Unfortunately, several of the “regulars” could not participate in this year’s count. Despite slightly less coverage, a few “goodies” were still tallied. A male Gadwall that was first discovered in the Madawaska River on Christmas Day could not be located on Boxing Day during the first two surveys of the river, primarily because the gates on the Hydro dam had closed, allowing the river to freeze overnight. This also caused the two Red-breasted Mergansers and two Lesser Scaup seen during count week to vanish. Fortunately, later in the day the Gadwall was spotted by Ryan Zimmerling and me in a small piece of open water below the weir, providing the second record of this species on the Count.
Eric Ridgen’s son David (who could not take part this year) scouted prior to the Count and in addition to the scaup, found two Peregrine Falcons near St. John’s Chrysostom Church, as well an Eastern Screech-Owl in its roost cavity. Eric tallied both these great finds on Count Day! The two Peregrines, a record high tally, constituted the third record of this dynamic species. Other high tallies were taken for Northern Cardinal (69), Red-bellied Woodpecker (4, a new record), and White-throated Sparrow (3).
Other highlights included: a Winter Wren (5th record) encountered by Art Goldsmith on the Macnamara Trail; a White-crowned Sparrow (7th record) found by Christian Artuso and Brian and Lise Young; a Golden Eagle (8th record) spotted by Christian Roy and Elisa Elizondo; and a Northern Saw-whet Owl (10th record) being mobbed by chickadees found by Christian Artuso and Brian and Lise Young. Arlene Harrold and Maureen and Paul Carrier made the surprising discovery of three Gray Partridge, a species previously thought to be extirpated in our area.
The best bird was a Turkey Vulture encountered by Ryan Zimmerling and me sheltering in Glenn Dean’s barn. Sadly, it was an injured bird that could not fly but it appeared strong and elusive. This was not only a new species for the count, it was also a new Family (Cathartidae) and new Order (Cathartiformes)!
Wind, an enemy of the Count, was nearly absent, and despite light flurries falling through much of the rather mild day (-10 to -4 °C), conditions were quite good for tallying birds. Unfortunately, coniferous trees failed to produce seeds this year and as a result crossbills and Purple Finch were absent. But American Goldfinch were present in large numbers, as were Bohemian and Cedar waxwings. A total of 55 species was tallied, which is about average for the Count.
| 37 Canada Goose 1* Gadwall (2nd) 84 Mallard 2 American Black Duck 49 Common Goldeneye 2 Common Merganser 3 Gray Partridge 5 Ruffed Grouse 541 Wild Turkey 569 Rock Pigeon 325 Mourning Dove 1** Turkey Vulture (NEW) 2 Bald Eagle 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Cooper’s Hawk 1 Northern Goshawk 12 Red-tailed Hawk 2 Rough-legged Hawk 1 Golden Eagle (8th) 2 Eastern Screech-Owl 1 Northern Saw-whet Owl (10th) 1 Belted Kingfisher 4** Red-bellied Woodpecker 55 Downy Woodpecker 54 Hairy Woodpecker 17 Pileated Woodpecker 2 Merlin 2** Peregrine Falcon (3rd) | 3 Northern Shrike 333 Blue Jay 171 American Crow 72 Common Raven 641 Black-capped Chickadee 17 Red-breasted Nuthatch 116 White-breasted Nuthatch 5 Brown Creeper 1 Winter Wren (5th) 5 Golden-crowned Kinglet 45 American Robin 901 European Starling 658 Bohemian Waxwing 74 Cedar Waxwing 174 House Sparrow 561 Evening Grosbeak 15 Pine Grosbeak 41 House Finch 31 Common Redpoll 2 Pine Siskin 304 American Goldfinch 245 Snow Bunting 58 American Tree Sparrow 3* White-throated Sparrow 1 White-crowned Sparrow (7th) 103 Dark-eyed Junco 69* Northern Cardinal |
| 55 species | 32 field observers |
| 6,426 individuals | 10 feeder watchers |
Count Week: Lesser Scaup, Red-breasted Merganser,Horned Lark
* Ties record high count
** Record high count
Boldfaced species = observed < 10 times prior to this year’s Count
(#) = current number of times uncommon species recorded on Counts
Bold and Underlined = New Species