100th Hamilton CBC Report
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Rob Porter
Jan 11, 2021, 9:05:49 PM1/11/21
to Hamilton Birds, bird...@ontbirds.ca
The 100th Hamilton Christmas Bird Count (CBC) was held on Saturday, December 26 in Hamilton, Ontario.
The Hamilton CBC count circle centres upon Dundurn Castle; it is bounded in the west by Christie Lake, in the east by Lake Ontario, in the north by Lake Medad, and in the south by Hamilton International Airport. It includes two Important Bird & Biodiversity Areas (IBAs): West End of Lake Ontario (WELO) IBA, and Dundas Valley & Dundas Marsh IBA.
The weather on count day was mostly overcast with some light snow. The thermometer was ranging between -7°C and -4°C, and there were WSW winds between 25 and 35 km/h.
A record-setting one hundred and eleven participants either set out to count in the field or watch birdfeeders, with many out alone alone and the rest working in much smaller parties than is normal in typical counts. With an ongoing pandemic no group meetups were arranged and counters were much more widely distributed. As a consequence far more urban zones were covered than usual.
A total of 282 hours effort was put in by the participants, with a resulting 105 different species observed, plus another 2 on the count week, giving a result of 107 species countable. The day count of species is a new record, beating the previous 2011 record of 104.
A total of 37,327 individual birds were counted on the count day. This is 8,630 below the 10-year average and 23,937 below the 25-year average. It is only 159 more than last year, a notably poor year for total birds counted.
The lower count numbers can be partly explained by the lack of cover ice over the waterways. In years where ice is prevalent there tends to be much higher concentrations of waterfowl in our count circle.
Two other "low" records set this year were the American Kestrel with only one lone individual observed, and the Golden-crowned Kinglet with only 4 counted.
The first significant year for winter finches in a long time helped contribute to the record number of species counted on count day, albeit in small numbers. Surprisingly, I cannot find any other year like this one where both grosbeak and both crossbill species appeared in a single count, even with count week taken into account.
This year we added one new species and a new hybrid to the list. A pair of Ross's Geese were present in Bayfront park, these were birds known to be residing there since December. Additionally, a Ring-necked Duck x Redhead hybrid was observed in Hamilton Harbour.
Six species records were set or matched, four of which were species that required compiler adjustments based on field notes of counters due to these species soaring over multiple zones throughout the day.
Hooded Merganser was a surprise new record, with 288 counted, 96 over the previous record only four years ago.
Pacific Loon was a matched record, with a lone individual counted.
Turkey Vulture set a new record with an adjusted tally of 11. While 22 were reported, half of those could be eliminated using the clear field notes given by counters. This is a tough species to reduce as a compiler as individuals do not generally have distinguishing features; with the wintering population of Turkey Vultures increasing quickly and its tendency to wander in plain sight over the heads of multiple counters in a day, this species may become difficult to count accurately.
Bald Eagle also set a new record, with an adjusted final count of 16. Even with good field notes this one was a difficult species to adjust, from an original tally of 24 observations.
Peregrine Falcon tied the 2005 record of 6 counted, after an adjustment down from 9 observations.
Finally, the Common Raven has been breaking records year after year, this year doubling the record with 12 counted. This species' count was reduced down from a staggering 26 counted in the field. A single flock of 7 observed by two parties is the source of more ravens than have ever been seen in any Hamilton Christmas Bird Count. Along with vultures, these will be difficult to accurately count if populations continue to grow.
There is one other notable record set: this year a total of 93 eBird checklists were submitted by counters. This unfortunately coincided with the year that eBird decided to remove tools useful for compilers, making the first year where management of data via eBird was actually more difficult than by spreadsheet, and led to significant delays in compiling the data. Hopefully these tools return soon to make IBA Surveys and CBCs manageable via eBird again. Thank you to Kent Fiala for his online eBird checklist compiler application which made this process at least somewhat manageable.
This year we were unable to do much special for the 100th count. We hope that perhaps next year, on the 100th anniversary of the first count held in 1921, we can then celebrate the occasion in person.
For any who may have interest in helping in future counts, please contact me. With the growth of the count it is time for this event to be managed with a committee. I plan to continue being compiler for the foreseeable future but the intake of counter forms and assignment of zones and promotion of the count are jobs that are better done with a team of more than one.
Please see the full details of the count below -- it is worth noting that a number of 10-year record highs were also set this year.
Thank you to everyone who participated in this year's momentous count. Even if many of you felt the numbers of species or birds overall felt low in your specific patch, with the efforts of everyone combined we have shown there are still plenty of positive records to be set in the next hundred counts.
