Recent cold snap likely didn't ruffle feathers of Okanagan fowl

• Hummingbirds most vulnerable in cold conditions
• Birds in Okanagan are adaptive

Ever see a bird sitting on a fence post and wonder how it is faring, more so as bitterly cold weather washed over the Okanagan?

Don’t fret, says one local bird expert; that bird is likely doing just fine.

While some birds across the province aren’t accustomed to the recent cold snap, in the Central Okanagan, nearly 100 out of 300 or so species that call the area home can whether the cold no problem. Birds that don’t stick around for winter mostly rely on insects as their main food source.

President of the Central Okanagan Naturalist Club, Douglas Graham, told Kelowna10 the one species drawing concerns among avid watchers is the hummingbird.

“We have five different species of hummingbird in the Kelowna area, and all of them leave this area, they’re all gone by September. Normally they wouldn’t be here in the winter,” he said. “But Anna’s Hummingbirds are starting to turn up in the winter, but it’s a small amount of them spending the winter here, which is pretty amazing for a hummingbird.”

Graham said having a sustainable source of food during colder temperatures is important.

“A lot did die during the extreme cold snap, but some survived, and in past years, many survive the winters as long as there was a heated feeder,” he said.

According to the Wildlife Rescue Association, 53 hummingbirds from the Lower Mainland were brought into care, compared to treating just four a year earlier.

One bird, two bird, red bird, blue bird

Keeping a keen eye and ear on birds is important to understand their wellbeing.

Part of that includes annual seasonal counts. The latest, the Christmas bird count, took place on Dec. 18. Birders reported 104 species.

Graham said birds are a critical part of the ecosystem in the Okanagan, especially for insect control.

The most common birds in the Okanagan are those that have adjusted well to the modified regional landscape.

“We have tremendously modified the environment in the Central Okanagan and most of the original habitat has been lost here, and the bits that remain are extremely important to protect,” he said. “Most of the area around the Okanagan is modified by people; either urban or suburban areas or agricultural areas.”

And while people always feel the need to help, Graham said sometimes the best thing to do is simply leave them alone.

“Birds do quite well without our interference and they’re surviving. The ones that are here for the winter are adaptive to the cold,” he said. “It would be conscious of the importance of deteriorating and impacting natural habitat, that’s the major problem that birds face in this area.”

--With files from The Canadian Press