114th CBC Canadian High Species Count Summary

By Richard J. Cannings

Canadian counts reported 291 species on the 114th Christmas Bird Count, down one from last year.  Eight additional species (Tundra Bean-Goose, Forster’s Tern, Boreal Owl, Blue-headed Vireo, Tree Swallow, Nashville Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Black-headed Grosbeak) were seen only during count week.  Three species (boldfaced below) are new to the cumulative Canadian Christmas count list:  Black-footed Albatross at Greater Massett, Red-faced Cormorant at Rose Spit and Black Phoebe at Chilliwack.  The Canadian list now stands at 429.  Likely because of the unusually harsh weather encountered by many counts east of the Rockies this year, British Columbia had even more high counts than usual with 162, followed by Ontario with 71, and Nova Scotia with 25.  Victoria, BC had the highest number for a single count with 36, followed by Ladner, BC (26), and Vancouver, BC (11).  Twenty-five of the high counts are all-time Canadian highs (numbers boldfaced below).  Species in italics indicate those totals (70 species) that are high counts for North America as well as Canada.  Canada’s perennial strong suits in this regard are grouse, gulls, alcids and finches, as well as two urban birds—Rock Pigeon and House Sparrow.

Exotic species (including a Common Myna reported on the Grand Manan, NB, count) and hybrids are not included in this list.

Greater White-fronted Goose 19 (BC, White Rock); Snow Goose 12,883 (BC, Ladner); Snow Goose (blue form) 1 (ON, Kingston); Ross's Goose 4 (ON, Blenheim); Brant 2839 (BC, Ladner); Cackling Goose 2052 (BC, Chilliwack); Canada Goose 21,872 (ON, Kingston); Mute Swan 824 (ON, Presqu'ile P.P.); Trumpeter Swan 1504 (BC, Chilliwack); Tundra Swan 4192 (ON, Blenheim); Wood Duck 964 (BC, Chilliwack); Gadwall 536 (ON, Toronto); Eurasian Wigeon 94 (BC, Ladner); American Wigeon 51,314 (BC, Ladner); American Black Duck 4100 (QC, Tadoussac); Mallard 13,472 (BC, Ladner); Blue-winged Teal 1 (NS, West Hants; ON, London); Cinnamon Teal 1 (BC, White Rock); Northern Shoveler 265 (BC, Abbotsford-Mission); Northern Pintail 23,811 (BC, Ladner); Green-winged Teal 3397 (BC, Ladner); Eurasian Green-winged Teal 2 (BC, Skidegate Inlet, Greater Masset; NL, St. Johns); Canvasback 2265 (ON, Holiday Beach); Redhead 1767 (ON, Toronto); Ring-necked Duck 735 (BC, Chilliwack); Tufted Duck 78 (NL, St. Johns); Greater Scaup 6080 (ON, Oshawa); Lesser Scaup 1126 (BC, White Rock); King Eider 2 (ON, Niagara Falls); Common Eider 1175 (NS, Louisbourg); Harlequin Duck 545 (BC, Deep Bay); Surf Scoter 5197 (BC, Vancouver); White-winged Scoter 1090 (BC, Comox); Black Scoter 244 (BC, Deep Bay); Long-tailed Duck 4110 (ON, Hamilton); Bufflehead 1697 (BC, Sooke); Common Goldeneye 2220 (QC, Montreal); Barrow's Goldeneye 1769 (QC, Tadoussac); Hooded Merganser 332 (BC, Victoria); Common Merganser 1615 (NS, Pictou Harbour); Red-breasted Merganser 963 (ON, Kingston); Ruddy Duck 360 (BC, Duncan).

