The Pakenham-Arnprior CBC took place on December 26. The current count name reflects two historic counts that ran in the area: the Arnprior CBC, which ran from 1913 to 1931, and the Pakenham CBC, that ran from 1925 to 1969, and then had its name changed to the current one to reflect the count¹s ancestry.
The weather conditions were about the best that I have witnessed in my 50 years (consecutive ones!) on the count. The temps ranged from minus four to plus three, but the remarkable thing was the complete lack of wind all day long. Because of the unusually warm temperatures in the weeks preceding count day, all moving water was open (the count includes parts of the Madawaska, Mississippi, and Ottawa rivers). And the water was like glass all day, making for ideal scanning conditions. The highlight of the count was the BULLOCK¹S ORIOLE, which will have some tough days ahead once the temperature plummets. There were four other new species seen on count day: RED-THROATED LOON, RED-NECKED GREBE, DOULBE-CRESTED CORMORANT, and LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL; these four species were present courtesy of the mild temps and open water combination. The five new species brings the cumulative species list to 125, a very respectable total for an inland count that normally has little open water. In total, 60 species were tallied, which, although higher than the average of 54 species, is not a record (66 remains the record). Other birds of interest: RING-NECKED PHEASANT (4th Count; but was the bird wild or an escapee?), COMMON LOON (4th count, 7 birds), NORTHERN HARRIER (5th count), RING-BILLED GULL (6th count, 10 birds), GLAUCOUS GULL (4th count, 2 birds), LONG-EARED OWL ( 3rd count), and RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER (8th count). Record high tallies were taken for: Canada Goose (1,561), American Black Duck (14), Common Goldeneye (101), Herring Gull (316), Ring-billed Gull (10), Great Black-backed Gull (31), Eastern Screech-Owl (3), Barred Owl (10), and Song Sparrow (5). Apart from American Goldfinches, finches were either tallied in very low numbers (i.e., Evening Grosbeak: 1; White-winged Crossbill: 7; Common Redpoll: 32) or were absent (no Red Crossbills or Pine Grosbeaks this year). Great Horned Owls were not recorded (that species has really crashed in recent years) and Horned Larks were absent. Only one Northern Shrike was seen (Meadow Voles appear to be at a low ebb in their population cycle). Count week: a Snowy Owl was seen plus several species that would have been new for the count: SANDHILL CRANE, KILLDEER, and PINE WARBLER. A complete summary of the count will appear on the Macnamara Field Naturalists¹ Club website (mfnc.ca). Happy Birding! Michael Runtz Compiler, Pakenham-Arnprior CBC _______________________________________________ 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 Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
