Fredericton Christmas Bird Count

Every year we participate in the Fredericton Christmas Bird Count (FCBC).  This year it was held on Dec. 14.  There are over 50 counts done in New Brunswick between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5.  This activity occurs all over North America and is a major contribution to citizen science.  Data has been collected this way for over 100 years.  One of the first counts in North America was done right here at Scotch Lake by William H. Moore in the early 1900s.

The count area is a 30 km. circle which is divided into sectors.  Our sector is the Douglas area.  I have participated in the FCBC for over 50 years.  This year the weather was very good and there was little snow, making our task much more enjoyable.

Following are the results for our sector.  The results for the complete circle are not in yet but will surely bring some other interesting results.

American Black Duck (Anas rubripes) B	56
Northern Pintail	13
Mallard	39
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)	68
Barrow's Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser	2
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) B	4
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) B	6
Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus)
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) B
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) B
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) B
Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides) M
Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus) M
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) B
Rock Pigeon	21
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) B	33
Great Horned Owl
Barred Owl (Strix varia) B
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker	5
Hairy Woodpecker	4
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Shrike (Lanius excubitor) M
Gray Jay (Perisoreus canadensis) B	2
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) B	19
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) B	90
Common Raven (Corvus corax) B	8
Black-capped Chickadee	119
Boreal Chickadee (Poecile hudsonicus) B
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) B	2
White-breasted Nuthatch B	4
Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) B
Golden-crowned Kinglet	5
American Robin   (Turdus migratorius) B
European Starling   (Sturnus vulgaris) B
Bohemian Waxwing
Cedar Waxwing
American Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea) M
Song Sparrow   (Melospiza melodia) B	3
White-throated Sparrow	1
Dark-eyed Junco   (Junco hyemalis) B	21
Northern Cardinal	7
Snow Bunting   (Plectrophenax nivalis) M
Pine Grosbeak   (Pinicola enucleator) B
Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus) B
Red Crossbill   (Loxia curvirostra) B
White-winged Crossbill
Common Redpoll (Carduelis flammea) M
Pine Siskin   (Carduelis pinus) B
American Goldfinch   (Carduelis tristis) B	80
Evening Grosbeak
Other
Total No. Species	24
Finch spp.
Gull spp.
Total No. Birds	612

The river usually provides interesting waterfowl.  This year it was open so there was a good number of ducks.  The Northern Pintails were a surprise.  We have never tallied Pintails on a CBC before.  We were also pleased to count 7 Cardinals, 2 Gray Jays, and 6 Bald Eagles.  There are still a few lingering sparrows around as evidenced by the Song Sparrows and White-throated Sparrow.  The results are also interesting when one considers what we did not find.  There are no Starlings and no raptors, other than the eagles.  Bird populations change with weather and availability of food and good habitat.  Not all these birds will stay throughout the winter but the data show a good picture of the bird populations in our area.