Rob Porter,
Compiler, 100th Hamilton Christmas Bird Count
=====
The Hamilton Christmas Bird Count is one of many efforts by the Hamilton Naturalists' Club (HNC) to promote the enjoyment of nature in the Hamilton area. If you were a counter or are just interested in birds and nature in Hamilton, please consider becoming a member of the club. For more information, visit
https://hamiltonnature.org/ -- during the pandemic we are still hosting monthly meetings (online) with presentations about a variety of subjects involving the natural world.
You can also join in conversations about nature in Hamilton on the HNC's Discord chat server. You may join by following this invite link: https://discord.gg/WmDhsKY
Kent Fiala's "eBird Checklist Compiler" which I used can be found at: https://www.faintlake.com/eBird/compiler/
=====
The raw data:
* = New highest record in count history (100 counts)
*10y = Highest count in last 10 years
*25y = Highest count in last 25 years
CW = Count Week species
* Participants 111
Hours Effort 281.65
* Day Species Count 105
Spuhs & Slashes 8
Hybrids 3
Count Week Species 2
Total Species Countable 107
Species counts:
Numbers in parenthesis are unadjusted counts submitted, reduced by the compiler based on reasonable assumption of double-counting of one or more individual birds.
* Ross's Goose 2
Canada Goose 6776
Mute Swan 56
Trumpeter Swan 83
Tundra Swan 11
Northern Shoveler 115
*10y Gadwall 141
American Wigeon 2
Mallard 2808
American Black Duck 148
Mallard x American Black Duck (hybrid) 4
Northern Pintail 1
Green-winged Teal 1
Canvasback 200
Redhead 78
* Canvasback x Redhead (hybrid) 1
* Ring-necked Duck x Redhead 1
Ring-necked Duck 46
Greater Scaup 56
Lesser Scaup 30
Surf Scoter 13
White-winged Scoter 611
Black Scoter 9
Long-tailed Duck 7523
Bufflehead 423
Common Goldeneye 1131
* Hooded Merganser 288
Common Merganser 486
Red-breasted Merganser 90
Ruddy Duck 84
duck sp. 8
Wild Turkey 112
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Horned Grebe 4
Red-necked Grebe 1
Rock Pigeon 1526
Mourning Dove 692
American Coot 70
Ring-billed Gull 739
Herring Gull 849
Iceland Gull 4
Lesser Black-backed Gull 2
Glaucous Gull 4
Great Black-backed Gull 89
gull sp. 125
Red-throated Loon 1
* Pacific Loon 1
Common Loon 1
Double-crested Cormorant 59
Great Blue Heron 3
* Turkey Vulture 11 (22)
Northern Harrier 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 5
Cooper's Hawk 20
accipiter sp. 1
* Bald Eagle 16 (24)
Red-tailed Hawk 99
Rough-legged Hawk 5
eagle sp. 1
Eastern Screech-Owl 7
Great Horned Owl 6
Snowy Owl 1
Belted Kingfisher 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker 107
Downy Woodpecker 241
Hairy Woodpecker 82
Downy/Hairy Woodpecker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 7
Northern Flicker 3
woodpecker sp. 2
American Kestrel 1
Merlin 6
* Peregrine Falcon 6 (9)
Northern Shrike 1
Blue Jay 287
*10y American Crow 778
* Common Raven 12 (26)
*10y Horned Lark 47
Black-capped Chickadee 998
Tufted Titmouse 1
*10y Red-breasted Nuthatch 85
White-breasted Nuthatch 215
Brown Creeper 18
Winter Wren 15
Carolina Wren 99
Golden-crowned Kinglet 4
Eastern Bluebird 49
Hermit Thrush 4
American Robin 347
Gray Catbird 2
Northern Mockingbird 12
European Starling 2505
Cedar Waxwing 203
Evening Grosbeak 4
*10y Pine Grosbeak 12
House Finch 380
Common Redpoll 47
*10y Red Crossbill 1
*10y White-winged Crossbill 30
Pine Siskin 78
American Goldfinch 701
finch sp. 1
Snow Bunting 236
Chipping Sparrow 1
American Tree Sparrow 434
Dark-eyed Junco 971
*10y White-crowned Sparrow 22
*10y White-throated Sparrow 122
Song Sparrow 36
Swamp Sparrow 1
Eastern Towhee 1
sparrow sp. 4
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Brown-headed Cowbird CW
Orange-crowned Warbler CW
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
*10y Northern Cardinal 633
House Sparrow 1785
TOTAL BIRDS COUNTED 37,327
--
The Hamilton CBC count circle centres upon Dundurn Castle; it is bounded in the west by Christie Lake, in the east by Lake Ontario, in the north by Lake Medad, and in the south by Hamilton International Airport. It includes two Important Bird & Biodiversity Areas (IBAs): West End of Lake Ontario (WELO) IBA, and Dundas Valley & Dundas Marsh IBA.
