113th CBC Canadian High Species Count Summary

By Richard J. Cannings

Canadian counts reported 291 species on the 113th Christmas Bird Count, up four from last year.  Two additional species (Pink-footed Goose and Slaty-backed Gull) were seen only during count week.  Two species (boldfaced below) are new to the cumulative Canadian Christmas count list:  a Citrine Wagtail at Comox, BC and a Scarlet Tanager at Williams Lake, BC.  The Canadian list now stands at 426.  British Columbia led the way as usual with 148 high counts, followed by Ontario with 87, and Nova Scotia with 42.  Ladner, BC had the highest number for a single count with 28, followed by Victoria, BC (23), Vancouver, BC (14), Long Point, ON (12), and Halifax-Dartmouth, NS (11).  Twenty-eight of the high counts are all-time Canadian highs (numbers boldfaced below).   Species in italics indicate those totals (70 species) that are highs for North America as well as Canada.  Exotic species and hybrids are not included in this list.

Greater White-fronted Goose 52 (BC, Comox); Snow Goose 13,857 (BC, Ladner); Snow Goose (blue form) 1 (ON, Collingwood, Fisherville); Ross's Goose 4 (ON, Blenheim); Brant 1401 (BC, Ladner); Cackling Goose 1135 (BC, Chilliwack); Canada Goose 35,223 (ON, Kingston); Mute Swan 447 (ON, Presqu'ile P.P.); Trumpeter Swan 1675 (BC, Chilliwack); Tundra Swan 6738 (ON, Blenheim); Wood Duck 208 (BC, Chilliwack); Gadwall 6879 (ON, Blenheim); Eurasian Wigeon 90 (BC, White Rock); American Wigeon 17,799 (BC, Ladner); American Black Duck 1733 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Mallard 19,355 (BC, Ladner); Blue-winged Teal 6 (ON, Cedar Creek); Northern Shoveler 504 (BC, Abbotsford-Mission); Northern Pintail 6970 (BC, Ladner); Green-winged Teal 1499 (BC, White Rock); Eurasian Green-winged Teal 3 (NL, St. John’s); Canvasback 1030 (ON, Long Point); Redhead 7547 (ON, Long Point); Ring-necked Duck 380 (BC, Chilliwack); Tufted Duck 45 (NL, St. John’s); Greater Scaup 60,200 (ON, Point Pelee); Lesser Scaup 1208 (ON, Hamilton); King Eider 2 (ON, Oshawa); Common Eider 2481 (NS, St. Peters); Harlequin Duck 410 (BC, Campbell River); Surf Scoter 6161 (BC, Vancouver); White-winged Scoter 1703 (BC, Comox); Black Scoter 882 (BC, Campbell River); Long-tailed Duck 4462 (ON, Toronto); Bufflehead 1638 (BC, Victoria); Common Goldeneye 11,048 (ON, Sutton); Barrow's Goldeneye 1237 (BC, Vancouver); Smew 1 (BC, Greater Masset); Hooded Merganser 406 (BC, Victoria); Common Merganser 4710 (ON, Orillia); Red-breasted Merganser 7179 (ON, Port Burwell-Vienna); Ruddy Duck 751 (ON, Long Point).

Chukar 281 (BC, Oliver-Osoyoos); Gray Partridge 280 (MB, Winnipeg); Ring-necked Pheasant 170 (NS, Wolfville); Ruffed Grouse 32 (ON, Nipigon-Red Rock); Spruce Grouse 12 (AB, Garden River); Willow Ptarmigan 148 (NT, Yellowknife); White-tailed Ptarmigan 2 (BC, Smithers); Dusky Grouse 1 (BC, Bridesville, Big White, Lake Country); Sooty Grouse 1 (BC, Port Alberni); Sharp-tailed Grouse 171 (SK, Qu'Appelle Valley Dam); Wild Turkey 669 (ON, Pakenham-Arnprior); California Quail 2415 (BC, Oliver-Osoyoos); Red-throated Loon 349 (BC, Ladner); Pacific Loon 3568 (BC, Parksville-Qualicum Beach); Common Loon 220 (BC, Parksville-Qualicum Beach); Yellow-billed Loon 1 (BC, Campbell River, Hecate Strait); Pied-billed Grebe 43 (BC, Chilliwack); Horned Grebe 135 (BC, Sooke); Red-necked Grebe 199 (BC, Parksville-Qualicum Beach); Eared Grebe 6 (BC, White Rock); Western Grebe 536 (BC, Skidegate Inlet); Northern Fulmar 1 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Great Shearwater 1 (NL, Cape Race); Short-tailed Shearwater 8 (BC, Rose Spit); Northern Gannet 241 (NS, Brier Island); American White Pelican 1 (SK, Gardiner Dam); Brown Pelican 19 (BC, Victoria); Brandt's Cormorant 759 (BC, Pender Islands); Double-crested Cormorant 608 (BC, Victoria); Great Cormorant 314 (NS, Brier Island); Pelagic Cormorant 297 (BC, Vancouver); American Bittern 3 (BC, Ladner); Great Blue Heron (Blue form) 245 (BC, Ladner); Great Egret 1 (NS, Cape Sable Island); Green Heron 1 (BC, Port Alberni, Pitt Meadows); Black-crowned Night-Heron 20 (ON, Toronto).

