113th Christmas Bird Count in Canada

 December 14, 2012, to January 5, 2013

 By Ron Ridout & Dick Cannings

A record total of 417 counts were submitted in Canada this year, five more than last year and including 17 new counts:  Hanna, Handhills, Leduc, and Waterton Lakes National Park, AB; Narcosli, BC; Miramichi, NB; Bridgetown, Caledonia, Springville, St. Peter’s, Shubenacadie and Tatamagouche, NS; Baie-Missisquoi, QC; Broadview, Floral and Saskatchewan River Forks, SK and Takhini-Lake Laberge, YT.  The participant total topped 13,000 for the first time.

Coastal counts with the highest species totals included perennial leader Ladner, BC with 146 species, followed by Victoria with 140 and Vancouver at 139. On the east coast, Halifax-Dartmouth, NS had a noteworthy 127 species. Long Point, ON once again had the highest interior tally at 112, followed by Oliver-Osoyoos, BC at 110. On the flipside, kudos are due to Clare and Travis Kines who persevered in -35ºC temperatures at Arctic Bay, NU to tally 269 Common Ravens, their only species. Other provincial high counts are listed in Table 1.

Table 1.  Provincial and territorial summaries for the 113^th Christmas Bird Count.

The total number of birds dropped somewhat to 3.7 million and the species total slipped to 292 from last year’s record 303.  This was perhaps due to the return of real winter weather to Canada after last year’s warmth.  While summarizing the weather for a three-week period over all of Canada is a challenge, the consensus was that in many areas of the country, it was a fairly normal winter. Saskatchewan reported cooler-than-average temperatures, while weather on many counts in southern Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia was described as ‘pleasant.’  Table 2 gives the totals for the 15 most abundant species on Canadian counts this year.  Some waterbirds on the list last year (Snow Goose, Red-breasted Merganser, Herring Gull, Dunlin) dropped off this year in favour of species with a more northern flavour such as Bohemian Waxwing, Snow Bunting, Common Redpoll and Pine Siskin.

The total number of birds dropped somewhat to 3.7 million and the species total slipped to 292 from last year’s record 303.  This was perhaps due to the return of real winter weather to Canada after last year’s warmth.  While summarizing the weather for a three-week period over all of Canada is a challenge, the consensus was that in many areas of the country, it was a fairly normal winter. Saskatchewan reported cooler-than-average temperatures, while weather on many counts in southern Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia was described as ‘pleasant.’  Table 2 gives the totals for the 15 most abundant species on Canadian counts this year.  Some waterbirds on the list last year (Snow Goose, Red-breasted Merganser, Herring Gull, Dunlin) dropped off this year in favour of species with a more northern flavour such as Bohemian Waxwing, Snow Bunting, Common Redpoll and Pine Siskin.

Table 2.  The 15 most abundant birds reported on the 2012-2013 Christmas Bird Count in Canada, with totals from the past five counts for comparison.

Canada’s all-time species list for Christmas Bird Counts grew by two to 426 with the addition of the long-staying Citrine Wagtail at Comox, BC and an astounding Scarlet Tanager at Williams Lake, BC (Presqu’ile P.P, ON had another in count week). Other notables included a Smew and five Red-throated Pipits on the Greater Masset, BC count; single Bramblings at Penticton, BC and Revelstoke, BC; Pink-footed Goose at St. John’s, NL (count week); seven Black Vultures at Niagara Falls, ON and, even more remarkable, one on the Magdalen Islands, QC.

The Wild Turkey continues to spread well north into areas never formerly inhabited in Ontario and Québec. It appears that the Maritimes are the next bastion to be overrun, with 28 turkeys tallied at St. Stephen, NB. Conversely, the Gray Partridge appears to be on the brink of extirpation from the Atlantic region and Ontario; it is still going strong in the Prairie Provinces.  The Eurasian Collared-Dove continues to spread throughout western Canada, with 3890 on 85 counts compared to 2031 on 76 counts last year.

A relatively benign fall season must be the explanation for the presence of several neotropical warblers in the Atlantic region and Ontario, including a record total of 18 Yellow-breasted Chats at Halifax-Dartmouth, NS. Among 12 warbler species found out east, outstanding ones included Nashville, Yellow, Magnolia, Townsend’s, and Blackpoll. Not to be outdone, the Peel-Halton, ON count alone recorded six warbler species, including Orange-crowned, Nashville, Cape May, Yellow-rumped, Pine, and Common Yellowthroat, as well as a count-week Bay-breasted. Sounds like a reasonable list in early May!

Winter finches were generally found in good numbers across the country. Common Redpolls staged a major incursion to the south, making the top 15 list for the first time in years and more than doubling last year’s decent totals. While early fall movements of Pine Siskins into eastern Canada seemed to foreshadow a healthy CBC showing, most had moved on by December.  However, the species still posted its highest overall numbers in years thanks to good totals from British Columbia. Ontario counters’ hopes were dashed when large numbers of Evening Grosbeaks in early November were virtually gone later that month. Counters in the Atlantic provinces enjoyed the benefit of this movement, with over 5000 recorded on counts there – numbers not seen since the early 1990s.