Annual bird count sees some surprises

Birders spend New Year’s Day taking stock in areas of Pictou County

Some people ring in the New Year by jumping into ice cold water.

Some choose spend time with friends and family around a dinner table.

Ken McKenna makes it a point to get up at sunrise and count wild birds.

It is something he and his fellow birders have been doing regularly on New Year’s Day since the early 1990s. The numbers are recorded for each bird spotted within the day and sent to Bird Studies Canada as well as Audubon Society.

“There are several reasons we do it on New Year’s Day,” he said. “There is not too much traffic around and it used to be that Dec. 31 was the end of duck hunting season so it is easy to count ducks.”

He said the count takes place within a circle that is 50 miles in diameter with the centre near Sinclairs Island. The radius reaches the George Street Bridge in New Glasgow, Melmerby Beach and the tip of Caribou Island. It also takes in the Town of Pictou, Lyons Brook, Bayview, Abercrombie, north end New Glasgow and Trenton.

A similar count was done in mid-December that takes in areas in Lorne, Thorburn and Union Centre.

On New Year’s Day, McKenna and his group started on west side New Glasgow and moved on to the Trenton connector where they looked for ducks through the thick fog coming off the river. He said the count continued until dusk. Later in the evening, he and friend headed into wooded areas looking for owls. McKenna said his numbers aren’t final yet, but overall numbers were down for some birds and up for others.

Some surprises this year included:

■ Lower number of finches than in past years. Usually birders spot about nine but this year only recorded two.

■ Didn’t count as many gulls as are usually spotted on New Year’s Day.

■ The count for sea ducks was lower than expected but ice might have prevented them from coming closer to shore.

■ A significant rise in American robins over past years. Eight hundred and twenty seven were spotted. McKenna says it could be that there are still berries on trees so they are sticking around to feast. In the summer they eat insects but change their diet in the winter to fruit.

■ Moderate number of Canadian geese.

■ A hooded merganser had been counted — a rare sight to see in the county.

■ Pheasants were on the low side compared to other years in terms of variety.

■ No house sparrows were spotted. They are not a native species and their numbers in the area are dropping.

■ Three cardinals were spotted as well.