Yesterday, December 27, was the 36th Wallaceburg Christmas Bird Count (CBC). Weather was essentially crappy even though it was a weekday! This, no doubt had some bearing on numbers.
The tally at time of this writing was 83 species, a bit above average and certainly respectable considering the weather and conditions so far this year.
I did my usual area around Wallaceburg, including the town, and came up with 41 species. No real highlights, but a Snowy Owl was nice to see.
Some Sandhill Cranes (48) showed up on cue, but they slept in a bit this day. Timing was right, as I saw them fly in to their usual spot between Langstaff and Stewart Lines while I was on private property.
I did have two small groups of Common Redpolls, but they were on the move as usual.
I had five Pied-billed Grebes in my area, all along the Chenal Ecarte, as usual. With the dismal weather, photography was a challenge.
Gadwall numbered 13 in Roberta Stewart Wetland, which were there the entire day.
We had quite a bit of snow early morning which made things easier to see at least.
Some highlights of the count included Golden Eagle (Walpole Island), Turkey Vulture (7), and a Double-crested Cormorant. Also, a Yellow-headed Blackbird was found on the south end of Walpole Island, not too unexpected there!
Too bad the count was not the previous day, as weather was gorgeous. I went up to Sarnia to take a gander at the female King Eider hanging out at the mouth of Lake Huron. It was too distant for a proper photo though!
I think this is the eighth King Eider I have seen at Sarnia over the years. One was a young male, but I have yet to see an adult male King Eider anywhere!
Lots of gulls are around Corunna, but we have yet to find something of note. We need a real winter with cold weather and ice!
My feeders have the usual birds, including a couple of Red-breasted Nuthatches and White-breasted Nuthatch. These taken at a distance through a window. Been many years since I have had something decent.
Next CBC in the area is St. Clair NWA on Saturday when the weather will be crappy....again! lol.
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