This past weekend we saw the last two Christmas Bird Counts locally. The St. Clair NWA was on Saturday, and the Skunk's Misery was on Sunday. The weather was less than ideal, as it had been most of the holiday, unfortunately. And, just like clockwork, Monday Morning was clear and sunny. Give me a break!!
The St. Clair count did well and the morning was not entirely bad under dull skies. I did the wildlife area with Donald Pye and Pete Read. Donald and I walked all the way around the publicly accessible route. The tally was not as good as my visit two days previous, but after all it was the weekend.
Our highlight was unseen but we determined it to be a Sora. I heard it a total of seven times. After some discussion, we eliminated everything but Sora. Recordings played seemed to match what we would hear from a Sora this time of year. Turns out it is a new species for the count!
We ended up with five Marsh Wrens, a far cry from what I had on my earlier visit, but still a decent total.
Waterfowl makes up the bulk of the numbers on this count. There was not as much waterfowl visible this day compared to my previous visit.
Lots of Tundra Swans, and a pair of Mute Swans, but no Trumpeter. Last year we tallied Trumpeter, a new species for the count.
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| Mute Swan |
The wildlife area was full of waterfowl first thing, but by the time we were done, it was silent! Almost everything left to feed in the fields.
We also saw 14 Sandhill Cranes, 225 Ring-necked Ducks, lots of Northern Shovelers (probably a high), 26 Snow Geese and some other odds and ends at the wildlife area.
I am told the count reached a total of 90 species, quite respectable! There were some good finds including an Orange-crowned Warbler at Jeannette's Creek, new for the count!
This owl popped its head out to say goodbye as I left the wildlife area.
Sunday, we woke up to a few centimetres of snow. It was still coming down when we started counting at first light. I did the usual area around Thamesville and NE of the village. It was terribly quiet for my area. Certainly the fewest birds I have seen for this count.
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| View along the Thames at Tecumseh Monument |
This count always gets lots of Dark-eyed Juncos and this year was no exception. Besides a few here and there, I did come across a large flock at one point. One individual appeared to have some "Oregon" blood.
A couple of White-crowned Sparrows popped up at one point.
There were lots of Horned Larks and a few Snow Buntings. Lapland Longspurs were seen here and there as well.
I do not have the results as of yet, but maybe the tally will likely be around 64 species, about average. Others did well in their respective areas. I know a Catbird was found at Wardsville, and of course Golden Eagles are always found on this count.
So, done till next December. Hopefully we will be under more normal circumstances.
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