Christmas Bird Count 2009

The St.Thomas Field Naturalist Christmas Bird Count, which occured on December 26th, was an unusual one.

The weather, which is always a factor, was really good for the birders. Most thought this would result in great birding. The air was clear and often sunny, the roads were excellent; however, the birds were just not active.

No one really knows how the birding will go, and this year the number of species was down with an unofficial total of 67 on the day of the count. The total number of birds was relatively good at 23,616, but 4,274 were Canada Geese, 3,559 were European Starlings, and over 6,500 were gulls. Most birders called it a slow day because of the low number of species.

Here is a comparison of species and numbers of birds back to 2006.
2006 Birds 29,081 Species 90;
2007 Birds 17,327 Species 77;
2008 Birds 23,695 Species 80.

Participants can report new species up to December 29, so the count may change before it is over. Hopefully a few more species will be added by then.

The birders met at Knox Presbyterian Church for a pot luck dinner and to collect the information. The meal was delicious as usual.

Attached is a photo of John Harbaruk searching for birds on the December 26th count day.

John Harbaruk

We had two more species added to our Christmas Bird Count! Al Hurst saw a Fox Sparrow at his feeder and Irene Bouris identified a Chipping Sparrow! We are up to 70 species now.

Best regards, Diane Dobson, compiler.