Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - 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.
Photo credit: a Marbled Murrelet - Photo by George Sirk
