December 29 was a blustery day for our bird count and the low numbers reflect that. most of the inshore water of Lake Simcoe was frozen so waterfowl numbers were very low and we were not able to find any Canada Geese! No new species were added to the cumulative list but there were some notable highlights. For the first time, each team recorded Bohemian Waxwings ( 72 in all), Surprisingly, since many small flocks were evident during the count week, only 30 Pine Grosbeaks were seen. Other notable finds are listed below. Common Redpoll - one team had a flock of 200 Red-bellied Woodpecker - one seen of a species that seems to be showing up annually now Brown-headed Cowbird - 2nd record Merlin -1 -generally raptor numbers were down significantly - a total of 39 species were seen with a total of 2510 individuals. Thanks to all who "beat the bushes" for the count. One notable highlight was a close encounter with a young opossum who ventured to a feeder in broad daylight while we were counting no more that 3 meters away! Peter Wukasch _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
