The 14th Strathroy Area Christmas Bird Count was held December 23, 2009.
Weather conditions were about a good as you could expect for Christmas week in southwestern Ontario, with temperatures ranging between -8 to -4 C. There was just a small amount of snow on the ground. 17 field observers and 5 feeder watchers tallied 16,705 birds of 63 (a new high) species. New for the count Red-headed Woodpecker (1) Record highs Red-tailed Hawk (104) Wild Turkey (260) Rock Pigeon (590) Long-eared Owl (3) Downy Woodpecker (201) Pileated Woodpecker (11) Tufted Titmouse (4) Brown Creeper (30) Yellow-rumped Warbler (36) Brown-headed Cowbird (277) Other interesting observations Northern Pintail (1) Bald Eagle seen during count week Short-eared Owl (6) Hermit Thrush (2) Fox Sparrow (2) Red-winged Blackbird (1) Thanks to all those who helped with this count. Dave Skinner Strathroy, Ontario _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
