‘Great annual snapshot:’ Bird numbers down in Waterton bird count after wildfire
WATERTON, Alta. — A Parks Canada official says a powerful wildfire that shut down Waterton Lakes National Park late last summer will inevitably change the species of birds in the area.
The blaze began from a lightning strike in British Columbia but eventually shut down the park in the deep corner of southwest Alberta for weeks. The fire covered more than 360 square kilometres — roughly about one-third of the park.
Dianne Pachal, who co-ordinates the annual bird count at Waterton, said birders recorded a total of 167 individual birds from 21 species on Dec. 15. That’s well below the 40-year average of 27 species and 493 birds.
A number of possible reasons for the drop include an extremely high wind on the day of the count — which would make it more difficult to find the birds — and some areas of the park hit by the fire being closed to the public, she said.