Being a birder isn’t just about spotting feathered creatures, it’s about writing down what you see and maintaining records.

At least that’s the case when the annual Christmas Bird Count rolls around.

Jasper has been participating in the count for about 50 of the 112 years that it’s been in existence and for about 35 of those years, Gord Ruddy has been front and centre, despite the fact that he doesn’t particularly enjoy record keeping.

“I’m not really a heavy-duty lister or a scientist or anything. I just really like birds and being outside with them,” he said after the count.

A total of 38 species and 1,329 birds were recorded during the 24-hour period beginning Dec. 18. An average count for Jasper is about 37 species, with a high count being closer to 46. 

“That’s just the way things work out. From one year to another, one year’s hot, one year’s not. It’s not so much a matter of the birds not being here, it’s just a matter of finding the birds.”

The most exciting species to be spotted during the 2011 count was a Northern Shrike, said Ruddy.

Northern Shrike is a medium-sized predatory songbird that breeds in the taiga and tundra and spends the winters in southern Canada and the northern United States. It feeds on small birds, mammals, and insects. 

The Christmas Bird Count began on Christmas Day in 1900 as a response to a holiday tradition known as the Christmas “Side Hunt.” The hunt was an event where people would choose sides and go out with their guns to see who could bring home the largest pile of feathered and furred creatures.

This tradition didn’t sit well with a group of women at the time, so they decided they would get together and count the birds on Christmas Day, as a way of making a statement, explained Ruddy, who noted that although women came up with the idea, they’re rarely credited for it.

“This guy named Frank Chapman saw the opportunity right away to make some changes, so he organized it, therefore he gets the credit, although it wasn’t really his idea.”

Chapman was an ornithologist and an early officer in the then budding Audubon Society, which still administers the count today. 

As part of the count, Chapman came up with a set of rules and formulas to ensure the information collected would become scientific data.

One of those rules is that the count must take place within a 24-hour period. Another, is that each year the count must take place within the same circle.

In Jasper, that circle goes from the Marmot Bridge on the south highway to the 12 Mile Bridge at Sulphur Springs on the east highway, and a 12-kilometre circle in between.

Originally, the count had to take place on Christmas Day, but in the last 15 years it has changed to give birders a larger window of opportunity.

This year, the count ran from Dec. 14 to Jan. 5.

“We always do ours before Christmas,” said Ruddy. “We’ve found the earlier we do it, the better species count that we get and we’ve always done it on a Sunday because that makes it available to most people.” 

Jasper has about a dozen birders that take part in the count, including about half a dozen who stay in town and count the birds that visit their feeders.

There is a lot to be gained from the data that is collected, said Ruddy.

“When you look at that 112 years of those records, it provides you with a whole lot of pretty interesting information about bird life on the continent,” he said.

For example, in Jasper, the numbers show a dramatic increase in ravens after the transfer site created a compost area.

“Having that food source available to the ravens improved their success over winters and therefore we went from 75 ravens in the winter to sometimes we have as many as 400.”

To see Jasper’s bird count results for the past 40 years, visit www.audubon.org.