Apex-Hedley Audubon Christmas Bird Count
Eva Durance, organizer

The Apex-Hedley Christmas Bird Count circle covers from Hedley on the west to Twin Lakes on the east and Keremeos to the south. Routes that can be covered are very limited, but count including high-elevation areas allow for counting of the particular species that live up high even in winter.

This year, five routes were covered, three of them had only one person each, one route was covered on skis, and two others on foot. The weather was variable from about -9C with snow squalls up high to just below freezing and calm in the valleys. The total of 51 species was average for this count although a few species were missed that have been common previously: American Three-toed Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Red-tailed Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Pacific Wren, and Bohemian Waxwing. The complete list is below.

Pied-billed Grebe-1
Canada Goose – 14
Trumpeter Swan – 2
Mallard – 3
Barrow’s Goldeneye- 3
Ring-necked Duck-8
Hooded Merganser-1
Common Merganser-2
Bald Eagle – Adult – 7
Northern Harrier – 1
Northern Goshawk – 1
Golden Eagle – Adult- 3; Imm. – 1
American Kestrel – 1
California Quail – 268
White-tailed Ptarmigan – 1
Eurasian Collared-Dove – 54
Mourning Dove – 2
Northern Pygmy-Owl – 1
Great Gray Owl – 1
Belted Kingfisher – 2
Downy Woodpecker – 5
Hairy Woodpecker – 4
Northern Flicker – 5
Gray Jay – 33
Stellar’s Jay – 35
Clark’s Nutcracker – 32
Black-billed Magpie-61
American Crow – 12
Common Raven – 53
Black-capped Chickadee – 24
Mountain Chickadee – 24
Boreal Chickadee- 10
Red-breasted Nuthatch – 34
Pygmy Nuthatch – 2
Brown Creeper – 7
American Dipper – 5
Golden-crowned Kinglet – 4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet – 2
Townsend’s Solitaire – 3
European Starling – 123
Spotted Towhee – 4
Song Sparrow – 12
Dark-eyed Junco – 83
Pine Grosbeak – 21
Cassin’s Finch – 1
House Finch – 76
Red Crossbill – 8
White-winged Crossbill – 14
Common Redpoll – 22
American Goldfinch – 82
House Sparrow – 285

Total Species – 51
Total Individuals – 1423