The 66th Sault Ste. Marie Christmas Bird Count Preliminary Results took place yesterday on December 18th, 2021. It was relatively warm, the St. Marys River was calm all day, and the snow held off for the most part. 62 species were recorded, which is about average for this count. The highlights were the count's first ever Townsend's Solitaire and Ring-necked Duck, both found on the Michigan side of the count circle. Two separate Northern Pintails were recorded, with the only other SSM CBC record being a single bird in 1989. Harlequin Duck and Northern Flicker were two other most notable records this year. None of the high or low counts seemed too out of the ordinary. Noticeable misses include Great Black-backed Gull, Red-tailed Hawk, Pine Siskin, Snow Bunting, and Barred Owl, but hopefully they can still be picked up for count week. Some data may still trickle in from feeder watchers. The full and complete dataset will be available within a few weeks. Thank you, Carter Dorscht Sault Ste. Marie Christmas Bird Count Compiler