Timmins' 31st Christmas Bird Count took place on Sat. December 21, 2024. With its center at the intersection of Highway 101 and 655, the ONTM circle includes Porcupine, South Porcupine, Schumacher and Timmins.
A total of 36 people joined the count: 23 participants (in 10 teams) covered routes in the field, while 13 observers watched 9 yards/feeders. This was our highest participation to date. It was a perfect winter day for the count, with morning temperatures of -25°C (-34°C with the wind), increasing by late afternoon to -19°C (-26°C with the wind) ); the wind remained calm (7 to 11 km/h NW). All lakes and creeks were frozen, with only a portion of the Mattagami river with open sections near town. Snow depth was average for this date at 9 to 13 inches. Results: 26 species were found on count day (above the 30-yr average of 20 species), totalling 1063 individuals. (+3 additional species were recorded during count week) Unusual & new species: - 2 new species were added to the ONTM list on count day, both unusual winter records for Timmins: a Red-tailed Hawk and a Grey Catbird. - A 'count week' Red-winged Blackbird was another new species added to the ONTM list. - Other unusual species for winter: 1 White-throated Sparrow (6th count with this species), 1 American Tree Sparrow (3rd count with this species) Notable absence: Boreal Chickadee and Bohemian Waxwing. Owl species were also absent on count day; only a 'count week' Snowy Owl (1) was reported. Low: Only 4 Red-breasted Nuthatches were found; their CBC numbers have been below average for the 3rd year now in Timmins. (30-yr average is 6, with a High Count of 22 in 2019) High: Black-capped Chickadee (196) and Ruffed Grouse (16) were both high counts. Resident woodpeckers were well represented; all 5 were found on count day: Downy (11), Hairy (34) , Black-backed (4) and Pileated (10) all exceeded their previous high counts, and one American Three-toed Woodpecker (1) was found (it is now the 7th count out of 31 with this elusive species). Finches: - White-winged Crossbills (15) were a welcome species on count day after being completely absent for the past 3 CBCs. - Redpoll numbers (45) were below the 30-year average of 71. - No Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch were reported. - Evening Grosbeaks (78) were slightly over the 30-yr average of 70, and Pine Grosbeaks (83) slightly over the 30-yr average of 63. A sincere thank you to all the volunteers who joined the count, And a wonderful 2025 to all of you, Roxane Filion South Porcupine -- 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: birdnews@ontbirds.ca. If you have any questions or concerns, contact the Birdnews Moderators by email at birdn...@ofo.ca. Please review posting rules and guidelines at http://ofo.ca/site/content/listserv-guidelines To find out more about OFO, please visit our website at ofo.ca or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists.
