12th Annual Carden Alvar Christmas Bird Count Posted on January 5, 2010 at 08:48:54 PM by Bob Bowles
Carden Alvar Christmas Bird Count January 2, 2010
The 12th annual Carden Alvar Christmas Bird Count was held on Saturday, January 2, 2010. The day was cold and clear with temperatures from -21 0C to -17 0C. Most of the water was frozen with only a few patches of fast moving open water. A total of 12 field observers and 16 feeder watchers tallied a total of 30 species of birds and 2281 individuals. They also counted 7 species of mammals and 81 individuals. All of Alvar Road and Wiley Road were covered by observers on foot and on skis but with few birds being observed. There were no new species of birds for the count but a new high total of 63 Common Ravens up from 53 in 2003. There were no owls or gulls reported and low numbers of hawks and finches. Best birds were a red-winged blackbird and a red-bellied woodpecker both observed at feeders. Other birds of note were an immature Bald Eagle and four Purple Finches.
American Black Duck – 2, Mallard – 5, Common Merganser – 2, Bald Eagle – 1, Sharp-shinned Hawk – 2, Red-tailed Hawk – 2, Ruffed Grouse – 5, Wild Turkey – 59, Rock Pigeon – 28, Mourning Dove – 83, Downy Woodpecker – 23, Hairy Woodpecker – 40, Red-bellied Woodpecker – CW, Pileated Woodpecker – 2, Blue Jay – 150, American Crow – 63, Common Raven – 63, Black-capped Chickadee – 779, Red-breasted Nuthatch – 4, White-breasted Nuthatch – 30, Brown Creeper – 2, Golden-crowned Kinglet – 1, Northern Shrike – 3, European Starling – 61, Northern Cardinal – 5, American Tree Sparrow – 45, Dark-eyed Junco – 20, Snow Bunting – 422, Red-winged Blackbird – 1, Purple Finch – 4, American Goldfinch – 374.
Thanks to everyone who took part in this interesting count this year.
Bob Bowles, compiler