Swan and eagle count to be held in the new year

The annual Prince George Swan Count event is coming up just across the new year’s line. Jan. 14 is the date reserved by local birders and naturalists to fan out across the area and try to total up the number of swans in the local region.

Swans are considered an indicator species. If the swan population is healthy or not can be a suggestion as to the overall state of the local environment. Eagles are also part of the annual tabulation, to give a double indication.

“The annual Swan and Eagle Count is largely carried out by car, and walks are fairly short,” said a statement issued by the Prince George Naturalist Club. “As a result, this event always goes ahead whatever the temperature. Meet for a 9 a.m. departure under the central green Spruceland Shopping Centre sign for car pooling and waiver signing. Bring lunch and snowshoes, and keep an eye on weather forecasts so you can dress appropriately.”

There is a fuel-sharing fee of $10 to take part. Those who gather are teamed up with drivers so car-pooling is maximized. Each carload is directed to a spot that traditionally has swans, so the numbers are based on consistent location data.

Last year, about 30 swans were tallied, which was consistent with previous years but a decline in usual numbers looking back over decades. Regular event leader Sandra Kinsey said the overall pattern indicates a change in swan patterns perhaps due to climate change.

“I’m just hypothesizing,” she said at the conclusion of last year’s count. “Our winters aren’t as cold as they used to be, I think everybody will agree with that.”

Kinsey has been involved in the local count for more than 30 years.

“We used to get 60 swans pretty regularly, but in the last number of years it’s fluctuated between 10 and 30 birds,” Kinsey said. “It could be because the temperatures overall have been warmer so they can go to more rivers. The populations are generally doing well, based on the trumpeter swan information we get provincially and nationally, and the other birders we talk too, so something is happening in where they locate themselves.”

Numbers from the swan count are passed on to a biologist in Kamloops who also handles results for the Okanagan and Shuswap regions as part of a larger noncoastal B.C. count.

The swan and eagle tabulation happens between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. For more info, email sjkinsey@direct.ca or phone at 250963-8381.