Mactaquac Christmas Bird Count 2022

 

                                                    Red-tailed Hawk - Immature

The Mactaquac Christmas Bird Count was held on January 1, 2023.  New Years Day is the traditional time  to hold this count which has been done for the last 35 years in a 24-km circle extending from Keswick to Upper Kingsclear and French Village to Granite Hill.  The weather was bad this year so the numbers of birds counted were a bit low since a lot of the small birds remained in hiding.  The temperature ranged from 2ºC to 4ºC and it rained all day with at least 60% of the day experiencing heavy rains.

Thirteen people braved the weather and covered their sectors.  Conditions made it tough to get out of the car as much as normally happens.  Three people recorded the birds at their feeders that day.  The group collectively spent 29 hours and covered 480.5 km on the roads.  These brave citizen scientists deserve a big 'Thank You' for their contributions that day!  See below for a list of the birds seen.

Canada Goose	2
Mallard	17
Gadwall	6
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)	2
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) B	11
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) B	8
Sharp-shinned Hawk	2
Red-tailed Hawk	5
Rough-legged Hawk	2
Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) B	4
Wild Turkey	43
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) B	1
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) B	5
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) B	11
Rock Pigeon	266
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) B	20
Red-bellied Woodpecker	1
Downy Woodpecker	9
Hairy Woodpecker	9
Pileated Woodpecker	1
Gray Jay (Perisoreus canadensis) B	2
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) B	74
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) B	188
Common Raven (Corvus corax) B	10
Black-capped Chickadee	154
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) B	9
White-breasted Nuthatch B	12
Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) B	1
European Starling   (Sturnus vulgaris) B	637
American Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea) M	19
Song Sparrow   (Melospiza melodia) B	1
Dark-eyed Junco   (Junco hyemalis) B	27
Northern Cardinal	6
Pine Grosbeak   (Pinicola enucleator) B	4
American Goldfinch   (Carduelis tristis) B	13
Evening Grosbeak	79
Yellow-throated Warbler	1
duck sp.	1
Finch spp.
Gull spp.	1
Total No. Birds		1664
Total No. Species		36
Seen during count period -
No. Participants	13
Mammals
.White-tailed Deer	29
Muscovey Duck (domestic)	1
Pigs running loose	6

This was a raptor year.  8 Bald Eagles, 5 Red-tailed hawks, 2 Rough-legged hawks, and 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks is a generous number of raptors.  They certainly were coping with the weather.  The count shows a paucity of small birds.  There hasn't been a big movement of finches into the area yet this winter and the results show it.  There was a lot of open water so it is surprising to see low numbers of waterfowl.  The European Starling count is very high because in our sector we saw a murmuration of Starlings.  There was a huge flock flying as one body rolling and turning in the sky close to us, a beautiful sight.  We estimated 500 birds in that group. 

                                                                    Rough-legged Hawk

 

The Yellow-throated Warbler was seen at a feeder and is a rare vagrant to this area from the south-eastern US.  It should be wintering in Florida, Mexico or the Caribbean Islands. About 25 to 30 of these individuals have been seen here since 1975.  This one will depend on feeders for its survival.  

The Red-bellied Woodpecker is notable and reflects the minor movement of this species into the province this fall from its normal habitat in the south-eastern US northward to about Massachusetts.  

                                                            Yellow-throated Warbler