Guelph's 50th Christmas Bird Count took place on Sunday, December 18th, 2016. A total of about 60 participants, working in 13 groups found a total of 13942 birds of 67 species. The 67 species is the third highest total ever, the highest being 70 species in 2008, and the recent average being 64. Almost all standing water was frozen, but much moving water was open. Temperatures varied from -8 Celcius to -3 Celcius, with fairly strong winds and snow flurries. There was about 30cm of snow on the ground.
We had no new species for the count. We had record numbers of 4 species, as follows: Long-tailed Duck 3 (previous high 1) Red-bellied Woodpecker 19 (previous high 15) American Robin 1200 (previous high 792) Eastern Bluebird 16 (previous high 5) And we tied the record number for the following species: Mute Swan 6 Eastern Towhee 1 (U of G. Arboretum) Fox Sparrow 1 For low numbers, we had: American Kestrel 2 Ruffed Grouse 2 Northern Shrike 0 Other unusual records included: Gadwall-1, Pied-billed Grebe-1, Redhead-1, Lesser Scaup-1, American Coot-1, Carolina Wren-1. Winter finches were almost non-existent, with only 2 Pine Siskins and 1 Purple Finch. Count Week birds (i.e., reported in count week, but not on count day) so far include White-crowned Sparrow, Peregrine Falcon and Long-eared Owl. Thanks to all participants, especially the 13 group leaders, to Dave and Margaret Hull for hosting the tally rally, and Wild Birds Unlimited for their support. Cheers, Mike Cadman - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Mike Cadman Songbird Biologist Canadian Wildlife Service Environment Canada 867 Lakeshore Road Burlington, ON, L7S 1A1 [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Telephone: 905-336-6295 Fax: 905-336-6434 Government of Canada Mike Cadman Biologiste aux oiseaux chanteurs Service canadien de la faune Environnement Canada 867 chemin Lakeshore Burlington, ON, L7S 1A1 [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Téléphone: 905-336-6295 Télécopieur: 905-336-6434 Gouvernement du Canada _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - 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 Visit the OFO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists
