A total of 877 birds representing 22 species and 160 mammals representing eight species were counted by 13 volunteers in the Togo area on January 5 in the annual winter bird and mammal count.
Wildlife species in the Togo locality were tallied at bird feeders and in natural habitats January 5 as part of Nature Saskatchewan’s annual bird and mammal count.
Doug Elsasser, who compiled counts submitted by 12 other volunteers, also drove a designated 80-km route where 125 snow buntings were observed.
Snow buntings are Arctic birds that normally migrate south to winter here and feed on grass seeds and grain strewn along roadsides and in farmyards. Last winter, owing to mild weather, none were seen in and around Togo.
The common raven was the most abundant bird species seen January 5 with about 248 counted, Elsasser said. Ravens, no longer a protected species, were typically concentrated around the Togo and Runnymede dumps. When these landfill sites were closed to household waste, the ravens found alternate food sources and are now observed in large numbers at cattle feeding sites and around abattoirs.
A total of 877 birds, representing 22 species, were seen on count day. All three types of woodpeckers, the hairy, downy and pileated, were observed. Some 84 evening grosbeaks and 76 pine grosbeaks were counted, along with 65 black-capped chickadees, 37 blue jays, and 16 sharp-tailed grouse.
The Togo bird and mammal count locality, which stretches roughly 20 km in all directions from the Village of Togo, represents the Parkland Ecological Region – a transition zone between prairie grasslands to the south and the northern forests, Elsasser said. Its main landscape features are the Assiniboine River Valley and its many creek valleys, and the Duck Mountains, part of the vast boreal forest.
Mammals observed in the Togo locality on January 5 included 109 elk, 16 white-tailed deer, nine moose, four timber wolves, 10 snowshoe hare, five coyotes, five northern flying squirrels and two pine martens.
Nature Saskatchewan appreciates the effort that everyone takes in making the Christmas bird and mammal count Saskatchewan’s most popular nature event, he said. Count results are published in Nature Saskatchewan’s journal The Blue Jay.
Persons who wish to become involved in future bird and mammal counts are invited to contact Elsasser.
