Prince Edward Point Christmas Bird Count 2023 Twenty-two enthusiastic citizen scientists headed out early December 16 th on the forty-seventh Prince Edward Point Christmas Bird Count. The count circle is centered on Waupoos Island in Prince Edward Bay and stretches along the water from Point Traverse of the Prince Edward National Wildlife Area to across the Bay of Quinte near Adolphustown. For a count day, the weather was good. The early morning temperature was 2C but it warmed to a balmy 8C by afternoon with only light NW winds. There was no snow cover or ice on the lakes and ponds. Even though the weather was good, the count of only 60 species was below the average of 68. As well, the total of only 8,402 birds counted was well below the average of 31,063. Counts of common water birds like Long-tailed Duck (1,434) and Greater Scaup (1,040) contributed to this low tally as they were starkly lower than their respective averages of 18,505 and 2,931. The thought was that the mild weather has spread the birds out over a wider area making it challenging to locate them to count. Counts of birds at usually productive feeders were very low or non-existent. Even the usually ubiquitous House Finches and American Goldfinches didn’t show up in numbers. Similarly, perhaps because of a poor red cedar berry crop, only 11 Cedar Waxwings were seen. This was well below their average of 180. One Barred Owl was found on count day. On a more positive note, the tally for Blue Jays, Crows, Ravens, and American Robin were well above the 46-year average. Other species that are not always seen on this count included two Gray Catbirds, two Double-crested Cormorants, and two Turkey Vultures. Red-bellied Woodpeckers (10) and two Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers were highlights from the Woodpecker family. A count week highlight included a Chipping Sparrow near the wharf at the PEPtNWA. Thanks to all of the volunteers and especially to the team leaders, Paul Mackenzie, Barry Pinsky, Sheila Kuja, Les Stanfield, Ian Barker, and Tyler Hoar. Dale Smith December, 2023 On Dec 23, 2023, at 8:33 AM, Dale Smith <doc0013@icloud.com> wrote: Please find attached a brief summary of the PEP CBC. Merry Christmas...Dale <Prince Edward Point Christmas Bird Count 2023.docx>