South Peel Christmas Bird Count Preliminary Results for the 58th count for the South Peel Naturalists' Club It was a tough slog yesterday December 18 with wind and wet snowfor pretty much the entire day.  Eastwinds didn’t help the waterfront either with few puddle ducks and  a record low 95 Great Scaup. That said all our regulars along with some new observersshowed up and many have reported.  Totalnumber of species at 82 is near high for the count. Highlights included the continuing on private property RufousHummingbird. Reports of 8 Bald Eagles found along the waterfront as well arethe three rivers need to be reviewed for duplicates but seem noteworthy.Blue-gray Gnatcatchers (2) at Sedgewick Forest were the first for the countsince 1993. A systematic search for owls yielded a record strong local populationof Eastern Screech-Owl. A recent Western Meadowlark and Northern Parula were notfound on the count. Count week ends at dark this Tuesday so any new sightingsposted on eBird for Oakville and Mississauga in the coming days will be viewedwith interest. Thank you to participants. Final results will be posted in due course on the Christmas Bird Countwebsite. Mark CranfordONPH CompilerSouth Peel Naturalists' ClubOakville/Mississauga