Chukar 95 (BC, Kamloops); Gray Partridge 146 (MB, Winnipeg); Ring-necked Pheasant 168 (NS, Wolfville); Ruffed Grouse 69 (ON, Algonquin P.P.); Spruce Grouse 7 (MB, Riding Mountain N.P.); Willow Ptarmigan 51 (SK, Creighton); Rock Ptarmigan 5 (NU, Arctic Bay); White-tailed Ptarmigan 2 (YT, Haines Junction); Dusky Grouse 1 (BC, Vaseux Lake); Sharp-tailed Grouse 182 (AB, Nanton); Wild Turkey 371 (ON, Carleton Place); California Quail 1929 (BC, Oliver-Osoyoos); Red-throated Loon 37 (BC, White Rock); Pacific Loon 962 (BC, Parksville-Qualicum Beach); Common Loon 181 (BC, Parksville-Qualicum Beach); Yellow-billed Loon 7 (BC, Hecate Strait); Pied-billed Grebe 39 (BC, Duncan); Pied-billed Grebe 39 (BC, Victoria); Horned Grebe 347 (BC, Victoria); Red-necked Grebe 113 (BC, Tlell); Eared Grebe 6 (BC, White Rock); Western Grebe 2004 (BC, Skidegate Inlet); Black-footed Albatross 2 (BC, Greater Masset); Northern Fulmar 2 (BC, Rose Spit); Sooty Shearwater 13 (BC, Rose Spit); Short-tailed Shearwater 5 (BC, Rose Spit); Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel 1 (BC, Sidney-South Saltspring); Northern Gannet 4 (NB, Grand Manan Island); American White Pelican 1 (SK, Gardiner Dam); Brandt's Cormorant 1785 (BC, Vancouver); Double-crested Cormorant 1181 (BC, Victoria); Great Cormorant 122 (QC, Forillon N.P.); Red-faced Cormorant 1 (BC, Rose Spit); Pelagic Cormorant 640 (BC, Skidegate Inlet); American Bittern 3 (BC, Ladner); Great Blue Heron (Blue form) 184 (BC, Ladner); Green Heron 1 (BC, Pitt Meadows, Vancouver, Chilliwack); Black-crowned Night-Heron 11 (ON, Toronto, Hamilton).

Black Vulture 5 (ON, Niagara Falls); Turkey Vulture 78 (ON, St. Thomas); Bald Eagle 1368 (BC, Harrison River); Northern Harrier 94 (BC, Ladner); Sharp-shinned Hawk 19 (BC, Kelowna); Sharp-shinned Hawk 19 (BC, Oliver-Osoyoos); Cooper's Hawk 41 (BC, Victoria); Northern Goshawk 6 (AB, Calgary); Red-shouldered Hawk 2 (ON, Halton Hills); Red-tailed Hawk 166 (BC, Vernon); Harlan's Hawk 2 (BC, Oliver-Osoyoos); Rough-legged Hawk 119 (ON, Linwood); Golden Eagle 9 (AB, Milk River); American Kestrel 28 (ON, Fisherville); Merlin 28 (AB, Calgary); Gyrfalcon 1 (AB, Calgary, Devon-Calmar, Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan, Opal; BC, Abbotsford-Mission; ON, Cape Croker, Kingston, Sudbury; QC, Tadoussac; SK, Morse, Gardiner Dam, Saskatoon); Peregrine Falcon 13 (BC, Ladner); Prairie Falcon 3 (AB, Blood Reserve, Calgary, Nanton).

Virginia Rail 16 (BC, Ladner); Sora 1 (BC, Victoria); American Coot 1079 (BC, Victoria); Sandhill Crane 448 (ON, Long Point); Black-bellied Plover 1343 (BC, Ladner); Pacific Golden-Plover 1 (BC, Greater Masset, Ladner); Semipalmated Plover 1 (NS, Cape Sable Island); Killdeer 132 (BC, Ladner); Black Oystercatcher 154 (BC, Deep Bay); Spotted Sandpiper 5 (BC, Victoria); Greater Yellowlegs 36 (BC, Deep Bay); Long-billed Curlew 1 (BC, White Rock); Marbled Godwit 2 (BC, White Rock); Ruddy Turnstone 9 (BC, Lasqueti Island); Black Turnstone 405 (BC, Deep Bay); Surfbird 434 (BC, Pender Islands); Red Knot 2 (NS, Cape Sable Island); Sanderling 424 (BC, Greater Masset); Western Sandpiper 2 (BC, Vancouver); Least Sandpiper 1 (BC, Greater Masset); Purple Sandpiper 222 (QC, Tadoussac); Rock Sandpiper 10 (BC, Nanaimo, Sunshine Coast); Dunlin 28,673 (BC, Ladner); Long-billed Dowitcher 84 (BC, White Rock); Wilson's Snipe 27 (BC, Ladner); American Woodcock 1 (ON, Blenheim, Cedar Creek, Long Point, Point Pelee); Red Phalarope 1 (BC, Greater Masset; NS, St. Peters).

