The ONRI Christmas Bird Count was held on Saturday, December 14, 2024. It was a sparkling, clear, sunny winter day, with temperatures between -15.2 and -6.4 C, and most of the ponds in the circle were frozen. This year 49 people participated where of 41 FO and 13 FW. For the first time since the count began in 2016, no new species were found on count day, leaving the ONRI species list at 82. However, 2 new species were found during count week: a Turkey Vulture was seen in Manotick on Dec 13 and the first Swamp Sparrow was found in Stony Swamp just a day after the count. This brings the overall count week total to 92 species. Record high counts were set this year for 7 species, three of them waterfowl - Mallard, Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser. Mallards and Northern Cardinals both broke previous records by substantial margins. There were no extraordinary low counts among species that regularly occur in the count circle. However, other than Goldfinches and House Finches that continue to be abundant, sightings of other finches and waxwings were sparse – the every second-year bump in grosbeak and redpoll numbers did not materialize. Thanks to my co-organizers Tony Beck and Peter Blancher, all Sector Leaders, Field Observers and Feeder Watchers for making this another successful CBC!Also big thanks to Janet Clark for hosting the compilation.
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