The 9th Annual Saugeen Shores CBC occurred on Wednesday, January 2, 2013
with 27 people participating. The temperature started at -7C and
dropped throughout the day. There were lake effect flurries all day
with slight drifting occurring. Visibility was reduced at times. A
total of .4 mm of fresh snow fell during the day which started with 6 - 8 cm of snow on the ground.
Total observers: 27 (plus 4 feeder watchers)
Total species: 53
Total individual birds: 7431
New Species for the Count: Brown-headed Cowbird, Merlin
Noteworthy observations for the count:
The
Saugeen River and Lake Huron were quite open this year. This no doubt
contributed to the fact that we have a new high for Redhead seen in
large rafts off-shore and a new high for Common Goldeneye.
Hawks and
Bald Eagles were down significantly. Weather may be a contributing
factor related to their not flying or being visible. Snowy Owl numbers
and sightings were also down from
2011.
Common Raven numbers were down. This could be attributed, in
part, to the fact that a known very popular roost in the area, a barn,
had been torn down this past summer.
Winter finches were almost absent.
Common Redpolls were seen in good number but Pine Siskins were absent.
The male Brown-headed Cowbird and Merlin were both seen at feeders.
We all had a good day and were all glad to be part of the Saugeen Shores Christmas Bird Count which is coordinated by MacGregor Point Provincial Park.
Norah Toth
Count Compiler
• Great Blue Heron (GBHE)
• Ruffed Grouse (RUGR)
• Wild Turkey (WITU)
• Mute Swan (MUSW)
• Canada Goose -(CANG)
• Mallard (MALL)
• American Black Duck (ABDU)
• Redhead (REDH)
• Greater Scaup (GRSC)
• Long-tailed Duck (LTDU)
• Bufflehead (BUFF)
• Common Goldeneye (COGO)
• Hooded Merganser (HOME)
• Common Merganser (COME)
• Red-breasted Merganser (RBME)
• Sharp-shinned Hawk (SSHA)
• Red-tailed Hawk (RTHA)
• Rough-legged Hawk (RLHA)
• Golden Eagle (GOEA)
• Bald Eagle (BAEA)
• Merlin (MERL)
• American Kestrel (AMKE)
• Snowy Owl (SNOW)
• Mourning Dove (MODO)
• Rock Pigeon (ROPI)
• Bonaparte's Gull (BOGU)
• Ring-billed Gull (RBGU)
• Red-bellied Woodpecker (RBWO)
• Downy Woodpecker (DOWO)
• Hairy Woodpecker (HAWO)
• Pileated Woodpecker (PIWO)
• Blue Jay (BLJA)
• Common Raven (CORA)
• American Crow (AMCR)
• Northern Shrike (NSHR)
• Bohemian Waxwing (BOWA)
• Black-capped Chickadee (BCCH)
• Red-breasted Nuthatch (RBNU)
• White-breasted Nuthatch (WBNU)
• Brown Creeper (BRCR)
• Golden-crowned Kinglet (GCKI)
• Snow Bunting (SNBU)
• Dark-eyed Junco (DEJU)
• American Tree Sparrow (ATSP)
• Song Sparrow (SOSP)
• House Sparrow (HOSP)
• Purple Finch (PUFI)
• House Finch (HOFI)
• Common Redpoll (CORE)
• American Goldfinch (AMGO)
• Northern Cardinal (NOCA)
• European Starling (EUST)
• Brown-headed Cowbird (BHCO)