Results of the 2025 Fisherville Christmas Bird Count

Photo (above): Northern Shrike (photo by Sarah Sharp)

Report by the Haldimand Bird Observatory (Sarah Sharp)

The 24th Fisherville Christmas Bird Count was held on Saturday, December 28^th, 2024. Every year there are fluctuating high counts and low counts with a varying species composition, and this year was no different! Last year the Haldimand Bird Observatory took over the coordination and compilation of the count and we were happy to do so again this year! Without further ado, here is a summary of this year’s count…

Participants:
First and foremost a big thank you to our dedicated returning and new volunteers who collected this valuable data!

Setting the Scene:
Our participants spent a total of 55.7 hours counting birds in the field, with a whopping total of 600.7 km travelled. There was a total of four hours of owling done, and no feeder-watching. Similar to last year, the weather was mild and wet, ranging from 2ºC to 12ºC, with intermittent drizzle and fog throughout the day. The wind was Southwesterly (11-21km/h), which brought in a warm and moist air mass from the gulf that resulted in the mild temperatures.
 
On To the Birds: Highlights

Lesser Scaup (photo by Sarah Sharp)

• There were 14 duck species observed this year, of note was 2 American Wigeons, the first of this species observed since 2019, and 1 Northern Pintail, the first since 2021.
• There was the highest ever count of Lesser Scaup, with 426 individuals tallied.
• Wild Turkeys were down, with the lowest count (10) since 1999.
• Horned Grebe numbers were also down, potentially due to low visibility on the lake, with 5 counted, the lowest count since 2016.
• Typically, the only shorebird to stick around, there were 2 Killdeer sighted this year, the highest total since 2012.
• There was a total of 15 owls counted: 9 Eastern Screech-owls, 5 Great Horned Owls and 1 Long-eared Owl, with a notable absence of Short-eared Owl.
• This year held the second highest total (8) for Common Raven, the highest count at 11.
• 3 Winter Wrens were seen this year, only the 9^th time they have occurred on the count.
• There was 1 Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler seen this year, only the 5^th time this species has been found on the count!
• Finally, there was the lowest count ever of House Sparrows at 254… good news?

Results Summary

Overall, participants counted 12,873 individual birds of 75 species! Well done everyone!

Participation:

We are needing some new participants! For interest in participation next year please contact through email at fisherville.birdcount@gmail.com or through our Instagram @haldimandbirds. Thank you!