The 46 th Richmond Hill Christmas Bird Count was held this past Saturday Dec. 18th. The Richmond Hill count has been conducted irregularly from 1960 through 1980, and annually since 1981 in a circle north of Toronto that includes the municipalities of Aurora and Richmond Hill, along with portions of several surrounding communities.
Field observation conditions were poor this year with snow that began early and lasted all day, but, as the snow fell, much better for those who could watch feeders for extended periods of time. Participants included 27 field counters and 12 feeder watchers. Of the 124 species ever recorded on this count, 54 were found this year, along with 2 count week species (so far), above the long-term average of 50. The count of individuals was well below the 11,706 average at 9,292. While several common species had low counts, largely due to the weather, both Blue jay and American crow were about half the average count for each at 63 and 96 respectively. One species, the Brown-headed cowbird stood out with a very high count of 45 (all congregated on a single property with many established feeders). The 13 Common ravens, first counted in 2010, exceed the previous high count of 9, and Northern cardinals were close to last year's all-time high of 216, and more than double the long-term average at 198. They have been noticeably abundant locally this year prior to the count. One Iceland gull (Thayer's) and one Glaucous gull were counted on Lake Wilcox. Thanks to everyone who participated. I would especially like to acknowledge our sector team leads, Sharon Bradley, Denise Potter, Mike Gurski, Mike Turk, Frank Pinilla, Bruce Brydon and Marianne Yake for their assistance in organizing the teams and compiling the counts, and to Frank Pinilla for improving the historical report record. Theresa McKenzieCompiler, Richmond Hill CBC -- Ontbirds and Birdnews are moderated email Listservs provided by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) as a service to all birders in Ontario. Birdnews is reserved for announcements, location summaries, first of year reports, etc. To post a message on Birdnews, send an email to: [email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns, contact the Birdnews Moderators by email at [email protected]. Please review posting rules and guidelines at http://ofo.ca/site/content/listserv-guidelines During the COVID-19 pandemic, all Ontario birders should be taking extra precautions and following local, provincial, and federal regulations regarding physical distancing and non-essential travel. To find out more about OFO, please visit our website at ofo.ca or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists.
