Hi everyone,
The Holiday Beach CBC took place yesterday, which includes Holiday Beach Conservation Area, Big Creek, the lower Detroit River north to LaSalle, Boblo Island, and surrounding areas. 33 participants (32 in the field and 1 feeder watcher) volunteered for the Count, tallying 72 species and 14,081 individual birds. 4 other species were reported for Count Week. Skies were cloudy and the temperature was just above 0 degrees for the day w/ west winds making things quite cold when exposed. Very little snow was left after the mild temperatures and rain of Dec. 26th and small sections of marsh had open water. High numbers of dabbling ducks were found on these open waters, including a total of 2,184 Mallards. When Lake Erie and parts of the river are frozen, waterfowl get concentrated at the Detroit River mouth in Amherstburg but due to the lake and virtually all of the river being open, lower numbers of diving ducks were found on the count. A few highlights from this year's count included: Snow Goose - 8 (colour morphs unknown) flying over Holiday Beach CA and 5 (2 white, 3 blue) in a flooded field west of Big Creek. Ross's Goose - 1 in a flooded field west of Big Creek Black-crowned Night-Heron - 1 at Holiday Beach CA 30 Bald Eagles on the shoreline ice off of Holiday Beach was a good count. Red-shouldered Hawk - 1 adult west of Holiday Beach CA Count week species included Wild Turkey, Merlin, Cedar Waxwing, and Fox Sparrow. Canvasback numbers were low again this year; likely due to the lower Detroit River being so open. The lower Detroit River is an Important Bird Area and Canvasback is one of the trigger species for the IBA. Thousands of Canvasbacks have been seen flying along the river in recent days but only 80 were found on the Count. Many thanks to all the Area Leaders and volunteers for their hard work and for a fun roundup afterwards. A species thanks to Betty Learmouth for her many years coordinating the Holiday Beach CBC. 2015 was her last year as coordinator but she continues to volunteer on the Count. Jeremy Hatt & Kory Renaud _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca 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
