The numbers are in for the 17th annual Nanton and Area Christmas Bird Count.

Organizer for the count, Mike Truch says they had a great turnout this year of 27 people.

"I'll probably have to have a waiting list eventually, if people still come.  But as of right now, I don't have to do that yet. It's getting more well-known." He continues, "I think people just, they really want to see the Sharp-Tailed Gross and the Bald Eagles and the Golden Eagles.  So I think that's why they're coming to the count."

Truch says the count numbers are on par with past years, and they found many of the more common species of birds.

"Easy species like Black-billed Magpie, Common Raven, Eurasian Collared-Doves, there's a lot of those in Nanton. And then, a lot of Common Pigeons, or Rock Doves they're called, and House Finches, and this little bird, this seed-eater, called Common Redpoll.  There was like 724 of those."

He notes that it was a really good year for the snowy owl, as they found 4 in this year's count. There were a few species missing from this year's bird count, like the Golden Crown Kinglet, Harris Sparrow, American Robin, and the Pine Siskin. Truch says there are a few reasons those birds may have been harder to find.

"Some of those species, like the Pine Siskins, they sort of fluctuate and they just roam around wherever they want anyways because they eat a lot of cones in the spruce trees. The American Robin, like the Robins, it depends on maybe how many people still have apples on their trees in their yards."

Truch says they found a total of forty species of birds in this years count, which is almost right on par with previous years. They found thirty-seven species during the count and an extra three within the count week. He also adds that if anyone in the area is interested in the count or if there is a land owner around Nanton who would give permission for people to count on their land next year, he can be reached at mike_truch@shaw.ca.