WBFN CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS
Summaries
2011
Presqu'ile Christmas Bird Count 2011 Report - David Bree
The final results are summarized below. The "unusual" birds and numbers can mostly be associated with our late arriving winter.
Total species seen - 84 species plus 6 count week - this is 10 above the 20 year average of 73 species but is the same as last year.
Total birds - 19636
Record high counts were recorded for -
(old record in brackets)
Canada Goose (again) - 2420 (2270 in 2008) (there was 1 counted in
1986)
Mute Swan (again) - 624 (504 in 2010)
Tundra Swan - 100 (23 in 2008)
Cooper's Hawk - 9 (6 in 1995)
Merlin - 4 (1 in several
years)
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 6 (5 in 2010)
American Crow - 1594 (1156 in 2000)
Carolina Wren - 2 (ties old record
from a couple of years - almost annual now)
Dark-eyed Junco - 568 (474 in 2005)
Count Week Birds included -
Brant (would have been new for the count if it stayed 1 more days)
Black Scoter
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Glaucous Gull
Other birds of note include:
Green-winged Teal - 3rd time recorded in last 20 years
Red-necked Grebe - 3rd time recorded in last 20 years
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1st record in last 20 years
Savannah Sparrow - 3rd time recorded in last 20 years
Miscellaneous -
The 8 Purple Sandpipers was 4x more than the average 2 seen but a far cry from the remarkable 57 tallied on the 1998 count.
There was one Pink-sided Junco in with all the Slate-coloured.
Missed was Belted Kingfisher with is usually tallied.
The 2 Snow Buntings were down a bit from the 2000+ seen last year
The 1 Common Redpoll was conspicuous by its solitude.
TO READ THE FINAL TOTALS FOR THE PRESQU'ILE CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT 2011 CLICK HERE.
David Bree
Natural Heritage Education (NHE) Leader
Presqu'ile Provincial Park
328 Presqu'ile Parkway
Brighton, ON K0K 1H0
One of 390 American Tree Sparrows seen on the Presqu'ile Christmas Bird Count 2011. Photo© Bruce Parker.
Port Hope-Cobourg Christmas Bird Count
On December 17, 40 observers participated in the 41st Port Hope-Cobourg Christmas Bird Count. Mild weather prior to count day kept most small bodies of water open. Count day was cold with a low of -8º and a high of -4º C. Partly cloudy skies and light north-west winds made for pleasant birding. However, lack of snow cover made birds hard to find.
2 American Coots were seen this year on the Port Hope-Cobourg Christmas Bird Count 2011.
Photo© Bruce Parker.
In total, we tallied 18,386 birds of 77 species on count day, with an addition 8 species seen during count week. Highlights included: Common Loon - 1; Double-crested Cormorant- 1CW; Snow Goose-1; Wood Duck-1; Gadwall-6; American Wigeon-1; Northern Pintail-1; Green-winged Teal-1; Black Scoter-1; Ruddy Duck-1, Bald Eagle—1; Northern Goshawk-1; Peregrine Falcon-1CW; American Coot-2; Killdeer-1CW; Purple Sandpiper-1; Snowy Owl-1; Carolina Wren-1CW; Hermit Thrush-2; Northern Mockingbird-1; Chipping Sparrow-1; White-crowned Sparrow-1.
Record high counts were tallied on 4 species: American Crow-2,077; European Starling-2,945; American Goldfinch-999; Northern Flicker-9.
Seven species were found in very low numbers: House Sparrow-193; House Finch-48; Snow Bunting-7; Horned Lark-2; Pileated Woodpecker-3, Northern Harrier-1; Common Goldeneye-157.
...... Roger Frost
2010
WBFN Port Hope - Cobourg Christmas Bird Count 2010
The 2010 Port Hope-Cobourg Christmas Bird Count was held on December 18. Forty-two observers counted over 27,000 birds of 77 species. Highlights included one Double-crested Cormorant, one Red-shouldered Hawk, one Thayer’s Gull, one Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, one Carolina Wren and one Northern Mockingbird. Several species were found in record high numbers. These included Greater Scaup (1,393), Wild Turkey (255), Red-bellied Woodpecker (14), Bohemian Waxwing (844) and Cedar Waxwing (873). Two species were found in record low numbers. These were American Kestrel (1) and House Sparrow (247). The post-count pot luck was again held at Welcome United Church, where observers were able to swap stories of the day and enjoy some great food. Thanks to all who participated, and especially thanks to Connie Sakumn and Janet Lake for doing the washing up after dinner.
- Roger Frost
Wild Turkeys were seen in record high numbers - 255. Photo © Bruce Parker
For a full list of species seen on this year's count click here to view a file in
Adobe PDF format.
Presqu'ile - Brighton Christmas Bird Count - 2010
The count was held on Sunday, December 19th, a grey, overcast day with temperatures around -7C to -3C. Most standing water had been frozen for about 10 days. Total number of birds seen was 21,402 of 83 species (+3 count week). A few rarer ducks, some later migrants and a couple of unusual winter nomads resulted in the third highest total in the last 21 years. Highlights included a Barrow's Goldeneye, 2 Carolina Wrens, a Hermit Thrush (2nd time in 21 years), a Common Yellowthroat, an Eastern Towhee, a Fox Sparrow (3rd in 21 years) and 7 Red Crossbills (1st since 1984). 2601 Snow Buntings were counted, 14 Pileated Woodpeckers, 2 Harlequin Ducks and 504 Mute Swans. There were 29 participants, including several members of WBFN, many of whom went to the Maintenance Building in the Park for the compilation by David Bree and great food provided by May Wilson.
- Maureen Riggs and David Bree
American Kestrel and Fourteen Barred Owls were recorded on the Presqu'ile - Brighton Christmas count.
Photo © Bruce Parker
For a full list of species seen on this year's count click here to view a file inAdobe PDF format.