Species diversity on local counts remains healthy, but many populations are decreasing in number Peterborough Examiner – January 17, 2025 – by Drew Monkman “Wow! There must be at least 20 chickadees that have flown in,” I exclaimed to my friend Brian. “All you do is pish a bit, and they appear Read more…
High waterfowl diversity and numbers was a highlight of this year’s local Christmas Bird Counts Peterborough Examiner – January 12, 2024 – by Drew Monkman Dan Chronowic and his group of fellow birders won’t soon forget the spectacle they witnessed on Chemong Lake. “The huge raft of Common Mergansers was truly a sight Read more…
Local Christmas counts provide a glimpse at the ups and downs of bird populations Peterborough Examiner – January 13, 2023 – by Drew Monkman How quickly winter bird numbers can change. Just a year ago, the forests, fields, and feeders of the Kawarthas were attracting large numbers of redpolls, crossbills, siskins, and goldfinches, Read more…
Peterborough Examiner – January 14, 2022 – by Drew Monkman A look at data from eBird and the results of the Petroglyphs Christmas Bird Count Peterborough has one of the most active birding communities in all of Canada. This is borne out in many ways: the number of people submitting checklists to eBird, Read more…
Peterborough Examiner – January 7, 2022 – by Drew Monkman A record 71 species tallied on the Peterborough Christmas Bird Count As the full moon cast long shadows through a woodlot on the outskirts of Bridgenorth, the mysterious “whooo…whoo-hoo…who-who” song of a great horned owl echoed through the trees. Almost immediately, a Read more…
Fewer than usual species found on local counts Many people are asking this winter where all the birds are. A friend in Keene told me recently that it’s been years since his feeders have required so little refilling. So, what’s going on? First, as predicted, most winter finches have Read more…
The annual Christmas Bird Count reveals the ups and downs of bird populations – and always some surprises. Between mid-December and early January, birders in more than 2,500 localities across North, Central and South America take a break from the holiday festivities to spend a day outside, identifying and counting Read more…
Between mid-December and early January, birders in over 2000 localities across North, Central and South America took a break from the holiday festivities to spend a day outside, identifying and counting birds. Dating all the way back to 1900, the Christmas Bird Count is one of the longest-running Citizen Science Read more…
Between mid-December and early January, birders from across North, Central and South America take a break from holiday season excess to spend a day in the fresh air, identifying and counting birds. Dating all the way back to 1900, Christmas bird counts represent the biggest organized birding event in the Read more…
Counting birds during the Christmas period has been a tradition of naturalists and bird watchers across the continent since 1900. This year almost 2000 Christmas Birds Counts will be held. Each count now follows a standardized procedure so the results are comparable. Each individual count covers an area contained Read more…
The 63rd annual Peterborough Christmas Bird Count was held on Sunday, December 14. It was a relatively mild day (-1 to +1 deg C) Here are some of the highlights. Number of species: 67 (Record high! Previous record was 62.) Number of participants: 45 (Record high! Previous record was Read more…
Regulars, past participants, newcomers to the area, and newcomers to birding, all are welcome to participate in this long-standing annual winter bird census. They will be partnered with more experienced local birders. More eyes result in more birds seen! Be prepared for a long day and possibly cold weather. The Read more…
Between mid-December and early January, birders from across North, Central and South America take a break from the holiday season excess to spend a day in the fresh air, identifying and counting birds. Dating all the way back to 1900, Christmas bird counts represent the biggest organized birding event Read more…
Late ice-up kept population high, and diverse, for annual bird count Click here to read column