The Annual Hanover/Walkerton Christmas Bird Count will take place on Saturday, December 17, 2022. This annual event is a great day spent in the outdoors with friends and colleagues in pursuit of wintering birds.

What started out as a small group of naturalists that instead of hunting birds, counted the numbers and species seen has grown into an annual tradition for many and has grown into one of the largest organized birding events in the world.

Participants will be given a section in which they attempt to find and identify by either sight or sound as many bird species as possible. The Hanover/Walkerton count circle is 24 kilometres in diameter based on the center point being in the hamlet of Pearl Lake, NW of Hanover. We cover various terrain and habitats in our area. Forest, fields and backyards all hold the potential for some great birding. Open water depending on weather can also be extremely productive. One never knows what we might find. Recent finds on count day include Hermit Thrush, Eastern Bluebird, and in 2020 a Scott’s Oriole found just outside Chesley was a first ever on a Canadian CBC. Every year brings some great finds!

Birders of all skill levels are welcome to participate. We customarily take to the field by 8:00 a.m. and finish around 5:00 p.m. except for “owling” which would begin earlier or continue after dark, although not everyone does owling.

After a day in the outdoor, we will retire to tally up the numbers and species from each party. If permitted we shall once again gather as a group in Walkerton and trade stories over some warm cider and some tasty treats. This will again depend on health and safety protocols at the time and a final decision will be made closer to the count date itself.

Anyone interested in participating in this wonderful event can contact me, Gerard McNaughton at 519- 881-3376 or via email at gmcnaughton@wightman.ca.