118th Christmas Bird Count: Canada High Counts

Words by Liz Purves
Published November 29, 2018

During the 118th Christmas Bird Count (CBC) in Canada, counts reported 287 species, up nine species from last year, and close to 20 infraspecific forms. Eight additional species and infraspecific forms were seen only during count week, including Brant (Atlantic), Eastern Towhee (Red-eyed), Palm Warbler (Western), Pomarine Jaeger, Ruddy Turnstone, Snowy Egret, Tennessee Warbler, and Willet (Western). One species, Mistle Thrush (Miramichi, NB), was new to the all-time Canadian species list. The all-time Canadian species list now includes a total of 437 species.

Each of Canada’s ten provinces and three territories scored at least one species high count during the 118th CBC season. British Columbia had the most species high counts of all the Canadian regions (145), followed by Ontario (65) and Nova Scotia (40). Victoria, BC was the circle to achieve the most species high counts (41), followed by Halifax-Dartmouth, NS (15), and White Rock, BC (13). Nineteen of the high counts in the 118th CBC season are all-time Canadian highs (numbers boldfaced). Sixty-six high counts are high counts not only for Canada, but all of North America (numbers italicized). Exotics and hybrids are excluded from this list.

Pink-footed Goose 1 (NS, Glace Bay); Greater White-fronted Goose 105 (BC, Victoria); Snow Goose 8111 (BC, Vancouver); Brant 588 (BC, White Rock); Brant (Black) 7 (BC, Port Clements, Sooke); Cackling Goose 3811 (BC, Chilliwack); Cackling Goose (Richardson’s) 1 (BC, Port Clements); Canada Goose 19,848 (AB, Medicine Hat); Mute Swan 199 (ON, Kingston); Trumpeter Swan 1302 (BC, Chilliwack); Tundra Swan 672 (ON, Blenheim); Wood Duck 364 (BC, White Rock); Gadwall 396 (ON, Kingston); Eurasian Wigeon 63 (BC, White Rock); American Wigeon 12,583 (BC, White Rock); American Black Duck 1242 (NS, Pictou Harbour); Mallard 12,365 (AB, Calgary); Blue-winged Teal 1 (BC, Kelowna); Northern Shoveler 206 (BC, Vancouver); Northern Pintail 3534 (BC, White Rock); Green-winged Teal (Eurasian) 1 (BC, Greater Masset; NL, St. Johns); Green-winged Teal (American) 1208 (BC, White Rock); Canvasback 5530 (ON, Holiday Beach); Redhead  3034 (ON, Prince Edward Point); Ring-necked Duck 389 (BC, Chilliwack); Tufted Duck 77 (NL, St. Johns); Greater Scaup 7626 (ON, Point Pelee); Lesser Scaup 807 (BC, Vancouver); King Eider 6 (NL, St. Johns); Common Eider 1937 (NB, Shediac); Harlequin Duck 295 (BC, Campbell River); Surf Scoter 6550 (BC, Vancouver); White-winged Scoter 3177 (BC, Hecate Strait); Black Scoter 287 (BC, Parksville-Qualicum Beach); Long-tailed Duck 6250 (ON, Peach Tree); Bufflehead 1984 (BC, Victoria); Common Goldeneye 3035 (ON, Peach Tree); Barrow's Goldeneye 1455 (BC, Vancouver); Hooded Merganser 487 (BC, Victoria); Common Merganser 1367 (NS, Pictou Harbour); Red-breasted Merganser 1461 (ON, Point Pelee); Ruddy Duck 335 (ON, Hamilton); California Quail 2075 (BC, Penticton).

Northern Bobwhite 1 (QC, Georgeville, Mirabel); Chukar 169 (BC, Lillooet); Ring-necked Pheasant 186 (NB, Sackville); Gray Partridge 130 (SK, Morse); Ruffed Grouse 46 (ON, Algonquin P.P.); Spruce Grouse 13 (NT, Hay River); Willow Ptarmigan 103 (NT, Yellowknife); Rock Ptarmigan 5 (NU, Arctic Bay); White-tailed Ptarmigan 1 (BC, Wells-Bowron); Sooty Grouse 1 (BC, Harrison River, Tlell); Sharp-tailed Grouse 262 (MB, Hodgson); Wild Turkey 521 (ON, Vankleek Hill); Red-throated Loon 27 (BC, Sidney-South Saltspring); Pacific Loon 371 (BC, Nanoose Bay); Common Loon 91 (BC, Campbell River, White Rock); Yellow-billed Loon 38 (BC, Hecate Strait); Pied-billed Grebe 39 (BC, Victoria); Horned Grebe 518 (BC, Victoria); Red-necked Grebe 193 (BC, Victoria); Eared Grebe 6 (BC, Cortes Island); Western Grebe 208 (BC, Sunshine Coast); Northern Fulmar 7 (BC, Hecate Strait); Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel 1 (BC, Skidegate Inlet); Sooty Shearwater 2 (BC, Hectate Strait); Short-tailed Shearwater 1 (BC, Hectate Strait); Northern Gannet 71 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Brandt's Cormorant 718 (BC, Victoria); Double-crested Cormorant 583 (BC, Victoria); Great Cormorant 136 (NS, Brier Island); Pelagic Cormorant 527 (BC, Skidegate Inlet); Great Blue Heron (Blue form) 110 (BC, Vancouver); Great Egret 1 (BC, Victoria; NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Green Heron 1 (BC, White Rock); Black-crowned Night-Heron 3 (ON, Hamilton).

