The 16th Strathroy Area Christmas Bird Count was held on December 27th. There was quite a bit of snow cover with drifting, due the previous days wind and snowfall. Temperatures ranged from -6 C to 0 C. 60 species were tallied (the 16 year average is 56 species). There were high counts for the following species: Canada Goose (2465), Bald Eagle (7), Rock Pigeon (660), Horned Lark (1107), White-crowned Sparrow (34), Dark-eyed Junco (1725) and Lapland Longspur (8). There were also sightings of six species that are notable for this count: Snow Goose (1), Tundra Swan (1), Wood Duck (2), Merlin (1), Red-headed Woodpecker (1) and Tufted Titmouse (4). A species new for this count was also seen: Redhead (1). Short-eared Owl was seen during count week, but not on count day.
A big "thank you" goes out to all the participants for braving the deep snow and putting up with some poor road conditions. Dave Skinner, Compiler _______________________________________________ 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/
