Over 40 participants took part in the 68th Kingston CBC on Sunday 20th December. Mild conditions leading up to the weekend meant all water bodies were open, though on the day of the count up to 3cm of snow was found in the northern section of the circle. With an annual average over the last 25 years of 103 species, the 83 species seen on the day came as a bit of a shock to all involved. This is the lowest total over those last 25 years. However, effort was consistent with that of previous years, so this is a genuine reflection of number of species present during these record-breaking mild conditions.
Passerines were scarce - misses included Horned Lark, Lapland Longspur, Pine Siskin, crossbills and grosbeaks. Waterfowl were better represented with highlights being Northern Shoveler, Norther Pintail, Canvasback, and Ruddy Duck. No grebes or white-winged gulls were seen but a single Lesser Black-backed Gull was found on Wolfe Island. Owls were poorly represented, though 20 Snowy Owls were seen in total, mainly on Wolfe Island. Probably the best bird of the day was a Common Yellowthroat found on Wolfe Island. Other late birds included Turkey Vulture (1), Common Loon (3), Double-crested Cormorant (4) and Great Blue Heron (1). Interesting was the number of American Robins (349). With none seen over the previous week, colder conditions further north over the last couple of days would indicate a southerly movement of this species. A massive thank you goes out to all participants, with a request for birders and feeder watchers in the area to remember that count week (Thursday 17th Dec - Wednesday 23rd Dec) continues for a couple more days. Mark. Mark D. Read 337 Button Bay Road, Wolfe Island, Kingston, Ontario K0H 2Y0 Canada Mobile: +1 (613) 217-1246 Home: +1 (613) 385-1651 Email: [email protected] Blog: "Confessions of a Global Birder" http://markdread.blogspot.com <http://markdread.blogspot.com/> Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/markdread/ eBird Guidelines for Reporting Sensitive Species <http://help.ebird.org/customer/portal/articles/1006789-guidelines-for-repor ting-sensitive-species> _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
