159. We (mostly I) put up an honourable fight.
Happy new year, Fraser Valley! Come visit next year.