Season's Greetings, Ontbirds people. Please note that the following information is based only on notes taken during the post-count compilation; I am neither a coordinator nor an official compiler for the CBC.
The 90th annual Ottawa-Gatineau Christmas Bird Count was held on Sunday 20 December. While reports from all participants are not in yet, so far the preliminary species total is 64 , quite a bit lower than average. No new species were reported, and only 2 record highs have so far been confirmed. Some of the highlights (and low-lights) are as follows: - Barrow's Goldeneye (3) - 2 males and 1 female, Rideau River between Riverain/Strathcona Park and Hurdman bridge - Wild Turkey (23) - RECORD HIGH (previous record 17 in 2008) - Bald Eagle (13) - Red-shouldered Hawk (1) - Alymer, QC - 1st reported on 13 December; an individual has been wintering in the Aylmer area for at least the past 2 years - Gyrfalcon ( 1 grey morph) - near Carlington quarry - Peregrine Falcon (2) - one each in Aylmer and Gloucester sectors - Black-backed Woodpecker ( 1 female) - vicinity of Ogilvie Rd.and the Aviation Parkway - Common Raven (124) - RECORD HIGH (previous record 71 in 2008) - Carolina Wren (1) - Hull, QC feeder - Bohemian Waxwing (967) - Hermit Thrush (1) - Britannia sector - Common Yellowthroat (1) - Strathcona Park along Rideau River - 1st reported here on 17 December Zero American Kestrels were found, and numbers of gull spp. were low overall. House Finch (644) and American Goldfinch (819) were low. Only 1 Purple Finch, 3 Common Redpolls, and 3 Evening Grosbeaks were so far reported, all in the Quebec sectors. The sector leaders will be meeting in the New Year to sort out numbers and overlap among the sectors. The final results will subsequently be posted on the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club web site at www.ofnc.ca Many thanks to all coordinators and participants, and especially to the Club des Ornithologues de l'Outaouais for hosting the compilation and providing the excellent food enjoyed by all! Chris Lewis Ottawa , ON [email protected] _______________________________________________ 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/
