Apologies for being a year late with this posting. These two CBC’s cover the central Bruce Peninsula and provide a great snapshot of winter birds present on the peninsula this time of year.
This was the second year the Cape Chin count has been held and Pike Bay just graduated from year 4. What can I say about the weather… it was cold. There was snow. Lots of both. Also ice. So much ice. Lake Huron was iced well out from the bays. Georgian Bay was open but there was lots of lake fog. So birding conditions… yeah… could have been better. That being said, over a dozen participants marched out on both days. The number of participants is going up slightly each year and I expect this trend to continue into the near future as word spreads. Participants came from Owen Sound, Tobermory, Saugeen Shores, Toronto and even London. The counts combined, just shy of 70 hrs. were spent in the field. Pike Bay CBC (known for having Canada’s first Eurasian Tree Sparrow on a CBC!!!) 37 species; 1607 individuals. No new species for the count. This ties the lowest count but there are only 4 to average from so it is still early days! The low totals and diversity clearly reflect the combination of frigid weather and dicey viewing conditions. *Get this… in 2014 over 2000 Snow Buntings were recorded… more than the number of birds on the CBC this year, lol! Cape Chin CBC (one of the newest CBC’s in Ontario, with some of the highest verticals - Cabot Head!) 31 species; 907 individuals. New species for count: Common Grackle (feeder bird) Down from last year’s count of 37 species, again with severe cold and viewing conditions it’s no wonder. Waterfowl just couldn’t be seen out on Georgian Bay with that crazy ‘lake fog’ phenomenon that’s been haunting these waters this winter. Hard to say if the sometimes numerous Red-necked Grebes were present or not… well… not on count day! Winter Finches (combined counts): Common Redpoll (172) - present in a few large flocks and scattered small numbers. Seen feeding on Eastern White Cedar and Yellow Birch. Surprisingly NO Hoary Redpolls amongst them. Pine Siskin (101) - scarce but 1 flock of 100 Purple Finch - only 4 birds, so very scarce this winter Pine Grosbeak - 6 were seen on the Pike Bay count but they are very scarce on the peninsula this winter American Goldfinch - 280+ and relatively common at feeders and feeding on Eastern White Cedars Other Highlights: Bohemian Waxwing (26) - single flock *note - we have still never recorded Cedar Waxwings on either count… hmmm. Horned Grebe (5) Red-necked Grebe (2) Snowy Owl (1) Highs: Red-breasted Nuthatch - we had 51 and 21, respectively. These are both record high’s, though the winter of 2015/16 had high numbers as well. *this follows with most central and southern Ontario counts this winter. Almost every chickadee flock contains a few RBNU’s and if you are a good “pisher” than big numbers have been easy to record on CBC’s this winter. Golden-crowned Kinglet - 29 and 8. Quite high for the Pike Bay count. Again, pishing… Brown Creeper - 3 … yup just 3, but still a new high for Pike Bay CBC. They are notoriously difficult to find in winter. Ruffed Grouse - 17 and 6. Smashes the old records. I do think it is a good year for them and that this isn’t just an anomaly. Counts will be posted to the Audubon website shortly. Thanks goes out very much to my parents, the Keaveney’s, for cooking up a nice dinner after the Pike Bay count and helping with lots of planning and logistics this year and over the past four. I find these counts a lot of fun and I am glad that you are supportive of this hobby of mine. And to all the participants, the counts are only as good as the numbers you bring back in. Thank you for all your efforts in driving, trekking, watching and recording. Good birding, Andrew Keaveney _______________________________________________ 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
