Report by Gerard McNaughton
The annual Hanover –Walkerton CBC was held on Saturday Dec. 15th, 2012 under almost ideal conditions. As usual small groups were busy locating the birds by car, walking and even some from the comfort of a favourite chair overlooking the bird feeders outside. Early morning had very little winds so calls were well heard. As the day went on winds picked up and temperatures began to drop making birding a little more difficult. Open water was abundant throughout the count circle and this resulted in good numbers of duck species and a huge number of Canada geese.
Great Blue Heron 3
Canada Goose 5122 ** NEW RECORD ** (2504 in 2011)
Mute Swan 10 ** NEW RECORD ** (7 in 2011)
Wood Duck 2 Ties Record (1977, 1983)
American Black Duck 9
Mallard 503
Bufflehead 5 ** NEW RECORD ** (4 in 2002)
Common Goldeneye 43
Hooded Merganser 13
Common Merganser 39
Red Breasted Merganser 12
Bald Eagle 4
Northern Harrier 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2
Cooper ’s Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 18
Rough-legged Hawk 8
American Kestrel 4
Ruffed Grouse 3
Wild Turkey 74
Ring-billed Gull 275
Herring Gull 181
Great Black-backed Gull 1
Rock Pigeon 285
Mourning Dove 124
Eastern Screech Owl 25 ** NEW RECORD ** (16 in 2010)
Great Horned Owl 2
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-Bellied Woodpecker 4
Downey Woodpecker 29
Hairy Woodpecker 13
Pileated Woodpecker CW
Northern Shrike 4
Blue Jay 63
American Crow 620
Common Raven 2
Black-capped Chickadee 585
Red-breasted Nuthatch 19
White-breasted Nuthatch 38
Brown Creeper 1
European Starling 1369
Cedar waxwing 12
American Tree Sparrow 67
Dark-eyed Junco 195
Snow Bunting 535
Northern Cardinal 43
Pine Grosbeak 17
Purple Finch 9
House Finch 74
Common Redpoll 729
Hoary Redpoll 1
Pine Siskin 4
American Goldfinch 222
House Sparrow 204
______
11631
Unidentified Species
Merganser Species 3
Accipiter Sp. 2
Buteo Sp. 1
Gull Sp. 1003
Finch Sp. 66
______
1075
Total birds seen 12706
I would like to thank Charlene McNaughton for preparing a wonderful meal for the tally session later that evening. It helps to take some of the bit out after a long day spent in the field. Please make your calendars now as this year’s count will take place Saturday Dec 14, 2013. We can always use a few extra people. Click here to see cumulative CBC results.
