This year was the 32nd count for our count circle which includes most of Caledon and parts of Erin, Orangeville and Mono. We had an excellent turnout of 35 observers grouped into 13 teams, plus 8 feeder watchers. Observers logged 64 hours and 686 km driving and on foot.
The bird count was on Dec 28, a warm day of 6 to 8° C but with fog all day long and rain in the afternoon. The fog meant that every bird was grey. Although we started out with low expectations due to the conditions, we ended the day with excellent numbers: a record high 50 species, and 5,304 birds, the best number since 2015. Record highs were influenced by the mild winter up to this point: Trumpeter Swan - 10 Lesser Scaup - 12 Red-breasted Merganser - 10 Belted Kingfisher - 4 (tie) Merlin - 1 (tie) Golden-crowned Kinglet - 19 American Robin - 203 Northern Mockingbird - 1 (tie) Cedar Waxwing - 374 White-throated Sparrow - 3 (tie) Rusty Blackbird - 9 Brown-headed Cowbird - 3 (tie) The Rusty Blackbirds were a new addition to our all-time species list, now at 99. A notable miss was any gulls. Thanks to all the participants and especially to Ron Jasiuk for organizing the teams and providing the venue for an excellent after-count dinner and socializing. Russ McGillivray, CBC Compiler for ONCD -- 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.
