The 72nd Kingston CBC was held on Sunday, December 15, 2019. The Christmas circle is centred on the tip of Garden Island and covers the entire west end of Wolfe Island and all of Kingston from Collins Bay in the west to the tip of Howe Island in the east. It extends north above the 401 to include the Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area and Kingston Mills.
Count day was cloudy with strong winds (W 30-40 gusting to 60 km/hr), temperatures near zero (-5°C to +2°C), no precipitation and little snow cover. Although small inland bodies of water were mostly frozen, the main lake was open and rough. A total of 60 participants spent their day in the field and 68 feeder watchers spent almost 200 hours of feeder/yard watching. A record low of 70 species was tallied by day’s end. This was significantly below the 20 year average of 101 species and the previous lowest count of 82 in 2017. A total of 24,618 individual birds was recorded, the second lowest number in 20 years and less than half of the 20 year average of 50,093. The feeder watchers contributed 4 species that weren’t seen in the field: Sharp-shinned Hawk, Common Grackle, Pine Siskin, and Winter Wren (count week). The large number of feeder watchers likely resulted in the maintenance of average numbers of common feeder-type birds. Record or near record low numbers were found for most duck species, partly due to high winds and rough water. More specific details are listed below. THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE SECTION LEADERS, PARTICIPANTS, LANDOWNERS AND OTHERS WHO MADE THE COUNT A SUCCESS! DETAILS Total species: 70 + 2 count week additions (20 year average 101) Total individuals: 24,618 (20 year average 50,093) NEW SPECIES: Palm Warbler (count week) NOTABLE FINDS: A pair of Northern Mockingbirds, a Hermit Thrush, an Iceland Gull, and 6 Pine Siskins. NOTABLE MISSES: See many of the record/equal lows below. RECORD/EQUAL HIGH (last 20 years): Mute Swan 349 (av. 54, previous high 232) American Crow 805 (av. 278, previous high 470) NOTABLE RECORDS ABOVE AVERAGE (20 years): Common Raven 24 (av. 8, 2nd highest in 20 yrs) Northern Cardinal 97 (av. 60, 2nd highest in 20 yrs) RECORD/EQUAL LOW (last 20 years): Tundra Swan 109 (av. 476, previous low 128) Common Goldeneye 213 (av. 1374, previous low 501) Lesser Scaup 0 (av. 390, previous low 3) Northern Pintail 0 (av. 14, previous low 0, 2nd miss in 20 yrs) Northern Shoveler 0 (av. 4, previous low 0, 8th miss in 20 yrs) Green-winged Teal 0 (av. 11, previous low 0, 4th miss in 20 yrs) Canvasback 0 (av. 6, previous low 0, 5th miss in 20 yrs) Rough-legged Hawk 0 (av. 20, previous low 2) American Coot 0 (av. 85, previous low 1) Rough-legged Hawk 0 (av. 20, previous low 2) Rock (feral) Pigeon 464 (av. 1176, previous low 507) Great Horned Owl 1 (av. 7, previous low 2) Pileated Woodpecker 1 (av. 8, previous low 1) American Kestrel 1 (av. 10, previous low 2) Northern Shrike 0 (av. 5, previous low 1) Lapland Longspur 0 (av. 15, previous low 0, 4th miss in 20 yrs) American Tree Sparrow 23 (av. 204, previous low 66) Swamp Sparrow 1 (av. 8, previous low 2) House Sparrow 89 (av. 552, previous low 151) NOTABLE RECORDS BELOW AVERAGE (20 years): Gadwall 78 (av. 365, 2nd lowest count in 20 yrs) American Wigeon 1 (av. 91, 2nd lowest in 20 yrs) American Black Duck 60 (av. 1134, 2nd lowest in 20 yrs) Mallard 2967 (av. 7852, 5th lowest in 20 yrs) Redhead 112 (av. 1489, 4th lowest in 20 yrs) Common Merganser 198 (av. 1503, 2nd lowest in 20 yrs) Red-breasted Merganser 2124 (av. 1584, 6th lowest in 20 yrs, lowest in 15 yrs) Wild Turkey 37 (av. 112, 4th lowest in 20 yrs) Northern Harrier 3 (av. 20, 3rd lowest in 20 yrs) Red-tailed Hawk 18 (av. 38, 2nd lowest in 20 yrs) Horned Lark 4 (av. 87, 3rd lowest in 20 yrs) Golden-crowned Kinglet 12 (av. 27, 3rd lowest in 20 yrs) A full checklist will eventually be available on the CBC website (count code ONKG): http://netapp.audubon.org/CBCObservation/CurrentYear/ResultsByCount.aspx. Regards, Kathy Webb & Bill Depew Kingston CBC Coordinators _______________________________________________ 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
