Posting on behalf of Roger Frost. Margaret Bain
On December 17, 2016, the Port Hope-Cobourg Christmas Bird Count was held under somewhat challenging conditions. Heavy snow during the night and into the morning made driving and birding difficult. A break in the precipitation in the late morning and early afternoon produced some good birding conditions. The 37 observers counted 24,660 birds of 78 species. Two new species were added to the all-time list: Tundra Swan – 3 birds in Port Hope Harbour Lincoln’s Sparrow – 1 bird north of Port Hope Other highlights included: Cackling Goose – 3 Ring-necked Duck – count week Black Scoter – 1 Ruddy Duck – count week Sandhill Crane – count week Short-eared Owl – 1 Red Crossbill – 1 The most amazing thing about this count was the number of species that were tallied in record high numbers: Mute Swan – 21 (previous high 10 in 2009) Mourning Dove – 1897 (previous high 1573 in 2012) Red-bellied Woodpecker – 33 (previous high 16 in 2012) Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 4 (previous high 1 several times) Hermit Thrush – 3 (previous high 2, twice) American Robin – 3409 (previous high 1193 in 1998). They were everywhere! European Starling – 4076 (previous high 3101 in 1998) Eastern Towhee – 4 (previous high 2, twice) Fox Sparrow – 10 (previous high 1, twice) Swamp Sparrow – 3 (tied 3 other years) White-throated Sparrow – 58 (previous high 29 in 2005) White-crowned Sparrow – 2 (tied 3 other years) While no species posted record low numbers, both waterfowl and finches were scarcer than usual. Roger Frost, Compiler _______________________________________________ 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
