The 2023 Pakenham-Arnprior CBC was held under near-perfect conditions. The temperature ranged from -0.5 °C to plus 3 °C, with very little wind. There was only a dusting of snow on the ground, so walking was easy. Yet, fewer species and total numbers of birds were lower than average.
Woodpeckers continue to be tallied in low numbers, in fact close to 30% of their record high counts. Of no small surprise, however, a record high count was tallied for Red Crossbill; the previous high count of 35 individuals was more than doubled by this year’s tally of 84. The two Belted Kingfishers tied the previous high count for that species.
Other highlights included 5 Eastern Bluebirds and a Northern Flicker, a 3rd and a 2nd record respectively, both tallied near Pakenham by Alberto Suárez. A Peregrine Falcon was the 4th record, and a Common Loon was the fifth time this species has been recorded; both were tallied by Ryan Zimmerling and me. The best bird, however, was a Red-shouldered Hawk found by Jim and Liisa Mountain. This was a new bird for the count, which now boasts 132 species on its all-time list!
There were some notable absentees on the count. Evening Grosbeaks, Pine Grosbeaks, and Common Redpolls failed to show up this winter. No Horned Larks were seen and a single Song Sparrow that was present during Count Week (3 days either side of Count Day) was a no-show on Count Day. Once again, no Great Horned Owls, American (Northern) Goshawks, or American Kestrels were tallied, and Snowy Owls also failed to make an appearance.
This was my 58th consecutive year of participation on this count and I look forward to seeing many of you on my 59th count, which will be held on Boxing Day 2024!
For those who took part in the 2023 CBC, thank you very much. I hope you can participate again and if you weren’t able to come for the 2023 Count, I hope you can make it this year.
At your earliest convenience, please let me know if you are planning to participate on the 2024 Boxing Day’s Pakenham-Arnprior CBC.
| 7 Canada Goose 33 Mallard 20 Common Goldeneye 1 Hooded Merganser 6 Common Merganser 15 Ruffed Grouse 283 Wild Turkey 1 Common Loon (5th) 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Cooper’s Hawk 11 Bald Eagle 1** Red-shouldered Hawk (NEW) 12 Red-tailed Hawk 2 Rough-legged Hawk 40 Herring Gull 704 Rock Pigeon 197 Mourning Dove 1 Eastern Screech-Owl 1 Barred Owl 2* Belted Kingfisher 40 Downy Woodpecker 49 Hairy Woodpecker 1* Northern Flicker (2nd) 16 Pileated Woodpecker 4 Merlin 1 Peregrine Falcon (4th) | 4 Northern Shrike 387 Blue Jay 420 American Crow 71 Common Raven 629 Black-capped Chickadee 66 Red-breasted Nuthatch 103 White-breasted Nuthatch 23 Brown Creeper 13 Golden-crowned Kinglet 5 Eastern Bluebird (3rd) 26 American Robin 1041 European Starling 150 Bohemian Waxwing 7 Cedar Waxwing 27 Snow Bunting 56 American Tree Sparrow 267 Dark-eyed Junco 1 White-throated Sparrow 26 Northern Cardinal 5 Red-winged Blackbird 62 House Finch 4 Purple Finch 84** Red Crossbill 173 Pine Siskin 477 American Goldfinch 180 House Sparrow |
| 52 species | 38 field observers |
| 5,757 individuals | 5 feeder watchers |
Count Week: Song Sparrow
* Ties record high count
** Record high count
Boldfaced species = observed < 10 times prior to this year’s Count
(#) = current number of times uncommon species have been recorded on Counts
Bold and Underlined = New Species