The final numbers for Cortes Island’s Christmas Bird Count, which took place on January 5th, 2022, are in.  

One of the key organizers, George Sirk, described his personal high point as watching the birds at Christian Gronau and Aileen Douglas’ bird feeder. 

“I didn’t count those birds because Christian handed those in. He has a variety of birds, several that weren’t seen anywhere else on the island. Like House Finch’s for instance. He’s got them cornered there and then he has Chickadees and Red Breasted Nut Hatches. They’re right outside the window. So there I was with a cup of coffee, nice and warm, watching about 12 different species of birds come and go,” he said. 

The Bird Count numbers were average this year: 70 species. There were 82 one year and that number dipped as low as 57.

“When you start thinking about it, why do we have so many species? The reason is the diversity of our habitats here on Cortes!” explained Sirk. “We’re quite unique at the top end of the Salish Sea compared to other islands. We’re similar to Quadra, but not to the Redonda Islands, just to the east of us or to Hernando or Marina island.” 

The southern part of Cortes, from Hague and Gunflint Lakes to the tip of Suitl point, bears the imprint of a mile thick pack of ice that rested there 10,000 years ago. It carved out the lakes and the shallow waters that stretch for a nautical mile out from the shore.

“Those shoals are full of clams as well other marine life, and you get huge concentrations of wintering ducks coming here off the shoals,” said Sirk. 

There were close to 1,100 Surf Scoters. 

“That’s a lot of scoters! There’s probably more than that because if we took a boat out to Marina, which we used to do in years gone by. Our numbers would probably double as far as the seabirds,” said Sirk.

“The ducks appear here in September, October, November. They come from the inland of Canada, even from the Arctic, because the Arctic freezes up. The lakes freeze up in the Prairies, in British Columbia and the Yukon. So all these ducks that nest way up there, come here and they feed all winter long. Then when spring comes, they’re nice and fat and they can return in their long migration back up north and immediately start nesting as soon as the lakes and marshes and Tundra melts.”

 There were close to 2,000 seabirds and 1,000 land birds this year. 

Cortes is midway up Vancouver island. It is the meeting place of the waters that come from north from Victoria and south from the top end of Vancouver Island. 

The Audobon Christmas bird count’s origins can be traced back to 1900, when Frank M. Chapman proposed they have a “Christmas Bird Census” – counting birds during the holidays rather than hunting them. 

“Now it’s all over the globe. Every Christmas bird counts are done everywhere,” said Sirk. 

The museum has taken Christmas Bird counts every year since 2001. Sirk did some counts on his own prior to that.

Some rarely seen species are listed in this year’s count. 

The Spotted Sandpiper used to nest on Cortes during the 70’s and early 80’s. Chris Napper found a nest last year, and this year he sent in a picture of a Spotted Sandpiper with three young. 

“Now it’s here in the wintertime, only one individual I think was recorded, but that’s significant. So it’s like the recolonization of Cortes, kind of like those humpbacks.”  

(In the podcast he describes a feeding method that is unique to the Humpbacks of this area.)  

Tree Swallows have been returning to Cortes for the past 6-7 years, after a 25 year absence. 

Tamias Nettle counted 8 Bohemian Waxwings in Smelt Bay. They are a winter bird which Sirk believes may have been driven to Cortes because of the harsh winter. 

“Another bird that I didn’t make a note of was the Virginia Rail that Andy Ellingson heard in front of his place on Gunflint Lake,” said SIrk, who gave a rendition of its distinct call in the podcast. 

There were 13 Anna’s Hummingbirds, a species that was unknown on Vancouver Island until people started putting bird feeders out in the 1970s. 

Juncos, Fox Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Towhees and two Golden Crown Sparrows came to Sirk’s bird feeder,

188 Juncos were counted this year, which is a little down from previous years. 

Surf Scoters love eating the mussels in Gorge Harbour. A diver told Sirk that the Scoters take turns diving into the nets at the aquaculture farms and have eaten up to $50,000 worth of the crop. 

“I can’t prove it, but apparently when the mussel farmers are taking the mussels away, or going to the other islands, the Scoters follow them. They’ll feed off things that fall off when they’re harvesting,“ said Sirk. 

“Birds are smart. They’ve been around a long time. They’re the dinosaurs that survived.” 

He added that the Cortes Christmas Bird Counts take place through the auspicious of the Cortes Island Museum. There were 29 volunteer bird watchers this year. Gina Trzesicka at the museum did most of the organizing and tabulating numbers. She and Sirk worked on the rare bird report.

“I want to really thank the museum and Gina in particular for all the work of organizing, I was just out there birdwatching, drinking hot coffee and laughing,” said Sirk.

There is a great deal more, including anecdotes about many species (and people), in the podcast.

This post was originally published on Feb 22 and republished Feb 26 to accompany the Saturday Round-up.

Top photo credit: Brewers Blackbird (l) and male Ring-necked Duck (r)- Photos by George Sirk

Sign-up for Cortes Currents email-out:

To receive an emailed catalogue of articles on Cortes Currents, send a (blank) email to subscribe to your desired frequency:

• Daily, (articles posted during the last 24 hours) – cortescurrents-daily+subscribe@cortes.groups.io
• Weekly Digest cortescurrents – cortescurrents-weekly+subscribe@cortes.groups.io