Yesterday was the Wallaceburg Christmas Bird Count, ongoing since 1986. We lucked out with very nice weather, something of an anomaly lately. It has been very dismal weather-wise this month!
The species tally was 85, our fifth highest, well above the average the past ten years. There were some very good birds, but nothing spectacular as some of our past counts have revealed. Counters were in their own usual areas, and of course, no gathering at the end of the day.
I did my usual area around the town of Wallaceburg, starting at Roberta Stewart Wetland. I arrived before sun-up to begin my day.
I found the usual waterfowl (including Gadwall) which had been hanging around for some time. Also present were Pied-billed Grebes (4), those also had been hanging around. These grebes are quite regular along the Snye in early winter, but you have to be quick to spot them as they can dive and completely disappear!
I moved to the north end of MacDonald Park to take a peak. I was just getting in the car when I heard the familiar calls of Sandhill Cranes. I "craned" my neck to to see them. Right on cue, the Michigan birds were heading overhead to spend the day in Ontario. I guess the 'eats' are no good in Michigan! I fired off a couple of record photos.
I could not get an accurate count, but there were at least 140, the most I have ever seen in this group. Usually this annual flock is gone by this time, but they stayed this year! A few others were added in the count making a new high for our CBC of 145.
I stopped by the old workplace next, a stone's throw from Stewart, finding a few birds including a Carolina Wren near the pond.
Next walk was at Peers Wetland. This place is usually very quiet this time of year once it freezes. The wetland was mainly frozen and coupled with the recent dike work, there was much less vegetation for birds. Starting off, I found a White-crowned Sparrow which is decent for my area.
The Motus tracking tower was toppled over a month ago in that big wind storm we had. I let them know what happened, but I guess they have nobody to send out right now to rectify the situation.
The rest of my day was somewhat uneventful.
Summarizing the count, Ducks were very low in numbers this year with no Canvasback recorded. An American Coot at Leeland Gardens was a nice addition to the day's list.
Snowy Owls are fewer in the province this year, with our count getting 3. Only one Long-eared Owl was found (known spot!) on the count, while only three Short-eared were found.
Five Purple Finch were tallied, always a difficult one to find on this count. A couple of Pine Siskins as well, which are almost as difficult.
A fair number of blackbirds were around, but nothing rare. I found quite a few in town on my route--certainly more than usual. None with yellow heads though.
For the warblers, only one Common Yellowthroat and one Yellow-rumped were recorded not surprisingly. There are few of those this winter.
We always have a fine team of dedicated counters, and thanks goes to Steve Charbonneau for organizing and compiling this count all these years.
The next count in our district is St. Clair NWA on January 1. That is Friday when the weather deteriorates...lol!
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