Black Vulture 7 (ON, Niagara Falls); Turkey Vulture 82 (ON, St. Thomas); Osprey 1 (BC, Chilliwack; NS, Cape Sable Island, Wolfville); Bald Eagle 1311 (BC, Ladner); Northern Harrier 151 (BC, Ladner); Sharp-shinned Hawk 18 (BC, Penticton); Cooper's Hawk 26 (BC, Victoria); Northern Goshawk 8 (AB, Calgary); Red-shouldered Hawk 1 (ON, Holiday Beach, Halton Hills, Linwood, St. Clair N.W.A., West Elgin; NS, Broad Cove, Shubenacadie, West Hants); Red-tailed Hawk 153 (BC, Vernon); Harlan's Hawk 1 (BC, Kelowna, Oliver-Osoyoos); Rough-legged Hawk 113 (ON, Linwood); Golden Eagle 13 (AB, Pincher Creek); American Kestrel  41 (ON, St. Catharines); Merlin 28 (AB, Edmonton); Gyrfalcon 1 (AB, Beaverlodge, Edmonton, Horseshoe Canyon, Peace River, Wainwright; BC, Chilliwack, Dawson Creek, Narcosli, Prince George; ON, Point Pelee, Thunder Bay; QC, Tadoussac; SK, Morse); Peregrine Falcon 15 (BC, Ladner); Prairie Falcon 3 (AB, Dinosaur P.P., Nanton).

Virginia Rail 17 (BC, Ladner); Sora 1 (BC, Lillooet); American Coot 3450 (ON, Long Point); Sandhill Crane 722 (ON, Long Point); Black-bellied Plover 1227 (BC, Ladner); Semipalmated Plover 1 (NS, Pictou Harbour); Killdeer 219 (BC, Ladner); Black Oystercatcher 391 (BC, Skidegate Inlet); Spotted Sandpiper 2 (BC, Nanaimo, Victoria); Greater Yellowlegs 21 (BC, White Rock); Long-billed Curlew 1 (BC, White Rock); Marbled Godwit 3 (BC, White Rock); Ruddy Turnstone 7 (NS, Port L'Hebert); Black Turnstone 906 (BC, Skidegate Inlet); Surfbird 501 (BC, Nanaimo); Red Knot 3 (NS, Cape Sable Island); Sanderling 317 (BC, Rose Spit); Western Sandpiper 200 (BC, Ladner); Purple Sandpiper 209 (QC, Tadoussac); Rock Sandpiper 43 (BC, Skidegate Inlet); Dunlin 45,979 (BC, Ladner); Long-billed Dowitcher 100 (BC, Ladner); Wilson's Snipe 68 (BC, Ladner); American Woodcock 1 (NS, White Point; ON, Long Point).

Little Gull 12 (ON, Port Burwell-Vienna); Black-headed Gull 108 (NL, St. John’s); Bonaparte's Gull 3412 (ON, Niagara Falls); Heermann's Gull 3 (BC, Victoria); Mew Gull 1499 (BC, Vancouver); Ring-billed Gull 10,285 (ON, Blenheim); California Gull 377 (BC, Penticton); Herring Gull 6607 (ON, Niagara Falls); Thayer's Gull 369 (BC, Parksville-Qualicum Beach); Iceland Gull 2588 (NL, St. John’s); Kumlien's Gull 5 (ON, Ottawa-Gatineau); Lesser Black-backed Gull 50 (ON, Sudbury); Western Gull 14 (BC, Greater Masset); Glaucous-winged Gull 38,537 (BC, Ladner); Glaucous Gull 354 (NL, St. John’s); Great Black-backed Gull 2143 (QC, Longueuil); Black-legged Kittiwake 24,685 (NS, Brier Island); Ivory Gull 2 (NL, Stephenville); Dovekie 446 (NL, St. John’s); Common Murre 1851 (BC, Sooke); Thick-billed Murre 23 (NL, Cape Race); Razorbill 936 (NS, Brier Island); Black Guillemot 138 (NL, Cape Race); Pigeon Guillemot 68 (BC, Sidney-South Saltspring); Marbled Murrelet 71 (BC, Hecate Strait); Ancient Murrelet 58 (BC, Sunshine Coast, Sooke); Cassin's Auklet 7 (BC, Hecate Strait); Rhinoceros Auklet 18 (BC, Victoria); Atlantic Puffin 2 (NL, Cape Race).

