Hello everyone,
The 24th Wallaceburg ON CBC took place on Sunday, Dec. 27. The count
circle is located just north of Wallaceburg and includes much of Walpole Island
and a good part of the St. Clair River. We had a record low number of
observers with only 11 out there and there was very little advanced scouting in
the area. Despite these facts, we managed 79 species, just 4 below the past 10
years' average. Total individuals were way down, at 15572, as many land birds
were in low numbers and there were not many ducks or gulls on the St. Clair
River yet. We didn't add any new species for the count, but we did find 2
species that had only been seen during Count Week before. The cumulative total
now stands at 134 species.
New for Count Day:
RUDDY DUCK (1) seen on 3 count week periods
SANDHILL CRANE (1) count week 2001
New or Tied Highs:
COMMON LOON (2) ties 2002
MUTE SWAN (189) 159 in 2007
GREEN-WINGED TEAL (1) ties 2005 2nd time on the count
BLACK SCOTER (2) only the 4th time on the count
MERLIN (2) only the 4th time on the count
OREGON JUNCO (2) ties 1998 3rd time on the count
Other Notables:
2 LONG-TAILED DUCKS were seen - 2nd year in a row and only seen these 2 years
only 29 TUFTED TITMICE (we usually lead the country with this species)
Notable Misses:
we did NOT find any NORTHERN BOBWHITE - these have not been found since 2003,
although the locals on Walpole Island insist that there are still small numbers
of them and they are heard in the spring from the mainland across the Snye
River.
BALD EAGLE was missed for the first time in 11 years.
Once again, a very special thanks goes out to Georgette and the entire Cornelis
family for providing their house for the compilation and the fantastic meal.
Steve Charbonneau
Erie Beach in Chatham-Kent, ON
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