The 40th Kleinburg Christmas Bird Count was completed on Sunday December 20th. This circle includes parts of Vaughn, Brampton, Caledon and King. Conditions were good with some fog in the morning and a light dusting of snow with temperatures just above freezing. There was some open water, especially in streams and rivers with the larger ponds partially to fully frozen. Thirty field observers and 3 feeder watchers observed a total of 57 species and17,297 individual birds. Both of these counts were above our average numbers of 54 and 12,500. There wasn't any new species but we did have some good birds including Eastern Towhee, White-winged Crossbill and Pine Grosbeak. High numbers were recorded for White-throated Sparrow (43, previous high 18) and Northern Cardinal (155, previous high 152). There was also above average numbers of Canada Goose (7434) and Mallard (1754). Notable misses included Horned Lark (26 previous counts), Purple Finch (28 previous) and Ruffed Grouse (31). Northern Harrier (37 previous counts) wasn't seen on Count Day but one was observed yesterday. Low counts included a single Northern Shrike and two American Kestrels. We had a good variety of owls including Great Horned Owl, Eastern Screech Owl, Barred Owl and Long-eared Owl. The totals for Winter finches weren't large but we did manage to get Common Redpoll, Pine Siskin, Pine Grosbeak and White-winged Crossbill. There was also a good variety of waterbirds including Common Merganser, Hooded Merganser and Common Goldeneye. Many thanks to all of the participants who helped make this a safe and successful count. Bob Noble - CompilerBrampton