The Presqu'ile Christmas Bird Count was held on December 17th under good conditions (above 0, overcast in the morning and precipitation in the afternoon). It has been an unusually warm year, and all water was open which was great for finding many species of ducks. The lack of snow cover on the ground reduced bird numbers at feeders and lower number of passerines that were counted as a result. 28 field observers and 2 feeder watchers found a total of 75 species, 13764 individual birds. New high counts include Ring-necked Duck (22; previous high 21), Cackling Goose (4; previous high 2), Trumpeter Swan (39; previous 23). Also of note, there was the lowest number of Mute Swans counted (344) since 2005. That is when numbers were just beginning to increase. Hopefully this is the beginning of a downward trend in Mute Swan numbers and it is not just an artifact of the open water and birds being spread out and harder to count.
Other birds of interest included 3 Purple Sandpipers on Gull Island in Presqu'ile, Carolina Wren coming to a feeder along Bayshore rd in Presqu'ile, White-crowned Sparrow in Presquile and a Common Yellowthroat at the Brighton constructed Wetlands. Thank you to all the participants! Andrea Kingsley- Presquile CBC compiler [email protected] -- 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.
