Across Canada, groups of children and their parents are joining local

naturalist leaders this Christmas season to count birds. Most people know of the
adult version of the Christmas Bird Count, the “CBC”, that has become a seasonal
tradition in Canada. “CBC4Kids” is similar, but with a focus to help children
learn about birds as they enjoy a few hours exploring nature in their home
communities.

Our local NatureKids club (formerly Young Naturalists Club) explored the
Foreshore Trail in Salmon Arm on December 11th. Under the encouragement of
programme leader Molly Cooperman and local biologist John Woods, the children
quickly proved that they had sharp eyes and sharp ears. In no time at all, they were
recognizing Song Sparrows by their calls and identifying male and female
Mallards.

One of the best sightings of the count was a group of three Golden-crowned
Kinglets. These tiny little birds are hard to see in the bushes and many adults can’t
hear their very high-pitched calls. No problem for the kids, they soon heard and
spotted three kinglets and added them to count tally.

The children particularly liked looking through a spotting-scope that gave
them a close look at a perched adult Bald Eagle. Through the scope they were able
to see that the eagle wasn’t bald (it had white head feathers), that eagle eyes, legs
and bills are yellow, and that the eagle’s body that first looked black, was really a
very dark chocolate colour with hints of reddish-brown.

The final tally was 17 species and 271 individual birds on a two-and-a-half-
hour hike covering about 3 km. Results from the count were entered into eBird, a
citizen science database that tracks bird observations world-wide.

Salmon Arm NatureKids club events are free and last two or three hours.
Families wanting to join the club should contact Molly Cooperman at
salmonarm@naturekidsbc.ca or find them on Facebook.