Rufous Hummingbird – ABA 2014 Bird of the Year
A year ago this week, Bird Canada was turned into a multi-author blog, and what a year it was!
When the call went out for birders across Canada, fourteen people stepped up to share their birding knowledge. Posts came from Nova Scotia , New Brunswick, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. The excellent variety of topics and posts increased Bird Canada readership to 76,687 for the year, a 54% increase from 2012.
The most popular post of the year (and an all-time personal favourite) was Birding From Your Car – A Photo Essay by Tim Hopwood, of Calgary, Alberta. This visually stunning post was picked up by a huge variety of North American birding blogs, and the word spread far and wide.
The prize for top posts went to the Albertans, as the five most popular posts came from that province. If you missed any of these wonderful articles, check them out.
- Number 2 – Don’t Touch That Baby Bird by Charlotte Wasylik
- Number 3 – The Great-horned Owls of Sikome Lake by Daniel Arndt
- Number 4 – Birding Ethics – Nests and Eggs by Charlotte Wasylik
- Number 5 – The Golden-crowned Kinglet – A Photo Essay by Tim Hopwood
While most of the pages on the blog were well accessed, the most popular was Birds of BC, followed by Canadian Birds, Birds of New Brunswick and Birding Demographics & Economics.
69% of our visitors came from Canada, and 21% from the USA. Although I don’t have the greatest faith in Google statistics, they tell me 46% of our readers are female, and 54% male. Most visitors are between the ages of 18 and 34.
Writing for Bird Canada is a labour of love for birds (which means none of us get paid) and our day jobs/real lives take precedence. Time constraints mean a few of our original authors have had to bow out, and we are actively looking for more writers from across Canada. If you want to join us, or suggest a writer, please let us know in the comments below.
What started as a place to natter on about my own birding experiences has become a national blog about Canadian birds. Today’s political and economic climate in this country means voices speaking for birds must get louder, and shout more often. Bird Canada is on the job!
Thank you for your comment, and for looking after our birds! Seniors and their bird feeders play a major role in helping Canadian birds survive our winters, and they really know their birds!
Hi Pat, Thank you for your interesting newsletters. I do enjoy looking at all your photos of birds. I can’t imagine that there were no essays, etc. from Quebec. We do have bird clubs in all regions of Quebec. Of course most of them are in French. Mostly seniors are interested in detailed involvement with regards to the bird population, and by that I mean at their feeders. Either for monotary reasons, or health issues. As for myself, I keep feeding the birds around my feeders every single day. I do believe without this activity, many birds would die during the cold winter months. Whether there is a blizzard, ice storm, etc. there is no lack of food. I’ve even found ways to entice them by making it easier to pick the seeds…..scatter them on a wooden flower container. Please don’t think that we in Quebec are not interested in birds…we are…we make sure they stay with us. Sorry for the fact that I did not use paragraphs. I did not want to use too much space. Again thank you……Stella