The 74th Kingston CBC was held on Sunday, December 19. The count circle is centered on the tip of Garden Island and covers the entire west end of Wolfe Island and all of Kingston from Collins Bay in the west to the tip of Howe Island in the east; it extends north above the 401 to include the Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area and Kingston Mills.
Count day was beautiful and sunny with temperatures just below zero and very light winds. There was about 10 cm of snow cover, the small inland bodies of water were mostly frozen and the main lake was open and fairly calm. We had 60 participants in the field and a good turnout of 103 feeder watchers – a great COVID-safe activity. Overall, approximately 400 hours of birding! A total of 89 species was tallied in the field with at least 1 additional count week species. This is better than the previous 4 years but below the 20 year average of 98 species. There were no new species recorded. There were 37,009 individual birds tallied, 77% of the 20 year average of 48,119. Notable finds included a Greater White-fronted Goose, 2 Pied-billed Grebes (at 2 different locations), Horned Grebe, 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglets (at a single location), an Eastern Towhee and a Northern Mockingbird (count week). Specific details about the numerous high and low counts are noted below. Notable lows were found for many duck species. As predicted by this year’s finch forecast, this was not an irruption year. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO MADE THIS YEAR’S COUNT A SUCCESS! Kathy Webb & Bill Depew Kingston CBC Coordinators ********************** SPECIFIC DETAILS Total species: 89 + 1 count week addition (20 year average 98) Total individuals: 37,009 (20 year average 48,119) Participants: 60 in the field, 103 feeder watchers NEW SPECIES: none COUNT WEEK SPECIES: Northern Mockingbird NOTABLE FINDS: Greater White-fronted Goose, Pied-billed Grebe (2), Horned Grebe, Ruby-crowned Kinglet (3), Eastern Towhee RECORD/EQUAL HIGH (last 20 years): Ring-necked Duck 253 (av. 68, previous high 230) Pied-billed Grebe 2 (av. 0.3, equal high 2) Sharp-shinned Hawk 6 (av. 2, previous high 5) Eastern Screech Owl 9 (av. 4, previous high 7) Red-bellied Woodpecker 23 (av. 7, previous high 16) Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 4 (av. 0.2, previous high 1) Downy Woodpecker 125 (av. 73, equal high 125) Northern Flicker 13 (av. 2, previous high 8) Merlin 5 (av. 2, previous high 4) Blue Jay 356 (av. 225, previous high 329) Red-breasted Nuthatch 60 (av. 14, previous high 50) Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3 (av. 0.3, previous high 2) Hermit Thrush 10 (av. 0.5, previous high 1) European Starling 7952 (av. 2549, previous high 4748) Dark-eyed Junco 728 (av. 195, previous high 496) White-throated Sparrow 75 (av. 10, previous high 35) American Goldfinch 456 (av. 185, previous high 449) NOTABLE RECORDS ABOVE AVERAGE (20 years): Mute Swan 332 (av. 91, 3rd highest in 20 yrs) Greater Scaup 6114 (av. 2243, 2nd highest in 20 yrs) Bald Eagle 30 (av. 16, 3rd highest in 20 yrs) Short-eared Owl 11 (av. 3, 3rd highest in 20 yrs) American Crow 795 (av. 354, 3rd highest in 20 yrs) Common Raven 58 (av. 12, 2nd highest in 20 yrs) Black-capped Chickadee 1225 (av. 847, 2nd highest in 20 yrs) Carolina Wren 5 (av. 1.6, 2nd highest in 20 yrs) Northern Cardinal 203 (av. 71, 2nd highest in 20 yrs) House Finch 358 (av. 169, 2nd highest in 20 yrs) RECORD/EQUAL LOW (last 20 years): Redhead 50 (av. 1479, previous low 56) Great Black-backed Gull 2 (av. 40, previous low 3) Great Horned Owl 1 (av. 6, previous low 1) NOTABLE RECORDS BELOW AVERAGE (20 years): Tundra Swan 159 (av. 475, 2nd lowest in 20 yrs) Gadwall 134 (av. 378, 3rd lowest in 20 yrs) American Wigeon 12 (av. 91, 7th lowest in 20 yrs) American Black Duck 221 (av. 1022, 5th lowest in 20 yrs) Mallard 2104 (av. 7227, 6th lowest in 20 yrs) Long-tailed Duck 366 (av. 783, 7th lowest in 20 yrs) Common Goldeneye 589 (av. 1230, 4th lowest in 20 yrs) American Coot 6 (av. 85, 4th lowest in 20 yrs) Ring-billed Gull 140 (av. 379, 5th lowest in 20 yrs) Horned Lark 3 (av. 77, 5th lowest in 20 yrs) Cedar Waxwing 5 (av. 59, 3rd lowest in 20 yrs) Lapland Longspur 0 (av. 14, 6th miss in 20 yrs) Snow Bunting 213 (av. 538, 7th lowest in 20 yrs) A full checklist will eventually be available on the CBC website (count code ONKG): http://netapp.audubon.org/CBCObservation/CurrentYear/ResultsByCount.aspx -- 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.
