The 6th annual Winchester Winter Bird Count was held February 16, coinciding with the Great Backyard Bird Count. The count is done CBC fashion, with a circle centred in Winchester in eastern Ontario. Most of the territory consists of open, windswept fields, with a few rural communities and wooded areas. This year, some twenty observers endured grey skies, a persistent biting wind, and sub-zero temperatures to rack up an average count of 40 species, with 6,786 birds counted.
In its short history Snow Bunting has emerged as the count’s marquee species; a record shattering 2,228 were counted this year, eclipsing Eurasian Starling, its closest rival at 1,359. Among the buntings were a scattering of six Lapland Longspurs, and, joining the fun; 116 Horned Lark, a welcome sign of spring. The circle was created with raptors in mind; given a modest flight this year only four Snowy Owls were tallied, well short of the record (22). The commonest vole hunters were Red-tailed Hawks at 20, presumably local nesters unlike the 3 Rough-legged Hawks which are visitors from the arctic, along with the two Northern Shrikes. An American Kestrel, now a rare winterer in eastern Ontario, was a first for the count. Sadly, no Hawk Owls made it onto our tally; if ever there was a year to get one, this was it! A small flock of Canada Geese were the only waterfowl; no surprise as there is next to no open water. A small yet pungent dump explains the starling numbers and, some years produces gulls, this year it held high counts of Herring (94), Great Black-backed (11), and Iceland (4). The Morewood Bog, previously unknown to birders, has emerged as one of the count’s more interesting features. This year it yielded the bulk of a record 16 Golden-crowned Kinglet, a species present in larger numbers than usual this winter. The only “cone predators” were five Red-breasted Nuthatches, and berry birds were virtually absent, with only six robins and one paltry folk of four Cedar Waxwing. Finches were also in short supply, with only 103 American Goldfinch and 29 House Finch. One species that continues to do well is Northern Cardinal, this year’s count of 81 almost doubled the previous high. The count consistently racks up good sparrow numbers and this year was no exception: 12 Song Sparrows dusted the previous high, as did 277 American Tree Sparrow. Icteriids are mostly a no show here in February, so a single Brown-headed Cowbird was notable. Count data was entered into e-bird by all parties, helping to paint a more complete picture of this sparsely birded part of the province. My thanks to all of the participants and to the sector leaders (take a bow Aaron, Bernie and Michelle!); given the slow pace of the birding it is the other birders that make this such a fun count! Mark Gawn _______________________________________________ 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
