The 2020 Pakenham-Arnprior CBC
by Michael Runtz
The 2020 Pakenham-Arnprior Christmas Bird Count was my 55th consecutive one (it was called the Pakenham CBC when I first took part but despite popular opinion, cars had been invented by then!). Many of you have been taking part in this count for 20 years or more, with Ryan Zimmerling, completing his 32nd consecutive one as my partner! Britta Gerwin was to join us but unfortunately health issues prevented her from doing so.
The starting temperature was -7°C but soon it inconspicuously dropped to -8°C, where it remained almost all day with one brief dip to -9°C. There was a brisk wind for much of the morning and some light flurries early on, but both abated by late morning and the afternoon was surprisingly pleasant.
Sadly, our traditional compilation/potluck could not be held but a Zoom compilation kindly arranged by John Lawrence was better than nothing.
As per last year, no new species were discovered this year but among the impressive 55 species tallied (above the ten-year average of 53), as usual there were some good finds.
A Golden Eagle was the seventh record for the Count. A female Red-breasted Merganser was the eighth record, as was a Great Blue Heron that was spotted and photographed flying over Highway 417 at Arnprior by a passerby.
The most notable aspect of this count was the total number of birds tallied. A new record of 11,561 individuals was set, shattering the previous record tally of 9,847 set in 2008. This was largely due to three species being present in large numbers: Common Redpoll (2,714, a new record tally); Snow Bunting (1,706); and Black-capped Chickadee (1,196). With the irruption of Common Redpolls came an unprecedented number of Hoary Redpolls; the 16 tallied blows away the old record of 4! Other record highs were recorded for American Crow (756), White-breasted Nuthatch (286), and Northern Cardinal (69). Undoubtedly the record number of participants also played a key role in the record high numbers! However, the large number of participants seemed to not help the House Sparrow numbers. Their numbers have fallen from the record high 2,011 in 1985 to this year’s record low of a mere 61 individuals.
A heartfelt thanks goes to all those who participated in this year’s Pakenham-Arnprior CBC, either as a field observer or a feeder watcher. And to those who couldn’t make it to this count, I hope you can return next year.
I look forward to seeing many of you on the 2021 Pakenham-Arnprior CBC and hope that all of you enjoy good health and encounter plenty of exciting birds in the New Year.
Happy Birding!
Michael Runtz
30 Dec 2020
Pakenham-Arnprior CBC
26 December 2020
| 130 Canada Goose
41 Mallard 23 Common Goldeneye 8 Common Merganser 1 Red-breasted Merganser (8th) 9 Ruffed Grouse 521 Wild Turkey 1 Great Blue Heron (8th) 28 * Bald Eagle 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 5 Cooper’s Hawk 13 Red-tailed Hawk 8 Rough-legged Hawk 1 Golden Eagle (7th) 1 American Kestrel 2 Merlin 788 Rock Pigeon 385 Mourning Dove 1 Eastern Screech-Owl 4 Barred Owl 90 Downy Woodpecker 95 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Black-backed Woodpecker 21 Pileated Woodpecker 3 Northern Shrike 569 Blue Jay 756** American Crow 126 Common Raven
|
30 Horned Lark
1,196 Black-capped Chickadee 174 Red-breasted Nuthatch 286** White-breasted Nuthatch 19 Brown Creeper 2 Golden-crowned Kinglet 619 European Starling 374 Bohemian Waxwing 60 American Tree Sparrow 95 Dark-eyed Junco 2 Song Sparrow 1 White-throated Sparrow 1,706 Snow Bunting 1 Lapland Longspur 69** Northern Cardinal 3 Red-winged Blackbird 18 Pine Grosbeak 103 House Finch 8 Purple Finch 47 Red Crossbill 62 White-winged Crossbill 2,714** Common Redpoll 16** Hoary Redpoll 18 Pine Siskin 107 American Goldfinch 138 Evening Grosbeak 61 House Sparrow
|
| 55 species
11,561** individual birds |
Seen during Count Week:
Red-bellied Woodpecker |
Unusual species are bold-faced; the number of times recorded on the count appears in the brackets if fewer than 10 times.
* denotes ties record high count
** denotes new record high count
New species are bold-faced and underlined