2024 Desbarats Christmas Bird Count Results

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 9th annual Desbarats Christmas Bird Count, which took place on December 28, 2024.

Despite the poor weather on count day, it still ended up being an above average day compared to previous years. 21 field observers and 15 feeder watchers managed to count 44 species for a total of 2828 birds (the average is 39 species and 2430 birds).

Four new species were added to the all-time Desbarats CBC list: 

• Pied-billed Grebe - very rare locally in the winter 
• American Black Duck (count of 2) - fairly uncommon locally in the winter
• Red-breasted Merganser (count of 3) - fairly uncommon locally in the winter
• Merlin - uncommon locally in the winter

Pied-billed Grebe - Photo by Jane Smith

Other highlight species included Canada Goose, Mallard, Common Goldeneye, Long-tailed Duck, and American Herring Gull (yes, the fact that there was open water this year really helped the totals!).

New high counts were set for a number of species:

• ​​Mallard - 28 (previous high of 2)
• Wild Turkey - 422 (previous high of 181)
• Ruffed Grouse - 29 (previous high of 23)
• Rock Pigeon - 289 (previous high of 285)
• Bald Eagle - 25 (previous high of 20)
• Rough-legged Hawk - 11 (previous high of 3)
• Northern Shrike - 7 (previous high of 4)
• European Starling - 556 (previous high of 538)
• American Robin - 2 (previous high of 1)
• White-winged Crossbill - 44 (previous high of 12)

Northern Shrike - Photo by Carter Dorscht

There were not any notable species that were not observed this year, other than maybe Pine Grosbeak, but that was expected as most Pine Grosbeaks have not come this far south this winter.

The most abundant species this year were:

• European Starling - 556
• Black-capped Chickadee - 427
• Wild Turkey - 422
• Rock Pigeon - 289
• American Crow - 192
• Common Raven - 182
• American Goldfinch - 162
• Mourning Dove - 112
• Blue Jay - 90
• ​White-winged Crossbill - 44

White-winged Crossbills - Photo by Carter Dorscht

Thank you again to everyone who participated, as well as to everyone who supports The Kensington Conservancy. This event and our conservation work would not be possible without you.

If you would like to review the entire dataset from 2024 and see how it compares you previous years, you can access it here.