Black Vulture 4 (ON, Niagara Falls); Turkey Vulture 147 (NS, Yarmouth); Osprey 1 (ON, Cambridge); Golden Eagle 10 (BC, Oliver-Osoyoos); Northern Harrier 50 (ON, Port Burwell-Vienna); Sharp-shinned Hawk 14 (BC, Oliver-Osoyoos, Victoria); Cooper's Hawk 42 (BC, Victoria); Northern Goshawk 6 (AB, Edmonton); Bald Eagle 731 (BC, Squamish); Red-shouldered Hawk 3 (ON, Kettle Point, Port Burwell-Vienna); Red-tailed Hawk 112 (ON, Linwood); Red-tailed Hawk (Harlan's) 1 (BC, Armstrong-Enderby); Rough-legged Hawk 100 (BC, Linwood).

Virginia Rail 13 (BC, Nanaimo); American Coot 1148 (BC, Victoria); Sandhill Crane 1523 (ON, Long Point); Black Oystercatcher 134 (BC, Pender Islands); Black-bellied Plover 502 (BC, Vancouver); Semipalmated Plover 1 (BC, Kingfisher); Killdeer 76 (BC, Victoria); Spotted Sandpiper 5 (BC, Pender Islands); Greater Yellowlegs 22 (BC, White Rock); Lesser Yellowlegs 3 (NS, Broad Cove); Long-billed Curlew 1 (BC, White Rock); Marbled Godwit 2 (BC, White Rock); Black Turnstone 814 (BC, Skidegate Inlet); Red Knot 1 (NS, Broad Cove); Surfbird 644 (BC, Pender Islands); Sanderling 611 (BC, Rose Spit); Dunlin 1382 (BC, White Rock); Rock Sandpiper 10 (BC, Skidegate Inlet); Purple Sandpiper 82 (NS, Brier Island); Long-billed Dowitcher 59 (BC, Vancouver); Wilson's Snipe 24 (BC, Victoria); American Woodcock 1 (ON, Long Point).

Dovekie 12 (NS, Cheticamp); Common Murre 1332 (BC, Victoria); Thick-billed Murre 3 (BC, Hecate Strait); Razorbill 221 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Black Guillemot 51 (NS, Louisbourg); Pigeon Guillemot 156 (BC, Victoria); Marbled Murrelet 76 (BC, Victoria); Ancient Murrelet 1126 (BC, Victoria); Cassin's Auklet 3 (BC, Victoria); Rhinoceros Auklet 50 (BC, Little River-Powell River Ferry); Atlantic Puffin 5 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Black-legged Kittiwake 592 (QC, Percé); Bonaparte's Gull 3316 (ON, Niagara Falls); Black-headed Gull 19 (NS, The Sydneys);  Mew Gull 3594 (BC, Parksville-Qualicum Beach); Ring-billed Gull 2743 (ON, Niagara Falls); Western Gull 14 (BC, Galiano-North Saltspring); California Gull 231 (BC, Penticton); Herring Gull 6763 (ON, Niagara Falls); Thayer's Gull  593 (BC, Parksville-Qualicum Beach); Iceland Gull 1238 (QC, Percé); Iceland Gull (kumlieni) 493 (NS, The Sydneys); Lesser Black-backed Gull 6 (ON, Niagara Falls); Glaucous-winged Gull 8164 (BC, Nanaimo); Glaucous Gull 319 (NL, St. Johns); Great Black-backed Gull 4051 (QC, Longueuil).

Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 5820 (BC, Vancouver); Band-tailed Pigeon 7 (BC, Vancouver); Eurasian Collared-Dove 608 (BC, Vernon); White-winged Dove 1 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Mourning Dove 1546 (ON, St. Catharines); Barn Owl 5 (BC, White Rock); Western Screech-Owl 2 (BC, Kelowna); Eastern Screech-Owl 48 (ON, Skunk's Misery); Great Horned Owl 25 (SK, Morse); Snowy Owl 45 (SK, Regina); Northern Hawk Owl 6 (AB, Fort McMurray); Northern Pygmy-Owl 5 (BC, Kamloops); Barred Owl 16 (BC, Victoria); Great Gray Owl 6 (AB, Snake's Head); Long-eared Owl 9 (ON, Hamilton); Short-eared Owl 5 (ON, Amherst Island, Wallaceburg); Boreal Owl 1 (YT, Dawson); Northern Saw-whet Owl 5 (NS, Lunenburg); Anna's Hummingbird 1139 (BC, Victoria); Costa’s Hummingbird 1 (BC, Powell River); Belted Kingfisher 59 (BC, Pender Islands); Red-headed Woodpecker 5 (ON, Lakeshore); Red-bellied Woodpecker 166 (ON, London); Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 7 (QC, Contrecoeur); Red-naped Sapsucker 1 (BC, Ashcroft-Cache Creek); Red-breasted Sapsucker 25 (BC, Victoria); Downy Woodpecker 320 (AB, Edmonton); Hairy Woodpecker 141 (ON, Ottawa-Gatineau); American Three-toed Woodpecker 10 (AB, Banff-Canmore); Black-backed Woodpecker 7 (AB, Edmonton); Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 381 (BC, Penticton); Northern Flicker 689 (BC, Victoria); Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 33 (ON, St. Catharines); Pileated Woodpecker 53 (ON, Ottawa-Gatineau); American Kestrel 26 (ON, St. Catharines); Merlin 16 (AB, Calgary; BC, Victoria); Gyrfalcon 3 (AB, Horseshoe Canyon); Peregrine Falcon 9 (BC, Victoria); Prairie Falcon 5 (AB, Medicine Hat).

Eastern Phoebe 2 (ON, Long Point); Say’s Phoebe 1 (BC, Kelowna); Western Kingbird 1 (NS, Louisbourg); Northern Shrike 14 (BC,  Kamloops); Blue-headed Vireo 1 (NS, Yarmouth); Hutton's Vireo 6 (BC, Sidney-South Saltspring); Gray Jay 64 (ON, Dryden, Eagle River); Steller's Jay 702 (BC, Victoria); Blue Jay 843 (ON, Rice Lake Plains); Black-billed Magpie 2789 (AB, Calgary); Clark's Nutcracker 85 (BC, Penticton); American Crow 125,000 (ON, St. Clair N.W.A.); Northwestern Crow 8389 (BC, Vancouver); Common Raven 2204 (YT, Whitehorse); Horned Lark 1845 (AB, Milk River); Barn Swallow 1 (BC, Campbell River; BC, Sidney-South Saltspring); Black-capped Chickadee 2721 (AB, Edmonton); Mountain Chickadee 271 (BC, Banff-Canmore); Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2439 (BC, Victoria); Boreal Chickadee 156 (AB, Snake's Head); Tufted Titmouse 38 (ON, Wallaceburg); Bushtit 1386 (BC, Victoria); Red-breasted Nuthatch 720 (ON, Algonquin P.P.); White-breasted Nuthatch 771 (MB, Winnipeg); Pygmy Nuthatch 311 (BC, Lake Country); Brown Creeper 158 (BC, Victoria).

