Hi everyone, The 14th annual Linwood CBC was held yesterday, December 28th. Conditions were about as good as you can really get: +2 to -1 degrees C, low wind (10-15km/hr), no precipitation. No snow cover. A total of 36 participants gave the count great coverage, with 54 species, above the count's average of 51.8 species. Total number of individuals was right around average, with 12,023 (ave. is 12,534). 2 new species were observed, bringing the cumulative species total to 95: Blue-winged Teal – 1 bird in Glen Allan along the Conestoga River ( https://ebird.org/canada/checklist/S62720347) Long-eared Owl – 1 bird flushed at Conestoga Lake Unusual species: Red-shouldered Hawk (2, 3rd record), Short-eared Owl (count-week, 4th record), Northern Flicker (2, 3rd record), Winter Wren (1, 3 rd record). High-counts: Cooper’s Hawk – 11 (ties previous high), Red-shouldered Hawk - 2 (previous high 1), Bald Eagle – 9 (previous high 8), Great Horned Owl – 7 (ties previous high), Snowy Owl – 37 (previous high 35), Red-bellied Woodpecker – 32 (previous high 24), Downy Woodpecker – 94 (previous high 88), Hairy Woodpecker – 22 (previous high 17), Pileated Woodpecker – 4 (previous high 3), Northern Flicker – 2 (ties previous high), Common Raven – 20 (previous high 10), Winter Wren – 1 (ties previous high), and European Starling – 5,794 (previous high 3926) Low-count: Rough-legged Hawk - 42 (ave. is 91.3, ties previous low in 2018) Notable misses: Northern Shrike Last but certainly not least, a big thank you to my Mom who put on a great chili dinner/wrap-up! Link showing the count circle: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?msa=0&mid=1v_MKAk2cYBfqmHk3QDv-d76C_gE&ll=43.445050430091946%2C-80.47508900000003&z=10 Linwood is located northwest of Waterloo. If you have any questions please email me privately. Ken Burrell kenneth.gd.burrell@gmail.com The *Best Places to Bird in Ontario* - in stores spring 2019. Find out more http://burrellbirding.ca/