Naturalists all over the North Okanagan took part in the 2018 Swan and Eagle Count, and the results are in.
The count took place in the greater Vernon area Jan. 14 with the results as follows:
Bald eagles — 125 (100 adults, 25 sub-adult)
Golden eagles — 2 (2 adults)
Trumpeter swans — 118 (109 adults, 9 immature)
Tundra swans – zero
We had 31 participants covering four routes with a total of 127 eagles and 118 swans observed during this year’s count, with three of the four focal species seen. These numbers were down from 2017 when we had 184 bald eagles, eight golden eagles and 160 swans.
The majority of the birds were observed on the Vernon-Sicamous route with a count of 66 bald eagles and 98 trumpeter swans.
The other routes were Coldstream, the south end of Mabel Lake, Enderby-Kingfisher, Mabel Lake and Vernon area where 59 bald eagles, two bald eagles and 20 trumpeter swans were counted. Sub-adult eagles were observed on all of the routes while immature swans were only seen on the Vernon-Sicamous route and in the Vernon area.
Join us again next year when we convene on Jan. 13, 2019 to count swans and eagles! Until then, happy birding and enjoy yourself enjoying nature. For more information, please contact Aaron Deans, Swan & Eagle Count coordinator for the North Okanagan Naturalists’ Club.