Rock Wren 3 (BC, Vaseux Lake); Canyon Wren 5 (BC, Vaseux Lake); Pacific Wren 263 (BC, Victoria); Winter Wren 26 (ON, Toronto); Marsh Wren 49 (BC, Victoria); Carolina Wren 62 (ON, Hamilton); Bewick's Wren 291 (BC, Victoria); American Dipper 38 (BC, Yalakom Valley); Golden-crowned Kinglet 918 (BC, Victoria); Ruby-crowned Kinglet 259 (BC, Victoria); Eastern Bluebird 86 (ON, Woodhouse Township); Western Bluebird 168 (BC, Penticton); Mountain Bluebird 1 (BC, Victoria; ON, Prince Edward Point; QC, Cap-Saint-Ignace); Townsend's Solitaire 27 (BC, Lake Country); Hermit Thrush 14 (BC, Sooke); Mistle Thrush 1 (NB, Miramichi); American Robin 3634 (BC, Victoria); Varied Thrush 478 (BC, Pender Islands); Gray Catbird 31 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Brown Thrasher 1 (ON, Cedar Creek, Niagara Falls, Pakenham-Arnprior, Pickering, Port Hope-Cobourg, Point Pelee, Sharbot Lake, Thunder Bay); Northern Mockingbird 152 (NS, Cape Sable Island); European Starling 8694 (ON, Niagara Falls); American Pipit 66 (BC, Skidegate Inlet); Bohemian Waxwing 4424 (SK, Prince Albert); Cedar Waxwing 346 (ON, Halton Hills); Lapland Longspur 45 (PE, Hillsborough); Snow Bunting 3531 (SK, Morse); Orange-crowned Warbler 11 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Nashville Warbler 2 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Common Yellowthroat 3 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Northern Parula 1 (NS, Yarmouth); Palm Warbler 1 (NB, Grand Manan Island; NS, Cape Sable Island, Halifax-Dartmouth, Wolfville); Pine Warbler 7 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 4 (BC, Penticton); Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 118 (NS, Yarmouth); Yellow-throated Warbler 2 (NS, Antigonish, Bridgetown, Halifax-Dartmouth); Yellow-throated Warbler (albilora) 2 (NS, Broad Cove); Townsend's Warbler 1 (BC, Parksville-Qualicum Beach; ON, Blenheim); Black-throated Green Warbler 1 (NB, Saint John); Wilson's Warbler 1 (BC, Nanoose Bay, Powell River, Vancouver, Victoria; NS, Halifax-Dartmouth ); Yellow-breasted Chat 5 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth).

Grasshopper Sparrow 1 (NS, Brier Island); American Tree Sparrow 1201 (ON, Cambridge); Chipping Sparrow 14 (ON, Amherst Island); Clay-colored Sparrow 3 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Field Sparrow 15 (ON, Port Burwell-Vienna); Lark Sparrow 1 (QC, Percé); Fox Sparrow 819 (BC, Victoria); Fox Sparrow (Red) 1 (ON, Port Hope-Cobourg); Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 3337 (ON, Woodhouse Township); Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 4847 (BC, Victoria); White-crowned Sparrow 541 (BC, White Rock); Golden-crowned Sparrow 1764 (BC, Victoria); Harris's Sparrow 2 (BC, Williams Lake); White-throated Sparrow 163 (NS, Yarmouth); Vesper Sparrow 2 (ON, London); Savannah Sparrow 118 (BC, Victoria); Savannah Sparrow (Ipswich) 1 (NS, Truro); Song Sparrow 1204 (BC, Vancouver); Lincoln's Sparrow 96 (BC, Victoria); Swamp Sparrow 95 (ON, Long Point); Spotted Towhee 1085 (BC, Victoria); Eastern Towhee 3 (ON, Pickering, Woodhouse Township); Northern Cardinal 722 (ON, Toronto); Summer Tanager 3 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1 (NB, Grand Manan Island; NS, Annapolis Royal); Indigo Bunting 3 (NS, Brier Island); Dickcissel 1 (NB, Moncton; NS, Kingston).

Red-winged Blackbird 3009 (ON, Long Point); Eastern Meadowlark 25 (ON, Holiday Beach); Western Meadowlark 44 (BC, Victoria); Yellow-headed Blackbird 3 (ON, Long Point); Rusty Blackbird 220 (ON, Point Pelee); Brewer's Blackbird 638 (BC, Parksville-Qualicum Beach); Common Grackle 1113 (ON, Point Pelee); Brown-headed Cowbird 1437 (ON, Cedar Creek); Bullock's Oriole 1 (BC, Sooke; NS, The Sydneys); Baltimore Oriole 4 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Brambling 1 (BC, Greater Masset); Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch 30 (AB, Waterton Lakes National Park); Pine Grosbeak 416 (BC, Smithers); House Finch 946 (BC, Kelowna); Purple Finch 187 (QC, Lac-Etchemin); Cassin's Finch 68 (BC, Golden); Red Crossbill 359 (ON, Algonquin P.P.); White-winged Crossbill 521 (ON, Algonquin P.P.); Common Redpoll 1191 (MB, Cypress River-Spruce Woods); Hoary Redpoll 82 (NT, Yellowknife); Hoary Redpoll (hornemanni) 1 (BC, Greater Masset); Pine Siskin 937 (BC, Sooke); American Goldfinch 1508 (NS, Wolfville); Evening Grosbeak 348 (QC, Chicoutimi-Jonquiere); House Sparrow 5680 (AB, Calgary); Eurasian Tree Sparrow 1 (MB, Winnipeg; ON, Wawa).