The 2020 Mactaquac Christmas Bird Count was held on January 1, 2021. The official dates in which Christmas Bird Counts (CBC) can be done is December 14 to January 5. During that time on a specific date a team of people survey an area and tally all the bird species and numbers in that area. The area is a circle of 30 km diameter. The Mactaquac circle goes from Granite Hill to Keswick and Upper Prince William to French Village and Mazerolle Settlement to Springfield. Our team this year included 10 people travelling and 6 at feeders. We collectively drove 498 km by car and walked 27 km. We spent 26 hours in cars and 15 hours outside either walking or watching for birds on foot. The weather this year was the best we have ever experienced on a CBC. It was clear, sunny with almost no snow. The temperature got up to -3ยบ.
The results of the count are shown below.
Species | Number |
Am Black Duck | 91 |
Mallard | 30 |
Common Goldeneye | 42 |
Hooded Merganser | 3 |
Common Merganser | 42 |
Bald Eagle | 10 |
Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 |
Merlin | 1 |
Ruffed Grouse | 2 |
Wild Turkey | 51 |
Herring Gull | 9 |
Ring-billed Gull | 2 |
Great Black-backed Gull | 1 |
Rock Pigeon | 312 |
Mourning Dove | 51 |
Downy Woodpecker | 28 |
Hairy Woodpecker | 21 |
Black-backed Woodpecker | 1 |
Northern Flicker | 1 |
Pileated Woodpecker | 5 |
Blue Jay | 95 |
Gray Jay | 3 |
American Crow | 136 |
Common Raven | 33 |
Black-capped Chickadee | 312 |
Red-breasted Nuthatch | 45 |
White-breasted Nuthatch | 15 |
Golden-crowned Kinglet | 6 |
American Robin | 2 |
European Starling | 34 |
Bohemian Waxwing | 2 |
Pine Warbler | 1 |
American Tree Sparrow | 4 |
White-throated Sparrow | 1 |
Dark-eyed Junco | 17 |
Lapland Longspur | 1 |
Northern Cardinal | 14 |
Snow Bunting | 55 |
Pine Grosbeak | 14 |
Purple Finch | 1 |
Red Crossbill | 5 |
White-winged Crossbill | 0 |
Common Redpoll | 364 |
Pine Siskin | 0 |
American Goldfinch | 105 |
Evening Grosbeak | 135 |
Woodpecker sp. | |
Finch sp. | |
Total | 2104 |
No. of Species | 44 |
The total number of species is the highest ever in recent years at 44. The average is 36. The total number of individuals is average at 2104. The weather certainly contributed to our success. We could stay outside comfortably longer and the lack of snow enabled access to areas we normally could not access this time of year. We also had a goodly number of participants this year which also helps. More eyes watching produces better results.
It is difficult to pick out highlights because all the data are interesting. Surprises for me were the large numbers of Wild Turkeys (51) and Common Redpolls (364) and the Lapland Longspur. This is a finch year (many finches have moved from the north into this area to locate better food resources). This brought the large numbers of Redpolls. But I would have expected more Pine Grosbeaks and Bohemian Waxwings. There was also a low number of sparrows and goldfinches. The turkeys have been moving into our area from Maine for a long time now. The number seen indicates that they are making a success of living in their new territory.
The Lapland Longspur has not been recorded in recent years. It is a circumpolar species found only here in winter in small numbers. It prefers open areas and is sometimes found singly or in small numbers in flocks of Snow Buntings or Horned Larks. This individual was alone feeding on weed seeds on the side of the road in an area with very large open fields.
Waterfowl numbers were about average. Most of the river was frozen over except below the dam. That area was where most of the waterfowl was found. I was surprised we did not find more gulls there, too. Woodpeckers are doing well. We had a large number of Downy Woodpeckers and the first ever report of a Black-backed Woodpecker and a Northern Flicker on a count in recent years. The Black-backed Woodpecker is here in very small numbers but not easy to find on a count. The Northern Flicker is one that has not migrated and was feeding under a feeder in Kingsclear. We found Blue Jay numbers very high in the Mactaquac area but reports from other areas found them average or low. We have our usual number of Rock Pigeons which remain a curse to farmers because they gather around and contaminate animals and feed. I was very surprised at the very low numbers of Starlings. It will be interesting to see what numbers we get for them next year.
Northern Cardinals are always exciting for feeder watchers. We are experiencing an irruption of this species this year (large numbers have moved into the area). One of our stops had 4 Northern Cardinals coming regularly to their feeders! Fourteen is a large number for this count. The Pine Warbler was an interesting holdover from summer. This is a hardy species which is uncommon at winter feeders. Every year there is an individual or two at a feeder somewhere in the province. The feeder area where this bird was seen has lots of feed and cover close by making it ideal for a summer resident to make it into the winter.
The large numbers of Common Redpolls have been enjoyed by birders all over the province this year. We counted 364 but our actual high over the years is 722. So, our high was not as spectacular as we might have thought. We just haven't seen many flocks of redpolls for a number of years. The American Goldfinch numbers (105) show that they are recovering from a big population drop in recent years. The largest number we have counted in recent years is 503.
What is absent from this list? We recorded no buteos (e.g., Red-tailed, Rough-legged Hawks). The only hawks recorded were a Merlin and a Sharp-shinned Hawk. There are good numbers of buteos down river in the Sheffield area so our area might be low in rodents for them to feed on.
In summary, it was a successful tally of the species found in that circle at this time of year. The data are recorded with Bird Studies Canada and the Audubon Society. They represent a wonderful example of citizen science. Our count will be used for research in ornithology and environmental science in the future. A big thank you to all who participated and to our residents who welcomed us and showed an interest in our findings.
No comments:
Post a Comment