The 10th Annual Saugeen Shores Christmas Bird Count was held on Thursday, January 2, 2014. Thirty-one (31) hardy folks spent a cold, -17C day, surveying a 24-km diameter circle that included Southampton, Port Elgin, MacGregor Point, parts of Paisley and areas in between. The temperature never wavered all day, however, the wind, thankfully, was light. Around 6cm of fresh snow covered a thick crust of snow. Seven individuals participated by counting the birds visiting their feeders. A total of 55 species were seen. A new low of 3387 individual birds were sighted during the day.
A number of species were at new highs – American Robin (50), Yellow-rumped Warbler (3), Bluejay (206), Common Goldeneye (64) and Snowy Owl (19). There were also a number of noticeable low count numbers – Rock Pigeon (137), American Kestrel (0), Snow Buntings (326) and House Sparrow (38). Black-capped Chickadee (200) and European Starling (456) were also well below average in reported sightings. Many finch species were either absent or seen in very low numbers as had been predicted in Ron Pittaway’s Winter Finch Forecast for 2013-14. New to the count were a Hermit Thrush and a White-crowned Sparrow (count week). We summarized the count over dinner. The team with the fewest sightings (24 species during the day) won the “honorary rubber chicken” presented by Mike Pickup. I am sure that the recipients will proudly display this honorary bird on their mantle! Thank you to all the participants who donated their time to contribute to this Citizen Science project which enhances the understanding of bird populations. Norah Toth Saugeen Shores Christmas Bird Count Compiler Norah Toth Follow the Huron Fringe Birding Festival's blog: http://huronfringefest.wordpress.com _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - 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