The weather on count day was mostly overcast with some light snow. The thermometer was ranging between -7°C and -4°C, and there were WSW winds between 25 and 35 km/h.
A record-setting one hundred and eleven participants either set out to count in the field or watch birdfeeders, with many out alone alone and the rest working in much smaller parties than is normal in typical counts. With an ongoing pandemic no group meetups were arranged and counters were much more widely distributed. As a consequence far more urban zones were covered than usual.
A total of 282 hours effort was put in by the participants, with a resulting 105 different species observed, plus another 2 on the count week, giving a result of 107 species countable. The day count of species is a new record, beating the previous 2011 record of 104.
A total of 37,327 individual birds were counted on the count day. This is 8,630 below the 10-year average and 23,937 below the 25-year average. It is only 159 more than last year, a notably poor year for total birds counted.
The lower count numbers can be partly explained by the lack of cover ice over the waterways. In years where ice is prevalent there tends to be much higher concentrations of waterfowl in our count circle.
Two other "low" records set this year were the American Kestrel with only one lone individual observed, and the Golden-crowned Kinglet with only 4 counted.
The first significant year for winter finches in a long time helped contribute to the record number of species counted on count day, albeit in small numbers. Surprisingly, I cannot find any other year like this one where both grosbeak and both crossbill species appeared in a single count, even with count week taken into account.
This year we added one new species and a new hybrid to the list. A pair of Ross's Geese were present in Bayfront park, these were birds known to be residing there since December. Additionally, a Ring-necked Duck x Redhead hybrid was observed in Hamilton Harbour.
Six species records were set or matched, four of which were species that required compiler adjustments based on field notes of counters due to these species soaring over multiple zones throughout the day.
Hooded Merganser was a surprise new record, with 288 counted, 96 over the previous record only four years ago.
Pacific Loon was a matched record, with a lone individual counted.
Turkey Vulture set a new record with an adjusted tally of 11. While 22 were reported, half of those could be eliminated using the clear field notes given by counters. This is a tough species to reduce as a compiler as individuals do not generally have distinguishing features; with the wintering population of Turkey Vultures increasing quickly and its tendency to wander in plain sight over the heads of multiple counters in a day, this species may become difficult to count accurately.
Bald Eagle also set a new record, with an adjusted final count of 16. Even with good field notes this one was a difficult species to adjust, from an original tally of 24 observations.
Peregrine Falcon tied the 2005 record of 6 counted, after an adjustment down from 9 observations.
Finally, the Common Raven has been breaking records year after year, this year doubling the record with 12 counted. This species' count was reduced down from a staggering 26 counted in the field. A single flock of 7 observed by two parties is the source of more ravens than have ever been seen in any Hamilton Christmas Bird Count. Along with vultures, these will be difficult to accurately count if populations continue to grow.
There is one other notable record set: this year a total of 93 eBird checklists were submitted by counters. This unfortunately coincided with the year that eBird decided to remove tools useful for compilers, making the first year where management of data via eBird was actually more difficult than by spreadsheet, and led to significant delays in compiling the data. Hopefully these tools return soon to make IBA Surveys and CBCs manageable via eBird again. Thank you to Kent Fiala for his online eBird checklist compiler application which made this process at least somewhat manageable.
This year we were unable to do much special for the 100th count. We hope that perhaps next year, on the 100th anniversary of the first count held in 1921, we can then celebrate the occasion in person.
For any who may have interest in helping in future counts, please contact me. With the growth of the count it is time for this event to be managed with a committee. I plan to continue being compiler for the foreseeable future but the intake of counter forms and assignment of zones and promotion of the count are jobs that are better done with a team of more than one.
Please see the full details of the count below -- it is worth noting that a number of 10-year record highs were also set this year.
Thank you to everyone who participated in this year's momentous count. Even if many of you felt the numbers of species or birds overall felt low in your specific patch, with the efforts of everyone combined we have shown there are still plenty of positive records to be set in the next hundred counts.
