Submitted by John Dickson
The following is an excerpt from the Owen Sound Field Naturalists December column.
Many thanks to the compilers and teams of the recent Christmas Bird Counts. Here are excerpts from some of their reports:
Neyaashiinigmiing Christmas Bird Count
Eleventh annual Neyaashiinigmiing (Cape Croker) Christmas Bird Count was held Saturday, December 18, along the spectacular southeastern coast of the Saugeen (Bruce) Peninsula.
Sixteen participants tallied a total of 39 species, very close to the average of 39.7. The 1,034 individual birds counted was very close to the average of 1,027. There were no big surprises, but a Northern Saw-whet Owl (only the second ever count) and nine Pine Grosbeaks were nice finds.
High counts were tallied for five species: Ring-billed Gull (30 reported at the Nawash dump, previous high 9), Red-tailed Hawk (4, previous high 1), Rough-legged Hawk (4, ties previous high), Great Horned Owl (4, previous high 3) and Common Redpoll (87, previous high 68).Low counts were recorded for Long-tailed Duck (1, average 12), Herring Gull (46, average 139) and Golden-crowned Kinglet (3, average 9, or is this a measure of ageing ears?). Notable misses were Horned Grebe, Pileated Woodpecker and Brown Creeper (each missed on only one previous count).
Winter finches were limited to the Common Redpolls and Pine Grosbeaks, although a flyover flock of 45 “finch sp.” imparted a boreal vibe. Count week birds included a Snowy Owl and Ring-necked Pheasant.
Chi Miigwetch to Neyaashiinigmiing First Nation community for hosting this always special birding event.
Compilers Jarmo Jalava and Miptoon (Anthony Chegahno)
Owen Sound Christmas Bird Count
The 2021-2022 Christmas Bird Count marked the 51st year of the Owen Sound count. On December 18th, 38 participants tallied 10,236 individuals of 61 species. The total number of individuals was up this year compared to last year, however the species count was lower.
Some highlights from this year’s count include a Green-winged Teal, Red-throated Loon, over 700 Sandhill Cranes, 6 Eastern Bluebirds and a White-winged Crossbill. This count also marks the first ever in which Sandhill Cranes were found! Once again, the now familiar Barrow’s Goldeneye of Owen Sound Harbour made an appearance, this being the fifth count in a row it’s been seen. Apart from the cranes, two other species were also counted in higher numbers than ever before: Canada Goose ( 2533) and Mallard (1560). This was likely due to the lack of snow-covered fields in the area during the count. The only notable low count for a species this year was that of the Bufflehead, with only nine individuals being found.
An additional 4 species were seen during the count week but not on count day: Northern Pintail, Short-eared Owl, White-throated Sparrow and Pine Grosbeak.
Compiler Erik Van Den Kieboom.
Wiarton Christmas Bird Count
The 47th Wiarton Christmas Bird Count was held on Sunday, December 19, 2021 (the 50th anniversary of the count, but the count was not run on three years).
Eighteen participants and three feeder watchers tallied 60 species, well above the long-term and 10 year averages of 50 and 53 species, respectively, but just shy of the record of 62 set in 2018. The total of 4,858 individual birds was also much higher than the overall (3,431) and 10-year (4,185) averages.
One new species, Yellow-rumped Warbler, was recorded (although this species has been reported once before during count week). This raises the overall count day total to 130 species (plus 6 additional count week species). Other good finds this year included Merlin (2nd ever count), two Golden Eagles (5th count, high total), Northern Goshawk (15th count) and Red-winged Blackbird (5th count).
Record high numbers were recorded for: Canada Goose (1,329, previous high 1,157 — a species that was absent most years prior to 1997!); Mute Swan (23, previous high 16, another recent exploder); Black Scoter (3, ties previous high); Eastern Screech-Owl (7, ties previous, but more owling effort would undoubtedly yield much higher numbers); Pileated Woodpecker (13, previous high 12); and Dark-eyed Junco (102, crushing the previous high of 70).
Winter finches were limited to just five Pine Grosbeaks, one Pine Siskin, one Purple Finch and 58 Common Redpolls, but American Goldfinches were at feeders in reasonable numbers.
Thanks to all the volunteers for their efforts!
Compiler Jarmo Jalava.
To learn more about the Owen Sound Field Naturalists, please visit www.osfn.ca
