Sorry, cut and paste made the first report almost illegible. The 14th Saugeen Shores Christmas Bird Count took place on Wednesday, January 3, 2018 with 28 people participating and 10 feeder watchers. The weather threatened white out conditions and it was determined that in order to get people home earlier, we would finish the day at 3 pm. A southwest wind had speeds from 25 to 44 kilometres. Snow depths were listed as 45 cm with an additional 6 cm during the day. Visibility ranged from good to fair to poor. Highway 21 south of Port Elgin remained closed for part of the day. Creeks and inland lakes were frozen; the Saugeen River had a small amount of open water. The temperature was between -11 and -14 Celsius during the count. We found a total of 3504 individual birds; representing 49 species which is below the average of 53. No species were new to the count so the cumulative total remains at 102 species. Of interest is an Oregon Junco which was photographed at the same feeder where one was recorded during the 2017 count. Some totals that may be interesting are Snowy Owl (15), Brown-headed Cowbird (6, high for the count), Common Redpoll (40), American Goldfinch (733, 2nd highest for the count), House Sparrow (3, low for the count). Thank you to all the participants, some of whom traveled a distance to help. Their time, effort and skills were greatly appreciated. Norah Toth, Chair Huron Fringe Birding Festiva
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