The Pakenham-Arnprior CBC, which took place on December 26, has been held under that name since 1970 but is actually a continuation of the Pakenham CBC, which started in 1925, and the Arnprior CBC, which started in 1913. Thus, coverage of the count area has been ongoing for 104 years. This year¹s count was held under historically traditional conditions: temperatures ranged from -18 to 14 deg C, and snow cover was up to a foot deep. The day was sunny and started off calm, making it ideal for hearing woodpecker activity and finches calling overhead. Unfortunately, due to most of the water (three rivers traverse the count circle) being frozen, aquatic species were scarce and no gulls were recorded. Also, for the first time in memory, no waxwings or blackbirds were found on the count. Despite this, the twelve-year average of 53 species was met.
The only finches encountered in reasonable numbers were American Goldfinch (401), Pine Siskin (74), Purple Finch (63), House Finch (22 their decline continues); extremely low numbers were recorded for Red Crossbill (2), Common Redpoll (2), Evening Grosbeak (1), and Pine Grosbeak (1). But, as always, there were highlights: SAVANNAH SPARROW (2nd record), BROWN THRASHER (2nd record), 2 WINTER WRENS (fourth count, ties high count), GOLDEN EAGLE (sixth record), 2 NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS (eighth record, ties high count; both were heard calling mid-morning!). Additionally, there were record high numbers of Dark-eyed Junco (438); 26 Bald Eagles was just two shy of the record. Notably, only 81 House Sparrows were recorded; 2,011 were recorded in 1985. A big thank you to the 40+ participants who took part in this year¹s count. This was my 52nd consecutive Pakenham-Arnprior CBC (four under the Pakenham title and 48 under its current name). Michael Runtz Compiler Pakenham-Arnprior CBC _______________________________________________ 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
