The preliminary results are in from the Sault Ste. Marie Christmas Bird Count, which took place on December 16th. It was a warm, rainy day, which is not the typical weather that we encounter for this count. There were 54 different species counted, with a total of over 10,300 individual birds. This is the lowest species total since 2015, but the highest number of individual birds since 2011. The highlights include a Barrow’s Goldeneye, a Northern Hawk Owl, two Eastern Towhees, eleven Lapland Longspurs, an American Goshawk, and a Red-necked Grebe. The species with the highest counts were European Starling (2,016), Mallard (1433), Rock Pigeon (1,180), Black-capped Chickadee (1,004), and Herring Gull (989). New high counts were set for Common Goldeneye (543), Eastern Towhee (2), and Lapland Longspur (11). Notable misses this year were Sharp-tailed Grouse, Merlin, Snowy Owl, Common Grackle, and Rough-legged Hawk. The final results will be available within a couple weeks after all of the data has come in. Thank you to everyone who participated this year and made the count another success! Carter Dorscht Sault Ste. Marie Christmas Bird Count Compiler