A touch of frost

Happy New Year's Eve, everyone! Let's hope that the coming year will be a much happier, healthier and definitely more peaceful year than this one has been. I find it hard to believe that 3 January 2016 will be the first anniversary since my daughter died. I found Christmas extremely difficult to get through, and I know the next few days will be very hard, too. Thankfully, I have another Bird Count with friends on 3 January, which will help me get though that day. Also, I have a half day count in the city tomorrow morning, followed by a get-together of birders for coffee/lunch. If you are out and drinking, please don't drive!

A row of these small, metal, frost-covered deer caught my eye yesterday, when 7 of us took part in the annual Audubon Sheep River/Priddis/Turner Valley Christmas Bird Count. They were part of a fence at one of the farms we called in at.

Judging by this photo, you might think that it was another day of not being able to see any birds close enough to photograph, but in fact it was a great day yesterday : ) Great, but COLD, starting off at -22C warming to a balmy -3C later in the day.

Our time was spent travelling by car, driving the backroads SW of the city and calling in at several farms. I wasn't sure just where this count covered, as I believe I have only ever done it once before, a few years ago, and that time I was with friends covering a different section of the count circle. I remember it as being very slow and extremely unrewarding, This time, our area was in the centre of the count circle and I'm so glad I decided to go again. Many of the roads were familiar to me and a few were new.

Our day started and ended with a Moose, which was pretty amazing. Not the greatest views for photographs, but I did manage to get a couple of OK ones.

Another find was a group of Wild Turkeys that were at a location where they had been seen before. This time, we drove down the hill to the farm buildings and were able to see these spectacular birds quite well. All were females, but the females are still stunning, with their iridescent plumage.

A great stop was at Rod Handfield's place. Some of us used to go there on botany trips and he always had the best mushrooms and other fungi growing in his forest. Hadn't been back there the last two or three years and I really missed our old botany outings. Rod and his wife have such a beautiful cabin there, and he invited us in for coffee and pastries. This was so much appreciated on a day of birding! Rod is always so delightfully hospitable!!

Thanks so much, Anne B, for driving two of us - without you, I would not have been able to go! Our time spent in a snow-filled ditch simply added to the adventurous feeling of the day, lol! Just shows how easy it is to get stuck while out when there is snow on the ground. The road had been snow-ploughed, but the edge looked like it was solid ground, not part of a ditch. Thankfully, a shovel was available and with the help of the rest of the group pushing from the front of the car, we made it back on to firm ground!

I will add our leader's final species list for the day:

SHEEP RIVER CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT, 0850-1500, Tue,30Dec2015. Centre of Circle, SW of Millarville,AB. Clear, sunny, calm, -22 to -03°C. 30 cm snow on ground. Most waterbodies frozen over.

Total Party kms by Car - 80; Total Party kms by foot – 1km.
Total Party hours by Car – 3; Total Party hours by foot -2 hrs
Total Party hours feeder watching – 1:10 min.

Wild Turkey-9, all f.
Downy Woodpecker-6.
Hairy Woodpecker-4
Gray Jay-3
Blue Jay-6
Black-billed Magpie-14
Common Raven-33
Black-capped Chickadee- 118
Mountain Chickadee-32
Boreal Chickadee-4
Red-breasted Nuthatch-14
White-breasted Nuthatch-5
Dark-eyed Junco-2
Pine Grosbeak-22
White-winged Crossbill-36
Common Redpoll-14
Pine Siskin-1

RedSquirrel-2
vole sp.-1
Mule Deer-3
White-tailed Deer-7
Deer sp.-2
Moose-2