These are the results of the 29th Woodhouse CBC held on December 20th 2015. The Woodhouse CBC is centred 7 km east of Simcoe, at the crossroads of Highway 3 and Cockshut Road at Renton in Norfolk County and roughly covers from Port Dover to Waterford and just west of Simcoe to east of Jarvis.
Weather The mild weather this year was a change from recent counts but it made the birding harder. Overnight it was mostly clear but cloud cover increased to total cloud cover by late morning and then there were some sunny periods in the afternoon. All standing water was free of ice. Temperatures varied overnight from a high of -3 around midnight to a low of -7 by dawn and then increasing to a daytime high of +5. The wind was mostly calm until the afternoon when it increased slightly. Total Species: 85 + 1 Count Week (average for the last 28 years = 81, average for the last 10 years = 85) Total Individuals: 21,877 (average for the last 28 years = 28,889, average for the last 10 years = 23,783) # of participants: 39 (up 5 on last year) NEW SPECIES TO THE COUNT Sandhill Crane 124 Thayer's Gull 1 RECORD HIGH - (previous high) Ring-necked Duck 12 (6) Red-bellied Woodpecker 49 (44) RECORD LOW: (previous low) Rough-legged Hawk 3 (= lowest) Average 14 Northern Shrike 1 (= lowest) Average 4 Field Sparrow 1 (= lowest) Average 3 Lapland Longspur 1 (= lowest) Average 15 Rusty Blackbird 1 (= lowest) Average 7 Common Grackle 1 (2) Average 4 House Finch 79 (108) Average 656 COUNT WEEK SPECIES Snowy Owl 1 (Recorded 3 times previously) SPECIES ABOVE AVERAGE (last 10 year average) Horned Grebe 4 (0.1) Tundra Swan 314 (67) Cackling Goose 12 (6) Mallard 4160 (1861) Pintail 3 (1) Northern Shoveler 8 (4) American Green-winged Teal 5 (1.5) Ring-necked Duck 12 (1) Bufflehead 396 (269) Hooded Merganser 27 (15) Bald Eagle 11 (7) Downy Woodpecker 142 (92) Pileated Woodpecker 5 (2) Blue Jay 443 (345) White-breasted Nuthatch 108 (68) Brown Creeper 12 (7) American Robin 34 (16) Pine Siskin 120 (68) SPECIES WELL BELOW AVERAGE (last 10 year average) Great Blue Heron 3 (5) Redhead 94 (550) Greater Scaup 13 (141) Common Goldeneye 975 (154) Common Merganser 45 (687) Red-breasted Merganser 159 (715) Ruddy Duck 2 (7) Northern Harrier 7 (13) Herring Gull 118 (165) Great Black-backed Gull 4 (12) Rock Pigeon 379 (644) Mourning Dove 382 (666) Horned Lark 5 (211) Red-breasted Nuthatch 6 (14) European Starling 988 (1809) Cedar Waxwing 19 (66) Song Sparrow 17 (59) White-throated Sparrow 10 (25) Snow Bunting 80 (600) Red-winged Blackbird 17 (27) Brown-headed Cowbird 310 (431) NOTABLE ABSENTEES Ruffed Grouse 6th year in a row ALSO WORTHY OF MENTION Double-crested Cormorant 1 (4th record) Snow Goose 1 (10th record) Wood Duck 1 (9th record) Northern Goshawk 2 (8th record) Hairy Woodpecker 22 (best total since 2002) FULL SPECIES LIST AND TALLY Horned Grebe 4 Double-crested Cormorant 1 Great Blue Heron 3 Mute Swan 2 Tundra Swan 314 Canada Goose 6168 Cackling Goose 12 Snow Goose 1 Wood Duck 1 Mallard 4160 American Black Duck 155 Gadwall 15 Northern Pintail 3 Northern Shoveler 8 American Green-winged Teal 5 Redhead 94 Ring-necked Duck 12 Greater Scaup 13 Lesser Scaup 400 (Scaup Spp) 20 Common Goldeneye 75 Bufflehead 396 Hooded Merganser 27 Common Merganser 45 Red-breasted Merganser 159 Ruddy Duck 2 Bald Eagle 11 Northern Harrier 7 Sharp-shinned Hawk 6 Cooper's Hawk 6 Northern Goshawk 1 Red-tailed Hawk 122 Rough-legged Hawk 3 American Kestrel 17 Wild Turkey 116 Sandhill Crane 124 Bonaparte’s Gull 94 Ring-billed Gull 1430 Herring Gull 118 Thayers Gull 1 Great Black-backed Gull 4 Rock Pigeon 379 Mourning Dove 382 Eastern Screech-Owl 38 Great-horned Owl 4 Belted Kingfisher 4 Red-bellied Woodpecker 49 Downy Woodpecker 142 Hairy Woodpecker 22 Yellow-shafted Flicker 8 Pileated Woodpecker 5 Northern Shrike 1 Blue Jay 443 American Crow 789 Horned Lark 5 Black-capped Chickadee 454 Eastern Tufted Titmouse 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch 6 White-breasted Nuthatch 108 Brown Creeper 12 Carolina Wren 9 Golden-crowned Kinglet 21 Eastern Bluebird 48 American Robin 34 European Starling 988 Cedar Waxwing 19 American Tree Sparrow 642 Field Sparrow 1 Song Sparrow 17 Swamp Sparrow 20 White-throated Sparrow 10 White-crowned Sparrow 7 Slate-colored Junco 922 Lapland Longspur 1 Snow Bunting 80 Northern Cardinal 352 Red-winged Blackbird 17 Rusty Blackbird 1 Common Grackle 1 Brown-headed Cowbird 310 Purple Finch 2 House Finch 79 Pine Siskin 120 American Goldfinch 392 Evening Grosbeak 1 House Sparrow 1048 Total 85 Sp + 1 Count Week _______________________________________________ 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
