The 75th Kitchener CBC was held today (December 19). 62 species were recorded on count day, slightly above the twenty year average of 59. Total individuals were about 30 000, well above the twenty-year average of 22 000. One new species was recorded in the count week period (Thayer’s Gull) bringing the cumulative species total to 134.
There are still some feeder counts to come in so some numbers may change. Unusual species: Turkey Vulture (count week, 3rd record), Chipping Sparrow (4th record), Lesser Black-backed Gull (3; 4th record), Northern Goshawk (7th record), Barred Owl (2; 7th record), Hooded Merganser (3; 10th record), Merlin (3; 10th record), Red-winged Blackbird (4; 12th record), White-winged Crossbill (2, 12th record). New highs: American Crow 8272 (previous high 4000 in 2008), Canada Goose 7197 (previous high 6771 in 2001), Wild Turkey 303 (previous high 175 in 2007), Bald Eagle 5 (previous high 3 in 3 different years), Merlin 3 (previous high 2 in 1985), Lesser Black-backed Gull 3 (previous high 2 in 1997), Red-bellied Woodpecker 21 (previous high 20 in 2008), Cooper’s Hawk 13 (tied 2008), Hooded Merganser 3 (tied 1998), Barred Owl 2 (tied 1967), Northern Goshawk 1 (tied 6 other years), Chipping Sparrow 1 (tied 3 other years) Other high counts (20 year average): Red-winged Blackbird 4 (0.7), Iceland Gull 4 (1), Green-winged Teal 2 (1), Bufflehead 13 (6), Hairy Woodpecker 49 (25), American Tree Sparrow 742 (438), American Goldfinch 691 (438), Winter Wren 4 (2.5). Low count counts (20 year average): American Kestrel 2 (12), Cedar Waxwing 27 (142), Pine Siskin 6 (20), European Starling 1428 (4614), Great Black-backed Gull 18 (46), American Robin 38 (81), Great Blue Heron 5 (10), White-throated Sparrow 3 (6). Misses: Ruffed Grouse (count week), Swamp Sparrow, Northern Flicker Thanks to all the counters we had this year! For more information please contact me privately. Mike Burrell [email protected] _________________________________________________________________ Windows Live: Friends get your Flickr, Yelp, and Digg updates when they e-mail you. http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9691817_______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/

