Mashkinonje-North Monetville Christmas Bird Count
Monday January 2, 2012

For CBC results, 2002 to current, click 
HERE

The Friends of Mashkinonje held their 11th Christmas Bird Count on January 2nd.The day was below zero with snow varying from none to heavy and windy.There was open water at the West Arm Narrows and Lavigne but all the water species headed south before previous freezes.Seven field observers scoured the circle for birds and 3 individuals with feeders made a significant contribution to the results.Three good feeders accounted for a quarter of the individual count total.  

Twenty seven species of birds were counted, average for the 11 years.Seven hundred and ninety individual birds were found, higher then last year but approximately half of the other previous years.

There were two new species for the count: Kiera Moratz found a Northern Cardinal in St Charles and Gary Martin saw a Sharp-shinned Hawk close to his feeder.Other rare sightings were a Northern Goshawk along the West Arm shore and Kiera found a Bald Eagle at the Lavigne Landfill.

Ten Mourning Doves were found, Cal Osborne and Sandra Arseneau found one north of Lavigne and the other nine were at Gary & Angela Martin’s feeder.  

The snowshoe/hike lead by Chuck Miller found a Black-backed Woodpecker along the Loudon Peatland Trail in the Mashkinonje Provincial Park .This woodpecker has been seen often along the trail.  

The only White-breasted Nuthatches were found at two feeders along the West Arm.An American Robin was visiting the Martin’s feeder area.Two Northern Shrikes were found one each by the Moratz’s and the Martin’s.The Moratz’s in St Charles and Carmelle Girouard from Lavigne had the only House Sparrows.  

The number of Black-capped Chickadees dropped to 226 from a high of 1,053 in 2005.Snow Bunting numbers have also taken a significant decline, from 712 in 2003 to 9 on this count.All the Snow Buntings are coming to the Martin’s feeder, where their numbers vary up to 30 individuals.  

Finches and old world sparrows have declined.This group numbered 122 this year, whereas other years have been in the 400-500 range.There are seeds on trees but cone bearing trees have few cones. Common Redpolls made up 103 of this years total.All of the Finches and House Sparrows were found at few locations, not spread over the circle.  

Christmas Bird Counts are not only important for science, they are a great reason for getting outside, enjoying nature, then sharing your finds over a nice meal.Everyone goes home happy.

For CBC results, 2002 to current, click HERE