This Year’s Christmas Bird Counts in the Land O’Lakes

Steve Blight | Jan 24, 2018

For me, a highlight of the Christmas season is taking part in a few of the Christmas Bird Counts held in our area. This year I participated in 3 “CBCs”, as they are known by many – Westport, Frontenac Provincial Park and Sharbot Lake. So how did it go this year? In three words – cold, cold and colder! More on this in a moment.

Christmas Bird Counts go back to 1900, when American ornithologist Frank Chapman proposed a new holiday tradition of having people count living birds in their home towns. Coined the "Christmas Bird Census”, people believed that it could be a fun activity that also contributed to conservation. It caught on, and CBCs are now conducted in over 2000 localities across the Americas.

Christmas Bird Counts are conducted on any one day between December 14 and January 5. They are carried out annually within a 24-km diameter circle that stays the same from year to year. CBCs are usually group events organized at the local level, often by a birding club, naturalists’ organization or simply an enthusiastic group of volunteers. People participate in one of two ways: field observers cover a portion of the count circle on their own or with a small group, counting all birds they find. Feeder watchers count birds at their feeders for a portion of the day.

On the chosen day, field observation teams have 24 hours to identify and count every bird they see or hear in their assigned sector of the circle. At the end of the day, the numbers are compiled, and this information is reviewed and coordinated by Bird Studies Canada, the sponsoring organization in Canada. This data has proven to be very valuable in helping scientists better understand important things like bird distribution and movements and population trends over time.

The big day for the Westport CBC was Friday December 14th. It was cold and windy but sunny, with the thermometer reading about minus 20 when I set out. The mercury rose a little during the day, but the wind became more biting as the day went on. My tally was below normal, with 113 birds representing 12 species, but with several interesting highlights, including a group of 5 Eastern Bluebirds and 2 small flocks of Cedar Waxwings. Overall some 23 intrepid birders and feeder watchers tallied 5,030 birds of 54 different species. Among the most unusual birds were a White-crowned Sparrow at a feeder and a trio of Yellow-rumped Warblers – both very rare sightings during the winter in this area. Blue Jays were back in large numbers this year (at 501), in contrast to last year when they were virtually absent.

Next up was the Frontenac CBC. Coordinated by The Friends of Frontenac Park, the count takes place in a circle that encompasses Frontenac Provincial Park and includes the towns of Sydenham and Verona. Now in its third season, this year’s December 16 count drew 50 participants, many of whom met at the Sydenham Branch of the Kingston Frontenac Public Library for coffee and a great “Winter Birds 101” workshop. The weather was not unpleasant, with temperatures in the minus 7 to minus 10 range all day under sunny skies and moderate winds – a nice winter day. Participants tallied 3,502 individual birds of 48 different species. Highlights included a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and a Common Redpoll, both spotted at Loughborough Lake feeders, and 3 Rough-legged Hawks – all new species for the Frontenac CBC. Birders finished the day with a hearty and well-deserved meal at The Point restaurant in Sydenham. The day’s events also included a CBC for Kids afternoon workshop at Frontenac Park attended by several families. Plus, the Frontenac CBC had its first youth survey team, with seven participants aged 11-16.

Several years ago the Sharbot Lake bird count was revived by the keen and itinerant birder (and expert “pisher”) Andrew Keaveney, making this year’s count, held on January 5, the third consecutive recent count for this circle. The weather was likely the most memorable feature of the Sharbot Lake count day. There’s no way around it, it was brutally cold. Our small but hardy birding party headed out at 9:00 am with the thermometer reading minus 25 with a wind chill of minus 36. Man it was cold! We tallied 13 species and 83 birds, a bit higher than last year but still quite low. The cold weather handicapped us a little – I rely a great deal on my hearing to help me find birds, but the layers of hats and hoods I was wearing (to stay alive) muffled most sounds. Another teammate found the cold weather left his glasses fogged up all morning, so he was operating at less than 100%. And for the first time in my birding career, the exceptional cold made the focus wheel on my binoculars stiff and uncooperative.

At sundown, survivors converged on the Maples Restaurant in Sharbot Lake to thaw out and compare notes. In total 9 field observers and several feeder watchers tallied 1,347 birds of 32 species, including a Northern Goshawk, 2 Black-backed Woodpeckers and a Red-bellied Woodpecker. Several Pine Grosbeaks and Red Crossbills were tallied as well, a pair of species that are not easily found in Frontenac most years. Perhaps the most interesting find was a Brown Thrasher being treated like royalty at a local feeder. Neither the thrasher nor the Red-bellied Woodpecker had ever been recorded on the count before. Bird numbers were down a bit over the long-term average, with the weather (did I say it was cold that day?) having an impact on bird numbers. For example, open water usually yields waterfowl like ducks and geese, but this year open water was very scare.

All of the above CBCs are looking for more volunteers. Anyone who is interested in birds and in spending a winter day looking for them either in the field or from the comfort of their own homes as feeder watchers are invited to join the fun. Those interested in participating in the Sharbot Lake CBC can contact Andrew Keaveney at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For more info on the Westport CBC, please contact Wendy Briggs-Jude at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and to join the Frontenac CBC please contact Carolyn Bonta at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Participating in Christmas Bird Counts for me is a bit like a treasure hunt – it’s exciting to seek out new species to add to the daily tally or come across a group of interesting birds like this year’s bluebirds or the 110 Snow Buntings we spotted north of Westport during last year’s CBC. I also get a good deal of satisfaction knowing that our effort and the data we collect is helping to paint a continent-wide picture of the status of our winter birds. Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without looking for birds.