And then there were 3: Vote for Edmonton's city bird in final round

A boreal chickadee. (Nick Carter)

Birds of a feather flock together, proven by the thousands of Edmonton-area residents who cast their vote in the first round of competition to determine the "official" city bird.

Edmonton is home to, or a pit stop for, more than 300 species of birds, according to Bird Friendly Edmonton.

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In October, Bird Friendly Edmonton announced residents from the city and surrounding areas could choose between six options to determine the city's "official" bird.

Now, three avian competitors still stand: the black-billed magpie, blue jay and boreal chickadee.

These birds can be found in Edmonton neighbourhoods and natural areas throughout the year.

Of those three, the black-billed magpie is slightly in the lead in the polls, according to Nick Carter with Nature Alberta.

"People find it to be really beautiful and a lot of people who come out from eastern Canada or other parts of the world, they're really blown away by how it looks," Carter said.

"But it doesn't have the best reputation as far as what it sounds like or its behavior."

A black-billed magpie. (Jack Waller)

On top of crowning a winner, Nature Friendly Edmonton wants to educate people on how to make the city a better place for birds and other wildlife.

"It can be as simple as just making sure your pets, especially your cats, aren't wandering around outside as they please, because that leads to a lot of bird deaths," Carter said.

"Other things (include) helping to keep our forests intact, advocating for preservation of natural areas, which Edmonton has been really great at."

He added that Edmonton has done a good job at being a bird-friendly city, but there is always room for improvement.

For people who want to go out and see birds, the river valley is an excellent place to do so, as birds are there year-round.

Other places include the Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park just northwest of Edmonton, the Clifford E. Lee Nature Sanctuary to the southwest and the Sherwood Park Natural Area on Range Road 231.

In May, Bird Friendly Edmonton also holds an annual bird count.

The birds that did not make it through the first round are the downy woodpecker, red-breasted nuthatch and northern saw-whet owl.

The city will need to decide whether or not to make the winner the official bird of Edmonton or not.

The final round of voting is open until March 31 online.