Presqu’ile Christmas Bird Count Preliminary Results The Presqu’ile CBC was held on Sunday Dec. 20 under poor conditions – heavy overcast, wind, and light rain on and off through the day. 23 observers in 13-14 parties covered the 15-mile diameter circle. A total of 76 species and 13223 individuals were found. The species total is a little lower than the recent average, but pretty good considering the difficult conditions. Two additional species were reported in the three days before and after the count. No new species were discovered this year. The inner part of Presqu’ile Bay, Weller’s Bay and ponds were mostly frozen but moving water and Lake Ontario was largely ice-free. Interesting sightings include: Ring-necked Duck 1 – count period Dunlin 2 (Gull Is.) Purple Sandpiper 1 – count period Shorebird spp. 3 – Gull Is. (possibly Purple Sandpipers) Short-eared Owl 2 – quite rare in this area Marsh Wren 1 Hermit Thrush 1 Common Yellowthroat 1 Pine Grosbeak 1 Red Crossbill 1 White-winged Crossbill 13 Higher Counts were noted for: Mute Swan (775) Trumpeter Swan (23) Long-tailed Duck (2823) Iceland Gull (4) Red-bellied Woodpecker (10) Northern Flicker (4) Common Raven (17) Red-breasted Nuthatch (45) Swamp Sparrow (5) Northern Cardinal (70) Brown-headed Cowbird (34) Common Redpoll (580) Low Counts were noted for: Bufflehead (12) Absent were: Snow Bunting Purple Finch The weekly Report will resume late this week. Doug McRae Shrew Solutions Inc. 240 Presqu’ile Parkway Brighton, Ontario K0K 1H0 613-475-5014 H 613-243-4161 C