Submitted by John Dickson,
OSFN Programming
The following is an excerpt from the Owen Sound Field Naturalists January Column.
The local annual Christmas Bird Counts (CBC) have all been held, and here is a sampling from the count results:
• Neyaashiinigmiing – December 17
Compilers – Jarmo Jalava and Miptoon (Anthony Chegahno)
The twelfth annual Neyaashiinigmiing (Cape Croker) Christmas Bird Count was held on Saturday, December 17, 2022. The day began with snow flurries and mainly cloudy skies, with sunny breaks later in the morning and through the afternoon. Winds were southwesterly, ranging from 13 to 25 kph.
Temperatures hovered around -1.0°C all day. The waters of Georgian Bay and streams were open, but non-flowing inland waters were ice-covered. There was at least 10-15 cm of snow on the ground, with some of it having freshly fallen the previous night.
Fourteen participants tallied a total of 37 species, below the average of 39.7. The 769 individual birds counted was well below the average of 1,027. Ruby-crowned Kinglet was a new species for count day.
Otherwise there were no big surprises, but 69 Bohemian Waxwings, 3 Evening Grosbeaks and a Pine Grosbeak were nice finds.
There were no high counts, but low counts were recorded for Long-tailed Duck (2, average 12), Ruffed Grouse (1, average 8), Blue Jay 2 (average 49), Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 (average 9). Notable misses were Red-bellied Woodpecker and Pileated Woodpecker (each missed on only one previous count).
Winter finches were limited to the Evening and Pine Grosbeaks.
Chi Miigwetch to Neyaashiinigmiing First Nation community for hosting this always special birding event.
Wiarton – December 18
Jarmo Jalava, Compiler
The 48th Wiarton Christmas Bird Count was held on Sunday, December 18, 2022 (it was actually the 51st anniversary of the count, but three years were missed).
Temperatures ranged from between -1°C at 7:00 a.m. to 1°C at 5:00 p.m. under overcast to mainly cloudy skies. Light to moderate (9-15 kph) westerly breezes made inland birding pleasant, but winds were stronger at exposed areas along the Lake Huron shore. The waters of Georgian Bay and Lake Huron were open, as were faster-flowing creeks and rivers, but most interior waterbodies were ice-covered, as were some near-shore areas of sheltered bays of Lake Huron. Up to 15 cm of snow covered the ground in most areas.
Twenty-five participants and three feeder watchers tallied 62 (+ 1 count week) species, well above the long-term and 10-year averages of 50 and 53 species, respectively, but just shy of the record of 63 set in 1997.
The total of 6,090 individual birds was also much higher than the previous overall (3,431) and 10-year (4,185) averages and the third highest total overall (the all-time high was 6,283 in 1997).
One new species, Eastern Bluebird, was recorded. This raises the overall count day total to 131 species (plus 6 additional count week species). Other good finds this year included Merlin (3rd count), Green-winged Teal (2nd count), Ring-necked Duck (9th on count day and the first since 2001), and a count-week Red-winged Blackbird (5th count).
Record high numbers were recorded for:
-Canada Goose (1,556, previous high 1,329 in 2021; for the first 18 years of this CBC, the high count was 33 birds, and pre-1995 this species was not recorded annually);
-Mute Swan (62, previous high 23 in 2021);
-Green-winged Teal (3, previously just 1);
-Bald Eagle (25, previous 21);
-American Crow (407, previous 257);
-Bohemian Waxwing (347, previous 326).
Other relatively high counts included Trumpeter Swan 16 (record 17), Ring-necked Duck 4 (record 5), Great Black-backed Gull 12 (first double-digit total since 1994, when 22 were observed), Pine Grosbeak 44 (first double-digit total since 2007) and Evening Grosbeak 99 (highest count since 1995 for this far-from-annual species).
Aside from no Common Redpolls, there were no particularly notable low counts.
Winter finches were limited to Pine Siskin (16), Pine Grosbeak (42), Evening Grosbeak (99) and Purple Finch (2), and American Goldfinches were at feeders in moderate numbers.
Thanks to all the volunteers for your efforts!
