PREECEVILLE — After a years-long pause, local volunteers returned to fields, feeders and forest trails end of last year to bring the Christmas Bird Count back to the area.
The Kelsey Ecological Society’s revived a long-standing citizen science tradition in the Preeceville area, as three teams of field observers and three teams of feeder watchers surveyed birds within the official 15-mile count circle centred near Ketchen, Sask.
Under compiler Suzanne Joyce, participants Ivy Krauss, Michael Goldie, Donna Stehr, Bill Hardman, Dave Knihniski, Peter Joyce, and Norm and Diane Parkin recorded bird species and numbers at roadside survey points and feeder stations. Pete and Suzanne Joyce also skied the Preeceville Lions Family Trail that afternoon to document birds using the trailside habitat. After the count, volunteers gathered at the trail’s warm-up shelter to share hot chocolate and cookies.
This year, observers recorded at least 149 individual birds across 11 species.
Common ravens and pine grosbeaks were the most frequently observed.
One clear lesson from the day was that habitat matters. Birds were most abundant in remnant areas of bush and wetlands, and around rural yard sites where shelterbelts and feeders provide food, cover and vital thermal protection during harsh winter conditions. Maintaining wetlands, woodlands and shelterbelts and providing supplemental food can make a real difference when birds need shelter and extra energy to survive Saskatchewan winters, participants noted.
This year’s count renewed a local Christmas Bird Count first co-ordinated from 2009 to 2019 by longtime KES member Dallas Fairburn, who passed away in early 2025. Over seven separate counts, Fairburn personally logged more than 52 volunteer hours and recorded more than 2,100 individual birds representing 25 species. He was assisted over the years by dedicated volunteers Don and Shirley Johnson, David Weiman, and Michael and Kathleen Pitt. This year’s effort continues the work they began and honours their contributions to community-based conservation.
The Christmas Bird Count is North America’s longest-running citizen science project, co-ordinated nationally by Birds Canada in partnership with the National Audubon Society. While not an exhaustive census, the CBC provides an index of winter bird communities. Repeated annually, the data help scientists track population trends and changes in bird distribution across the continent.
Founded in 1997 as a chapter of Nature Saskatchewan, the Kelsey Ecological Society is dedicated to conservation, nature appreciation and the sustainable stewardship of natural resources. For more information, contact kelseyecological@gmail.com.
