This year was the 34th count for our circle which includes most of Caledon, Orangeville and parts of Erin, and Mono. The bird count was on Friday January 2. The temperature was -7°C with significant wind at times. This was the coldest count since 2017. Only the largest streams were open so there were few waterfowl, and this substantially cut the number of birds counted.
Twenty-seven field observers took part, lower than the 39 last year. However, we more than doubled the number of feeder watchers at 8. Field observers logged 46.5 hours and covered 637 km driving or on foot. 2,598 birds were counted, the lowest count since 2013 (average 3,645 in the prior five years). We found 39 species, which is slightly below average. Two species were found only on the Feeder Watch – Brown Creeper and Purple Finch. There were three high counts – Bald Eagle (4, tied with 2021), Red Breasted Nuthatch (47, previous 38 in 2022) and Juncos (346, previous 335 in 2017). Absent were any Gulls, Owls, Kingfishers, Bluebirds, Song Sparrows or Pine Siskins. Russ McGillivray Compiler -- 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 To find out more about OFO, please visit our website at ofo.ca or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists.
