The 47th Wiarton Christmas Bird Count was held on Sunday, December 20. Temperatures hovered between 0.5°C and 1.8°C all day, with some fog, light rain and drizzle for the first part of the morning, and overcast skies for the rest of the day. Fairly steady 17-25 kph winds throughout the 24-hour period hampered owling efforts both pre-dawn and post-sunset. The waters of Georgian Bay and Lake Huron were open, as were faster-flowing creeks and rivers, but most inland water bodies were frozen, as were sheltered bays of Lake Huron. There was a thin layer of slushy snow on the ground. Twenty-six socially-distanced participants and three feeder watchers tallied 55 species, well above the long term average of 48.9 species, and slightly above the 10-year average of 52.6. The total of 3,816 individual birds was higher than the overall average of 3,431, but below the 10-year average of 4,185 birds. One new species for the count was recorded: a resplendent male Baltimore Oriole visiting a feeder in Oxenden was seen by the homeowners on count day. The oriole raised the cumulative species total to 129 since the first Wiarton CBC in 1970. Other excellent finds were a long-staying Common Yellowthroat at Sky Lake (3 rd-ever count), a Gray Catbird near Hepworth (also 3rd count), an Iceland Gull on the ice at Oliphant (surprisingly only the 2nd count), and a Northern Harrier (7th count). Tundra Swan was the only species observed in record high numbers (7, previous high 4). The 1,077 Canada Goose were just shy of the all-time high of 1,151. The 14 Red-tailed (average 5) and 14 Rough-legged (average 3.4) hawks, were relatively high totals, no doubt reflecting the abundant mouse and vole populations in the area this year. For the second year in a row, no Snow Buntings were counted on count day, a species that has otherwise been annual. No grebes of any kind were observed, only the third time this has happened since the late 1980s. Aside from 233 Common Redpolls, irruptive winter finches had pretty much left the area since the heavy movement earlier in the fall, with just 2 Pine Siskins, 8 Pine Grosbeaks and 6 Evening Grosbeaks counted. Introduced House Finches were absent after being nearly annual for over 33 years, while House Sparrows (11) were found at only one location, reflecting generally low numbers in recent years. Thanks to all the volunteers for your efforts! Jarmo Jalava, compiler > >>