Rock Pigeon 9990 (BC, Vancouver); Band-tailed Pigeon 75 (BC, White Rock); Eurasian Collared-Dove 299 (BC, Vancouver); Mourning Dove 1900 (ON, St. Clair N.W.A.); Barn Owl 20 (BC, Ladner); Western Screech-Owl 4 (BC, Kelowna); Eastern Screech-Owl 46 (ON, Woodhouse Township); Great Horned Owl 25 (BC, Creston Valley); Snowy Owl 33 (BC, Ladner; SK, Regina); Northern Hawk Owl 8 (BC, Smithers; MB, Pinawa-Lac du Bonnet); Northern Pygmy-Owl 7 (AB, Cochrane Wildlife Reserve); Barred Owl 12 (BC, Victoria); Great Gray Owl 7 (ON, Dunrobin-Breckenridge); Long-eared Owl 6 (ON, Wallaceburg); Short-eared Owl 29 (BC, Ladner); Boreal Owl 3 (AB, Edmonton); Northern Saw-whet Owl 6 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Anna's Hummingbird 417 (BC, Victoria); Belted Kingfisher 27 (BC, Sooke); Red-headed Woodpecker 2 (ON, Port Burwell-Vienna, Wallaceburg, West Elgin); Red-bellied Woodpecker 98 (ON, Cedar Creek); Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2 (NS, Caledonia; ON, Kleinburg); Red-breasted Sapsucker 13 (BC, Duncan); Downy Woodpecker 421 (AB, Edmonton); Hairy Woodpecker 149 (MB, Winnipeg); American Three-toed Woodpecker 25 (BC, Apex-Hedley); Black-backed Woodpecker 16 (ON, Algonquin P.P.); Northern (Red-shafted) Flicker 428 (BC, Penticton); Northern (Yellow-shafted) Flicker 30 (ON, Cedar Creek); Pileated Woodpecker 65 (AB, Edmonton).

Eastern Phoebe 1 (NS, Wolfville; ON, Long Point, Point Pelee); Northern Shrike 15 (ON, Sault Ste. Marie); Hutton's Vireo 4 (BC, White Rock); Gray Jay 79 (AB, Sheep River); Steller's Jay 213 (BC, Chilliwack); Blue Jay 862 (NS, Wolfville); Clark's Nutcracker 110 (BC, Penticton); Black-billed Magpie 2302 (AB, Calgary); American Crow 126,005 (ON, St. Clair N.W.A.); Northwestern Crow 13,598 (BC, Vancouver); Common Raven 2160 (NT, Yellowknife); Sky Lark 12 (BC, Sidney-South Saltspring); Horned Lark 1365 (ON, Linwood); Barn Swallow 2 (ON, Hamilton); Black-capped Chickadee 4267 (AB, Edmonton); Mountain Chickadee 222 (BC, Williams Lake); Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2264 (BC, Victoria); Boreal Chickadee 125 (AB, Snake's Head); Tufted Titmouse 55 (ON, Wallaceburg); Bushtit 1058 (BC, Victoria); Red-breasted Nuthatch 768 (BC, Victoria); White-breasted Nuthatch 514 (MB, Winnipeg); Pygmy Nuthatch 216 (BC, Kelowna); Brown Creeper 126 (BC, Victoria).