Franklin's Gull 1 (ON, Sutton); Little Gull 2 (ON, Niagara Falls); Black-headed Gull 85 (NL, St. Johns); Bonaparte's Gull 5573 (ON, Niagara Falls); Mew Gull 2649 (BC, Victoria); Ring-billed Gull 2118 (ON, Port Colborne); California Gull 142 (BC, Kelowna); Herring Gull 7645 (ON, Niagara Falls); Thayer's Gull 543 (BC, Parksville-Qualicum Beach); Iceland Gull 2417 (NL, St. Johns); Lesser Black-backed Gull 9 (NL, St. Johns); Slaty-backed Gull 1 (BC, Greater Masset); Western Gull 14 (BC, Nanaimo); Glaucous-winged Gull 37,079 (BC, Ladner); Glaucous Gull 591 (NL, St. Johns); Great Black-backed Gull 6139 (QC, Longueuil); Black-legged Kittiwake 116 (BC, Rose Spit); Ivory Gull 4 (NL, Stephenville); Common Tern 2 (ON, Richmond Hill); Pomarine Jaeger 1 (ON, Hamilton); Dovekie 48 (NL, St. Johns); Common Murre 327 (BC, Victoria); Thick-billed Murre 5 (NS, Cape Sable Island); Razorbill 460 (NB, Grand Manan Island); Black Guillemot 158 (NL, Ferryland); Pigeon Guillemot 211 (BC, Victoria); Marbled Murrelet 143 (BC, Victoria); Ancient Murrelet 249 (BC, Victoria); Cassin's Auklet 1 (BC, Rose Spit); Rhinoceros Auklet 4 (BC, Victoria); Atlantic Puffin 1 (NS, Cheticamp).

Rock Pigeon 6768 (BC, Vancouver); Band-tailed Pigeon 76 (BC, Ladner); Eurasian Collared-Dove 425 (BC, Oliver-Osoyoos); Mourning Dove 1709 (ON, West Elgin); Barn Owl 7 (BC, Ladner, Pitt Meadows); Western Screech-Owl 2 (BC, Penticton, Pitt Meadows); Eastern Screech-Owl 67 (ON, West Elgin); Great Horned Owl 49 (BC, Victoria); Snowy Owl 31 (ON, La Foret Larose); Northern Hawk Owl 7 (AB, Opal); Northern Pygmy-Owl 8 (BC, Salmon Arm, Vaseux Lake); Barred Owl 11 (BC, Victoria); Great Gray Owl 6 (AB, Cochrane Wildlife Reserve); Long-eared Owl 5 (BC, Ladner); Short-eared Owl 16 (ON, Kingston); Northern Saw-whet Owl 3 (BC, Pitt Meadows; NS, Halifax-Dartmouth, Lunenburg); Anna's Hummingbird 972 (BC, Victoria); Rufous Hummingbird 4 (BC, Pender Islands); Belted Kingfisher 47 (BC, Victoria); Lewis's Woodpecker 1 (BC, Grand Forks); Red-headed Woodpecker 4 (ON, Peel-Halton Counties); Red-bellied Woodpecker 88 (ON, London); Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 4 (ON, Blenheim, Port Burwell-Vienna); Red-breasted Sapsucker 22 (BC, Victoria); Downy Woodpecker 474 (AB, Edmonton); Hairy Woodpecker 158 (MB, Winnipeg); American Three-toed Woodpecker 9 (AB, Sheep River); Black-backed Woodpecker 3 (ON, Algonquin P.P., QC, Chute-St-Phillipe, Quebec); Northern Flicker 645 (BC, Victoria); Northern (Yellow-shafted) Flicker 58 (ON, Holiday Beach); Pileated Woodpecker 65 (AB, Edmonton).

Black Phoebe 1 (BC, Chilliwack); Eastern Phoebe 1 (ON, Long Point, St. Thomas); Say's Phoebe 1 (BC, Vaseux Lake); Northern Shrike 17 (ON, Kleinburg); Hutton's Vireo 8 (BC, Vancouver); Gray Jay 78 (YT, Dawson); Steller's Jay 276 (BC, Chilliwack); Blue Jay 774 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Western Scrub-Jay 2 (BC, Pitt Meadows); Clark's Nutcracker 83 (BC, Princeton); Black-billed Magpie 2745 (AB, Edmonton); American Crow 114,426 (ON, St. Clair N.W.A.); Northwestern Crow 17,472 (BC, Vancouver); Common Raven 2056 (NT, Yellowknife); Sky Lark 6 (BC, Sidney-South Saltspring); Horned Lark 1998 (ON, Blenheim); Black-capped Chickadee 4841 (AB, Edmonton); Mountain Chickadee 276 (BC, Bridesville); Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2812 (BC, Victoria); Boreal Chickadee 110 (AB, Snake's Head); Tufted Titmouse 34 (ON, Wallaceburg); Bushtit 1356 (BC, Vancouver); Red-breasted Nuthatch 613 (AB, Edmonton); White-breasted Nuthatch 377 (AB, Edmonton); Pygmy Nuthatch 234 (BC, Kelowna); Brown Creeper 170 (BC, Victoria).

