St.Thomas Field Naturalist Club Inc.

Welcome to the St.Thomas Field Naturalist Club Inc. home page. We are a long standing field nature club, having been formed in 1950, incorporated in 1985. Please feel free to browse our blog and learn more about our club and its activities. Regular meetings are held at 7:30 p.m. at Knox Presbyterian Church, 55 Hincks Street, St.Thomas, on the first Friday of the month, October to May.

Saturday, December 30, 2006

Boxing Day Bird Count 2006

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Hi Everyone:

This year's Christmas Bird Count for the St. Thomas Field Naturalists was certainly very interesting for several reasons. Firstly, the weather apparently has caused an increase in both numbers of birds and species. Another reason is that this is the first time that I have coordinated, collected information and prepared the information for Bird Studies Canada. A great experience and quite an eye opener.

The figures for both species and numbers of birds are up quiet considerably for the St.Thomas club in comparison to last year. I went back in records as far as 2000 and found this to be the highest number of birds and species for the last 6 years.

The number of birds seen 29,010 and the number of species is 90. Last year (2005) the count was 15,103 and 77 species. There were 53 participants in the different areas and supplying feeder counts also.

Presumably the weather had a lot to do with these higher figures. Geese, European Starlings, and gulls were observed in large numbers. Obviously, many other species were up in numbers to create this increase in the final totals. Some interesting sightings were: a Yellow Rump near Port Bruce, several Woodcocks, a Baltimore Oriole at a feeder, an American Pipit, Vesper Sparrow, and Ruddy Ducks to name a few.

The group met at Knox Presbyterian Church to collect the information and enjoy a pot luck dinner. After dinner, individuals were invited to tell stories of their most interesting sightings during the day long event. The group was given an unofficial tally for the day at that time.

There is always such a great sense of comradeship at this pot luck dinner and everyone seemed to enjoy the day. Who wouldn't..a great treasure hunt for sure!

Best regards for great birding in 2007!
Diane Dobson

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