The 52nd annual Long Point Christmas Bird Count was held on Saturday the 15th. The weather for the day was pleasant with a low overcast for most of the day and a small amount of precipitation very late in the day. Temperatures ranged from 2 to 5 degrees C and the winds were ENE averaging 6 kph early and increasing to 17 kph in the afternoon with gusts as high as 37 kph. 47 observers spread across 14 areas tallied 52,359 individuals (double the long-term average) of 112 species which is well-above the long-term average of 101 but shy of the record 119 recorded in 2001. Water was wide open everywhere.
No new species were seen on the count but noteworthy ones included one Greater White-fronted Goose in the Big Creek NWA (Bill Lamond, Kevin McLaughlin); Cackling Goose near Port Royal (Bill Lamond, Kevin McLaughlin); Trumpeter Swan on Big Creek (Ron Ridout, Andrew Sawyer, Adam & Matt Timpf); Double-crested Cormorant at Port Rowan (Steve Wilcox); Turkey Vulture at the St. Williams Crown Forest Reserve (Ron Allensen, George Finney, Luke Stephenson); Golden Eagle over Backus Woods (Gabe David, Paula and Ted Gent); Black-legged Kittiwake at Turkey Point (Rob Dobos, Barb Charlton); American Woodcock in the Big Creek valley (Ron Ridout); an Eastern Phoebe at the St. Williams Forest Station (two parties); and a Brewer's Blackbird near Booth's Harbour (Mark Jennings, Stu Mackenzie and Fergus Nicol). Several record high counts included 31 Pied-billed Grebes 95 Northern Shovelers 1532 Gadwalls 3207 American Wigeons 456 Buffleheads 722 Sandhill Cranes 45 Eastern Screech-Owls 2 Northern Saw-whet Owls 11 Belted Kingfishers 9 Pileated Woodpeckers Well above average counts included 3450 American Coots (record high of 3580 in 2011), 10 Little Gulls (record 117 in 1991), 43 Red-bellied Woodpeckers (record 52 in 2010), 1137 Black-capped Chickadees (record 1219 in 1993), 51 American Pipits (record 61 in 1983), and 285 Northern Cardinals (record 373 in 2001). Very low counts included 1 American Kestrel, 4 Ruffed Grouse, 8 Horned Larks, 2 Cedar Waxwings, and 27 Common Grackles. Notable misses included Northern Goshawk and Northern Shrike. My thanks to all of this year's participants for their continuing support of the count and to my wife Anne Marie for preparing a feast for 50 for the 27th year in a row. Ron Ridout Bird Studies Canada P.O. Box 160 115 Front Rd. Port Rowan, ON N0E 1M0 519-586-3531 Ext. 114 [email protected] _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