Rock Wren 1 (BC, Kamloops, Victoria); Canyon Wren 11 (BC, Oliver-Osoyoos); Carolina Wren 38 (ON, Hamilton); Bewick's Wren 343 (BC, Victoria); House Wren 1 (ON, Holiday Beach); Winter Wren 25 (ON, Hamilton); Pacific Wren 587 (BC, Victoria); Marsh Wren 79 (BC, Ladner); American Dipper 55 (BC, Lillooet); Golden-crowned Kinglet 2071 (BC, Victoria); Ruby-crowned Kinglet 358 (BC, Victoria); Eastern Bluebird 76 (ON, Woodhouse Township); Western Bluebird 84 (BC, Penticton); Mountain Bluebird 4 (BC, Skidegate Inlet); Townsend's Solitaire 86 (BC, Williams Lake); Hermit Thrush 58 (BC, Victoria); American Robin 5452 (BC, Victoria); Varied Thrush 551 (BC, Victoria); Gray Catbird 3 (ON, St. Thomas); Northern Mockingbird 28 (ON, Niagara Falls); Brown Thrasher 1 (ON, Kitchener; QC, Lennoxville, Quebec); European Starling 30,344 (ON, Niagara Falls); American Pipit 68 (BC, Abbotsford-Mission); Bohemian Waxwing 15,395 (AB, Calgary); Cedar Waxwing 918 (ON, Belleville); Orange-crowned Warbler 3 (BC, Vancouver); Yellow-rumped (Audubon's) Warbler 9 (BC, Oliver-Osoyoos); Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler 69 (NS, Cape Sable Island); Townsend's Warbler 3 (BC, Sooke); Yellow-throated Warbler 1 (NS, Wolfville); Pine Warbler 3 (NS, Wolfville); Palm Warbler 20 (NS, Wolfville); Black-and-white Warbler 1 (BC, Vancouver); Common Yellowthroat 1 (NS, Cape Sable Island; ON, Long Point); Yellow-breasted Chat 1 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth, The Sydneys).

Spotted Towhee 1088 (BC, Victoria); Eastern Towhee 8 (ON, Long Point); American Tree Sparrow 1361 (ON, St. Clair N.W.A.); Chipping Sparrow 10 (ON, Wye Marsh); Field Sparrow 24 (ON, Port Burwell-Vienna); Vesper Sparrow 2 (ON, Point Pelee); Savannah Sparrow 30 (BC, Victoria); Savannah (Ipswich) Sparrow 1 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Grasshopper Sparrow 1 (NS, Cape Sable Island); Fox Sparrow 951 (BC, Victoria); (Red) Fox Sparrow 1 (BC, McBride; NS, West Hants); Song Sparrow 1176 (BC, Vancouver); Lincoln's Sparrow 112 (BC, Victoria); Swamp Sparrow 53 (ON, St. Clair N.W.A.); White-throated Sparrow 195 (NS, Cape Sable Island); Harris's Sparrow 2 (AB, Medicine Hat; BC, Ladner); White-crowned Sparrow 468 (BC, Ladner); Golden-crowned Sparrow 1937 (BC, Victoria); Dark-eyed Junco 3114 (ON, Port Burwell-Vienna); Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco 4141 (BC, Victoria); Lapland Longspur 269 (ON, Blenheim); Snow Bunting 12,254 (ON, St. Clair N.W.A.); Northern Cardinal 666 (ON, London); Dickcissel 1 (BC, Broughton Strait; NS, Glace Bay, Halifax-Dartmouth).

Red-winged Blackbird 912 (BC, Kelowna); Eastern Meadowlark 4 (ON, Holiday Beach, West Elgin); Western Meadowlark 49 (BC, Ladner); Yellow-headed Blackbird 4 (AB, Crowsnest); Rusty Blackbird 43 (ON, Cedar Creek); Brewer's Blackbird 1005 (BC, Ladner); Common Grackle 1102 (ON, St. Clair N.W.A.); Brown-headed Cowbird 811 (ON, Wallaceburg); Hooded Oriole 1 (BC, Broughton Strait); Bullock's Oriole 2 (NS, Wolfville); Baltimore Oriole 4 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Brambling 1 (BC, Tlell); Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch 11 (BC, Grand Forks); Pine Grosbeak 219 (ON, Eagle River); Purple Finch 321 (ON, Algonquin P.P.); Cassin's Finch 29 (BC, Golden); House Finch 1207 (BC, Penticton); Red Crossbill 205 (BC, Soda Creek); White-winged Crossbill 117 (BC, Apex-Hedley); Common Redpoll 419 (YT, Tagish); Hoary Redpoll 72 (NT, Fort Simpson); Pine Siskin 1689 (BC, Terrace); American Goldfinch 1573 (NS, Wolfville); Evening Grosbeak 561 (AB, Athabasca); House Sparrow 5939 (AB, Calgary).