Hi everyone, The Holiday Beach CBC took place on Saturday, December 30th. The count includes Holiday Beach Conservation Area, Big Creek, the lower Detroit River north to LaSalle (Lower Detroit IBA), Boblo Island, and surrounding areas. 30 participants (29 in the field and 1 feeder watcher) volunteered for the Count, tallying 77 species and 14,829 individual birds. 4 additional species were reported during Count Week.
Skies were partly cloudy in the morning turning to cloudy in the mid-afternoon. The temperature was around -9C degrees for the day w/ west winds making things quite cold when exposed. All ground was snow-covered this year and there was a lot of ice cover on the Detroit River and Lake Erie. Big Creek and the Holiday Beach marsh were frozen over. High numbers of Mallards were found in corn fields east of Amherstburg including a total of 3,499 Mallards. Gull numbers were down significantly from the 2016 count, which was fairly mild with lots of open water on the river and Lake Erie. A few highlights from this year's count included: Double-crested Cormorant - 1 flying high over Boblo Island. Red-shouldered Hawk – 1 in the vicinity of Holiday Beach American Coot – 1 in an open area of water next to Boblo Island on the Detroit River. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 1 at Holiday Beach. Ruby-crowned Kinglet – 4 in various woodlots in the count circle. Northern Mockingbird – 1 long-staying bird in Amherstburg. Chipping Sparrow – 1 in the Big Creek area. Count week species included Snowy Owl, Merlin, Gray Catbird, and Rusty Blackbird. Many thanks to all the Area Leaders and volunteers for braving the cold and for a great roundup afterwards. Jeremy Hatt & Kory Renaud _______________________________________________ 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
