The numbers for the High River Christmas Bird Count have come in and overall it was a good year for the count around town.

Biologist and Event Organizer Greg Wagner says by the numbers it was their most successful count ever.

"Well, it was for the number of people who attended and our count numbers were relatively high, they rank among our highest counts. We were really pleased. We had 53 species for the count so it was pretty spectacular."

Overall 53 species of birds were sighted around town, with House Sparrows being the most common, while some rarities included a Robin, and a couple of different Sparrow and Duck species not usually found here in winter.

Wagner says they were also able to count several species of owls along with some Bald Eagles which he says is a key indicator of the health of the local environment.

Here's the complete list from the count:

Species                                 Total

Canada Goose                       254     
Gadwall                                1     
Mallard                                 271     
Green-winged Teal                1     
Lesser Scaup                        1     
Ring-necked Pheasant           7     
Grey Partridge                      25     
Northern Harrier                   1     
Northern Goshawk                1
Bald Eagle                           24     
Dark Buteo                          1     
Rough-legged Hawk              6     
Killdeer                                5     
Rock Pigeon                         579     
Eurasian Collared-Dove         215     
Mourning Dove                     1     
Great Horned Owl                 20     
Snowy Owl                           7     
Belted Kingfisher                  1     
Downy Woodpecker              46     
Hairy Woodpecker                7     
Northern Flicker                    67     
Merlin                                  4     
Gyrfalcon                             2     
Prairie Falcon                       1
Blue Jay                              41     
Black-billed Magpie              598     
American Crow                    2
Common Raven                  126     
Horned Lark                        11     
Mountain Chickadee             1     
Black-capped Chickadee       218     
Red-breasted Nuthatch         49     
White-breasted Nuthatch       27     
Brown Creeper                     2     
Golden-crowned Kinglet         1
American Robin                     1     
European Starling                 103     
Bohemian Waxwing               714     
Cedar Waxwing                    6     
Snow Bunting                       2     
American Tree Sparrow        27     
Dark-eyed Junco                  27     
Harris's Sparrow                   1     
Song Sparrow                      1     
Pine Grosbeak                     33     
House Finch                         137     
Red Crossbill                       29     
White-winged Crossbill         148     
Common Redpoll                 714     
Hoary Redpoll                      1     
Pine Siskin                          17     
House Sparrow                   1,857     

Total                                 6,437