St. John's Christmas Bird Count 2023 - Results

[Jared Clarke]

The St. John's Christmas Bird Count went ahead as usual on Boxing Day. Weather was mediocre - mostly cloudy and temperatures hovering just above freezing (good) but also rather windy (bad). A total of 31 field observers took part, tallying 68 species + several hybrids and "other taxa". Seven additional species were spotted during count week (Dec 23-29). Highlights included the Ruff (a first-ever record for the CBC), the long-staying Pink-footed Goose, a Baltimore Oriole and six warbler species (including TWO each of Yellow and Yellow-throated Warbler). The recent Least Flycatcher was seen during count week (Dec 24), also a new record for the count. Most species numbers were about average, while a record high count of 42 Eurasian Wigeon was notable for the area. Most finch numbers were relatively low, and many other songbirds were difficult to detect as the abundant cones were providing plenty of food deep in the forest and leaving local feeders very quiet.

Thanks to everyone who took time from their holidays to help out!
Jared

Pink-footed Goose – 1
Eurasian Wigeon – 42 *
American Wigeon – 120
American Black Duck – 663
Mallard – 605
Northern Pintail – 25
Green-winged Teal – 37
Ring-necked Duck – 7
Tufted Duck – 35
Greater Scaup – 66
Lesser Scaup – 8
Common Eider – 66
White-winged Scoter – 3
Long-tailed Duck – 75
Bufflehead – 2
Hooded Merganser – 1
Common Merganser – 4
Red-breasted Merganser – 11
Ruddy Duck – 1
Ruffed Grouse – 3
Common Loon - 3
Double-crested Cormorant – 8
Great Cormorant – 60
Northern Harrier – 1
Northern Goshawk – 2
Bald Eagle – 39
American Coot – 1
Ruff – 1 *
Purple Sandpiper – 87
Dovekie – 9
Black Guillemot – 29
Large alcid sp. – 1
Black-headed Gull – 1
Ring-billed Gull – 1
Herring Gull – 3668
Iceland Gull – 1892
Lesser Black-backed Gull – 6
Glaucous Gull – 7
Great Black-backed Gull – 322
Gull sp. – 187
Rock Pigeon – 987
Belted Kingfisher – 3
Downy Woodepcker – 1
Northern Flicker – 43
Merlin – 1
Blue Jay – 47
American Crow – 777
Common Raven – 89
Black-capped Chickadee – 228
Boreal Chickadee – 62
Red-breasted Nuthatch – 13
Golden-crowned Kinglet – 3
American Robin – 77
European Starling – 6531
Black & White Warbler – 1
Yellow Warbler – 2
Pine Warbler – 1
Yellow-throated Warbler – 2
Wilson’s Warbler – 1
Fox Sparrow – 1
Dark-eyed Junco – 264
White-throated Sparrow – 1
Song Sparrow – 24
Baltimore Oriole – 1
Pine Grosbeak – 5
Purple Finch – 45
White-winged Crossbill - 460
Pine Siskin – 49
American Goldfinch – 224
House Sparrow – 1


American Black Duck X Mallard hybrid – 33
Ring-necked Duck X Lesser Scaup hybrid – 1

Count week additions: Sharp-shinned Hawk, Least Flycatcher, Brown Creeper, Bohemian Waxwing, Orange-crowned Warbler, Common Grackle, Evening Grosbeak