The 48th Wiarton Christmas Bird Count was held on Sunday, December 18, 2022 (the 51th anniversary of the count, but 3 years had no count). Twenty-five participants and three feeder watchers tallied 62 (+ 1 count week) species, well above the long-term and 10-year averages of 50 and 53 species, respectively, but just shy of the record of 63 species set in 1997. The total of 6,090 individual birds was the third highest total overall (all-time high 6,283 in 1997) and much higher than the previous overall (3,431) and 10-year (4,185) averages. One new species, Eastern Bluebird, was recorded. This raises the overall count day total to 131 species (plus 6 additional count week species). Other good finds this year included Merlin (3rd count), Green-winged Teal (2 nd count), Ring-necked Duck (9th on count day and the first since 2001), and a count-week Red-winged Blackbird (5th count). Record high numbers were recorded for: Canada Goose (1,556, previous high 1,329 in 2021; for the first 18 years of this CBC, the high count was 33 birds, and pre-1995 this species was not recorded annually); Mute Swan (62, previous high 23 in 2021, continuing the trend); Green-winged Teal (3, previously just 1); Bald Eagle (25, previous 21, continuing the trend); and American Crow (407, previous 257, continuing the trend). Other relatively high counts included Trumpeter Swan 16 (record 17), Ring-necked Duck 4 (record 5), Great Black-backed Gull 12 (first double-digit total since 1994, when 22 were observed), Bohemian Waxwing 256 (record 326), Pine Grosbeak 44 (first double-digit total since 2007) and Evening Grosbeak 99 (highest count since 1995 for this far-from-annual species). Aside from no Common Redpolls, there were no particularly notable low counts or missed species. Winter finches were limited to Pine Siskin (16), Pine Grosbeak (42), Evening Grosbeak (99) and Purple Finch (2) and moderate numbers of American Goldfinches were at feeders. Thanks to all the volunteers for their efforts! Jarmo Jalava Weather conditions: Temperatures ranged from between -1°C at 7:00 a.m. to 1°C at 5:00 p.m. under overcast to mainly cloudy skies. Light to moderate (9-15 kph) westerly breezes made inland birding pleasant, but winds were stronger at exposed areas along the Lake Huron shore. The waters of Georgian Bay and Lake Huron were open, as were faster-flowing creeks and rivers, but most interior waterbodies were ice-covered, as were some near-shore areas of sheltered bays of Lake Huron. Up to 15 cm of snow covered the ground in most areas.