Canyon Wren 10 (BC, Oliver-Osoyoos); Carolina Wren 68 (ON, London); Bewick's Wren 171 (BC, Victoria); House Wren 1 (NS, Cape Sable Island; ON, Peel-Halton Counties); Winter Wren 19 (ON, Toronto); Pacific Wren 311 (BC, Vancouver); Marsh Wren 64 (BC, Ladner); American Dipper 69 (BC, Lillooet); Golden-crowned Kinglet 1286 (BC, Victoria); Ruby-crowned Kinglet 237 (BC, Vancouver); Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1 (ON, Toronto); Eastern Bluebird 64 (ON, St. Catharines); Western Bluebird 147 (BC, Penticton); Mountain Bluebird 1 (BC, Abbotsford-Mission; ON, Cedar Creek); Townsend's Solitaire 85 (BC, Hat Creek); Hermit Thrush 17 (ON, Point Pelee); American Robin 3101 (BC, Victoria); Varied Thrush 229 (BC, Vancouver); Gray Catbird 3 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Northern Mockingbird 58 (ON, St. Catharines); Brown Thrasher 1 (MB, Dauphin; NB, Blacks Harbour; ON, Ottawa-Gatineau, St. Clair N.W.A.; QC, Laval-Ahuntsic, Ile-du-Grand-Calumet); European Starling 16541 (ON, Niagara Falls); Citrine Wagtail 1 (BC, Comox); Red-throated Pipit 5(BC, Greater Masset); American Pipit 114 (ON, Holiday Beach); Bohemian Waxwing 16,889 (AB, Calgary); Cedar Waxwing 321 (ON, Oshawa); Orange-crowned Warbler 5 (NS, Cape Sable Island); Nashville Warbler 2 (ON, Toronto); Yellow Warbler 1 (NL, St. John’s); Magnolia Warbler 1 (NS, Glace Bay); Cape May Warbler 1 (NS, Broad Cove; ON, Peel-Halton Counties); Yellow-rumped (Audubon's) Warbler 9 (BC, Vancouver); Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler 118 (NS, Cape Sable Island); Townsend's Warbler 3 (BC, Galiano-North Saltspring); Yellow-throated Warbler 1 (PE, Prince Edward Island N.P.); Pine Warbler 8 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Palm Warbler 3 (NS, Cape Sable Island); Blackpoll Warbler 1 (NS, Cape Sable Island); Northern Waterthrush 1 (BC, Vancouver; ON, Lakeshore); Common Yellowthroat 2 (ON, Blenheim, Long Point); Wilson's Warbler 1 (BC, Skidegate Inlet); Yellow-breasted Chat 18 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth).

Scarlet Tanager 1 (BC, Williams Lake); Western Tanager 1 (BC, Chilliwack; ON, Oshawa);  Spotted Towhee 749 (BC, Victoria); Eastern Towhee 2 (NS, Bedford-Sackville; ON, Cedar Creek, Holiday Beach, Long Point, Port Hope-Cobourg, Point Pelee, St. Thomas; QC, Forillon N.P.); American Tree Sparrow 1444 (ON, Long Point); Chipping Sparrow 11 (NS, Wolfville); Clay-colored Sparrow 1 (BC, Vancouver; NS, Cape Sable Island; QC, Forillon N.P.); Field Sparrow 12 (ON, Long Point); Vesper Sparrow 1 (BC, Kelowna, Sidney-South Saltspring; NS, Amherst; ON, Wallaceburg); Savannah Sparrow 20 (ON, St. Clair N.W.A.); Savannah (Ipswich) Sparrow 3 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Fox Sparrow 538 (BC, Victoria); Eastern Fox Sparrow 1 (ON, Cambridge, Fisherville); Song Sparrow 1598 (BC, Vancouver); Lincoln's Sparrow 48 (BC, Ladner); Swamp Sparrow 106 (ON, Long Point); White-throated Sparrow 201 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Harris's Sparrow 3 (AB, Pincher Creek); White-crowned Sparrow 602 (BC, Ladner); Golden-crowned Sparrow 1319 (BC, Victoria); Dark-eyed Junco 4052 (BC, Victoria); Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco 2275 (BC, Galiano-North Saltspring); Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco 1863 (NS, Wolfville); Lapland Longspur 96 (ON, St. Thomas); Snow Bunting 6277 (ON, Linwood); Northern Cardinal 671 (ON, London); Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2 (NS, Wolfville; ON, West Elgin); Black-headed Grosbeak 1 (BC, Creston Valley); Indigo Bunting 1 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth; ON, Toronto); Dickcissel 1 (NB, Riverside-Albert; NS, Lunenburg, The Sydneys).

Red-winged Blackbird 3102 (ON, Blenheim); Eastern Meadowlark 2 (ON, Fisherville); Western Meadowlark 19 (BC, Victoria); Yellow-headed Blackbird 3 (BC, Kelowna); Rusty Blackbird 100 (ON, Wye Marsh); Brewer's Blackbird 891 (BC, Parksville-Qualicum Beach); Common Grackle 263 (ON, Holiday Beach); Brown-headed Cowbird 3363 (ON, Blenheim); Baltimore Oriole 2 (NL, St. John’s; NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Brambling 1 (BC, Penticton, Revelstoke); Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch 24 (AB, Crowsnest); Pine Grosbeak 811 (BC, Smithers); Purple Finch 107 (BC, Ladner); Cassin's Finch 70 (BC, Creston Valley); House Finch 2379 (BC, Oliver-Osoyoos); Red Crossbill 969 (BC, Victoria); White-winged Crossbill 1101 (AB, Calgary); Common Redpoll 2965 (ON, Linwood); Hoary Redpoll 60 (NT, Fort Simpson); Pine Siskin 11,128 (BC, Sooke); American Goldfinch 1705 (NS, Wolfville); Evening Grosbeak 887 (NS, Amherst); House Sparrow 7929 (AB, Calgary).