2014 Christmas Bird Counts - 2 down, 1 more to go

Nature Notes for December 29, 2014

What a beautiful day for the Port Hope-Cobourg Christmas Bird Count. Saturday, December 20, was sunny for most of the day, with very light winds. Lake Ontario has not been so calm in weeks. Despite temperatures well below the freezing mark early in the day, the sun encouraged the birds to be active and vocal.

Forty-seven observers took to the field and were able to find 19,581 birds of 77 species.

Some of the highlights included Red-throated Loon (1), Trumpeter Swans (2), Northern Pintail (6), Bald Eagles (5), Snowy Owls (4), Carolina Wrens (2), Thayer’s Gull (1), Short-eared Owl (1), Hermit Thrush (1), American Pipit (1), Savannah Sparrows (2), Pine Grosbeak (1) and Evening Grosbeak (1).

One Evening Grosbeak was found 

on the Port Hope-Cobourg Christmas Bird Count

December 20, 2014

Photo © Rob Lonsberry Photography

High counts were tallied of Red-tailed Hawk (74), Common Raven (10) and American Goldfinch (1,005).

Although not a record number, even House Sparrows were found in higher than usual numbers. The sunny day probably encouraged this species to be more active and vocal so they could be detected. On cold, dark days, they often spend most of their time quietly inside barns.

Three species were found in record low numbers. These were American Black Duck (28), American Crow (650) and European Starling (1,118). American Black Ducks are experiencing a long-term decline due to hybridization with Mallards. The other two species may have been affected by the hard weather last winter.

The Presqu’ile-Brighton Christmas Bird Count, held a week earlier on Sunday, December 14, was not so fortunate in weather. The day was overcast with drizzle for most of the day, with temperatures hovering just above freezing. These conditions make it much difficult to detect birds. Nevertheless, the 29 participants found 13, 557 birds of 79 species.

Highlights of this count included Lesser Black-backed Gull (1), Fox Sparrow (1), Hermit Thrush (1), Ruby-crowned Kinglet (2), White-crowned Sparrow (1) and Snowy Owl (11).

High counts were tallied of Dark-eyed Junco (659), White-breasted Nuthatch (125), Pileated Woodpecker (20), Glaucous Gull (8) and Common Raven (11).

Low counts were recorded for European Starling (328) and Wild Turkey (5).

 

Christmas Bird Counts began in 1900 when American ornithologist Frank Chapman asked birders across North America to head out on Christmas Day to count the birds in their home towns and submit the results as the first "Christmas Bird Census." The Christmas Bird Count, as it is now called, is conducted in over 2000 localities across Canada, the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. These bird observations have been amassed into a huge database that reflects the distribution and numbers of winter birds over time.

Northumberland County still has one more count to do, the Rice Lake Plains count, centred around the Northumberland Forest, on January 1. What surprises will that day bring?

Since this column will be published between Christmas and New Year’s, I hope that my readers had a Merry Christmas. Best wishes for 2015. May the year bring you lots of interesting bird observations.