Rob Porter,
Compiler, 100th Hamilton Christmas Bird Count
=====
The Hamilton Christmas Bird Count is one of many efforts by the Hamilton Naturalists' Club (HNC) to promote the enjoyment of nature in the Hamilton area. If you were a counter or are just interested in birds and nature in Hamilton, please consider becoming a member of the club. For more information, visit
https://hamiltonnature.org/ -- during the pandemic we are still hosting monthly meetings (online) with presentations about a variety of subjects involving the natural world.
You can also join in conversations about nature in Hamilton on the HNC's Discord chat server. You may join by following this invite link: https://discord.gg/WmDhsKY
Kent Fiala's "eBird Checklist Compiler" which I used can be found at: https://www.faintlake.com/eBird/compiler/
=====
The raw data:
* = New highest record in count history (100 counts)
*10y = Highest count in last 10 years
*25y = Highest count in last 25 years
CW = Count Week species
* Participants 111
Hours Effort 281.65
* Day Species Count 105
Spuhs & Slashes 8
Hybrids 3
Count Week Species 2
Total Species Countable 107
Species counts:
Numbers in parenthesis are unadjusted counts submitted, reduced by the compiler based on reasonable assumption of double-counting of one or more individual birds.
* Ross's Goose 2
Canada Goose 6776
Mute Swan 56
Trumpeter Swan 83
Tundra Swan 11
Northern Shoveler 115
*10y Gadwall 141
American Wigeon 2
Mallard 2808
American Black Duck 148
Mallard x American Black Duck (hybrid) 4
Northern Pintail 1
Green-winged Teal 1
Canvasback 200
Redhead 78
* Canvasback x Redhead (hybrid) 1
* Ring-necked Duck x Redhead 1
Ring-necked Duck 46
Greater Scaup 56
Lesser Scaup 30
Surf Scoter 13
White-winged Scoter 611
Black Scoter 9
Long-tailed Duck 7523
Bufflehead 423
Common Goldeneye 1131
* Hooded Merganser 288
Common Merganser 486
Red-breasted Merganser 90
Ruddy Duck 84
duck sp. 8
Wild Turkey 112
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Horned Grebe 4
Red-necked Grebe 1
Rock Pigeon 1526
Mourning Dove 692
American Coot 70
Ring-billed Gull 739
Herring Gull 849
Iceland Gull 4
Lesser Black-backed Gull 2
Glaucous Gull 4
Great Black-backed Gull 89
gull sp. 125
Red-throated Loon 1
* Pacific Loon 1
Common Loon 1
Double-crested Cormorant 59
Great Blue Heron 3
* Turkey Vulture 11 (22)
Northern Harrier 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 5
Cooper's Hawk 20
accipiter sp. 1
* Bald Eagle 16 (24)
Red-tailed Hawk 99
Rough-legged Hawk 5
eagle sp. 1
Eastern Screech-Owl 7
Great Horned Owl 6
Snowy Owl 1
Belted Kingfisher 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker 107
Downy Woodpecker 241
Hairy Woodpecker 82
Downy/Hairy Woodpecker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 7
Northern Flicker 3
woodpecker sp. 2
American Kestrel 1
Merlin 6
* Peregrine Falcon 6 (9)
Northern Shrike 1
Blue Jay 287
*10y American Crow 778
* Common Raven 12 (26)
*10y Horned Lark 47
Black-capped Chickadee 998
Tufted Titmouse 1
*10y Red-breasted Nuthatch 85
White-breasted Nuthatch 215
Brown Creeper 18
Winter Wren 15
Carolina Wren 99
Golden-crowned Kinglet 4
Eastern Bluebird 49
Hermit Thrush 4
American Robin 347
Gray Catbird 2
Northern Mockingbird 12
European Starling 2505
Cedar Waxwing 203
Evening Grosbeak 4
*10y Pine Grosbeak 12
House Finch 380
Common Redpoll 47
*10y Red Crossbill 1
*10y White-winged Crossbill 30
Pine Siskin 78
American Goldfinch 701
finch sp. 1
Snow Bunting 236
Chipping Sparrow 1
American Tree Sparrow 434
Dark-eyed Junco 971
*10y White-crowned Sparrow 22
*10y White-throated Sparrow 122
Song Sparrow 36
Swamp Sparrow 1
Eastern Towhee 1
sparrow sp. 4
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Brown-headed Cowbird CW
Orange-crowned Warbler CW
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
*10y Northern Cardinal 633
House Sparrow 1785
TOTAL BIRDS COUNTED 37,327
Robert Gerald Porter
Hamilton Naturalists' Club / Director at Large
Weever Apps / Director of Engineering, Co-founder
Hamilton Naturalists' Club / Director at Large
Weever Apps / Director of Engineering, Co-founder
Songbirding Podcast / Creator, Host
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