During the 120th Christmas Bird Count (CBC) in Canada, counts reported 289 species, an increase of four species from last year, and 11 infraspecific forms. Seven additional species, Barnacle Goose, Atlantic Puffin, California Scrub-Jay, Green-tailed Towhee, Vesper Sparrow, Seaside Sparrow, and Indigo Bunting were recorded only during count week. The all-time Canadian species list sits at 438 species.
Each of Canada鈥檚 ten provinces and two out of three territories scored at least one species high count during the 120th CBC season. British Columbia recorded the most species high counts of all the Canadian regions (135), followed by Ontario (73) and Nova Scotia (32). Victoria, BC was the circle to achieve the most species high counts (41), followed by White Rock (12) and a tie (11) between St. Johns, NL, and Halifax-Dartmouth, NS. Twelve of the high counts in the 120th CBC season are new all-time Canadian highs (numbers boldfaced). Forty-eight high counts are high counts not only for Canada, but all North America (numbers italicized). Two species are considered pending and under review by the Bird Records Committee (species underlined). One hypothetical species, Common Snipe (BC, Skidegate Inlet), if accepted will be new to the all-time Canadian species list. Unestablished exotics and hybrids are excluded from this list.
Snow Goose 67,273 (QC, St-Jean-sur-le-Richelieu); Greater White-fronted Goose 32 (BC, Tlell); Pink-footed Goose 1 (NL, St. Johns); Brant 555 (BC, White Rock); Cackling Goose 1871 (BC, White Rock); Canada Goose 47,551 (AB, Lethbridge); Mute Swan 534 (ON, Prince Edward Point); Trumpeter Swan 1041 (BC, Chilliwack); Tundra Swan 9736 (ON, Blenheim); Wood Duck 255 (BC, Victoria); Blue-winged Teal 1 (NS, Sable Island; ON, Linwood); Northern Shoveler 303 (BC, Duncan); Gadwall 236 (BC, Victoria); Eurasian Wigeon 45 (BC, White Rock); American Wigeon 5548 (BC, White Rock); Mallard 44,175 (ON, St. Clair N.W.A.); American Black Duck 3758 (ON, St. Clair N.W.A.); Northern Pintail 3311 (BC, White Rock); Green-winged Teal (Eurasian) 1 (BC, Greater Masset, Victoria; NL, St. Johns); Green-winged Teal (American) 1254 (BC, Greater Masset); Canvasback 2326 (ON, Holiday Beach); Redhead 1167 (ON, Holiday Beach); Ring-necked Duck 423 (BC, Chilliwack); Tufted Duck 64 (NL, St. Johns); Greater Scaup 19,021 (ON, Point Pelee); Lesser Scaup 616 (BC, Duncan); King Eider 1 (ON, Hamilton); Common Eider 778 (QC, Perce); Harlequin Duck 464 (BC, Deep Bay); Surf Scoter 2392 (BC, Comox); White-winged Scoter 1604 (ON, Hamilton); Black Scoter 615 (PE, East Point); Long-tailed Duck 20,990 (ON, Peach Tree); Bufflehead 1796 (BC, Victoria); Common Goldeneye 3317 (ON, Hamilton); Barrow's Goldeneye 1700 (BC, Vancouver); Hooded Merganser 313 (BC, Victoria); Common Merganser 11,200 (ON, Lakeshore); Red-breasted Merganser 4140 (ON, Point Pelee); Ruddy Duck 291 (ON, Hamilton).
California Quail 2374 (BC, Penticton); Chukar 67 (BC, Kamloops); Gray Partridge 321 (SK, Morse); Ring-necked Pheasant 130 (AB, Medicine Hat); Ruffed Grouse 68 (ON, Algonquin P.P.); Spruce Grouse 6 (MB, Riding Mountain N.P.); Willow Ptarmigan 7 (NT, Yellowknife); Rock Ptarmigan 1 (NL, Bonne Bay); Dusky Grouse 1 (BC, Lillooet); Sooty Grouse 1 (BC, Vancouver); Sharp-tailed Grouse 201 (MB, Gimli); Wild Turkey 691 (ON, Vankleek Hill); Pied-billed Grebe 69 (BC, Victoria); Horned Grebe 481 (BC, Victoria); Red-necked Grebe 255 (BC, Victoria); Eared Grebe 4 (BC, White Rock); Western Grebe 821 (BC, Skidegate Inlet); Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 5544 (MB, Winnipeg); Band-tailed Pigeon 5 (BC, Parksville-Qualicum Beach); Eurasian Collared-Dove 380 (BC, Vancouver); Mourning Dove 1,524 (ON, Peach Tree); Anna's Hummingbird 1256 (BC, Victoria); Rufous Hummingbird 1 (BC, Cortes Island); Virginia Rail 9 (BC, Nanaimo); Sora 1 (ON, West Elgin); Common Gallinule 1 (ON, Wallaceburg); American Coot 1007 (BC, Victoria); Sandhill Crane 3577 (ON, Long Point); Black Oystercatcher 197 (BC, Skidegate Inlet); Black-bellied Plover 220 (BC, Comox); Semipalmated Plover 1 (NL, Cape Race); Killdeer 69 (BC, Victoria); Long-billed Curlew 1 (BC, White Rock); Marbled Godwit 3 (BC, White Rock); Ruddy Turnstone 4 (NS, Chezzetcook); Black Turnstone 420 (BC, Deep Bay); Red Knot 1 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth, The Sydneys); Surfbird 540 (BC, Pender Islands); Sanderling 761 (BC, Greater Masset); Dunlin 889 (BC, Greater Masset); Rock Sandpiper 17 (BC, Skidegate Inlet); Purple Sandpiper 161 (NL, Ferryland); White-rumped Sandpiper 1 (NL, Cape Race); Semipalmated Sandpiper 1 (NL, Cape Race); Western Sandpiper 2 (BC, White Rock); Long-billed Dowitcher 54 (BC, Vancouver); American Woodcock 1 (ON, Point Pelee); Common Snipe 1 (BC, Skidegate Inlet); Wilson's Snipe 48 (BC, Chilliwack); Spotted Sandpiper 3 (BC, Campbell River); Lesser Yellowlegs 1 (NS, Yarmouth); Willet 1 (NS, Broad Cove); Greater Yellowlegs 50 (BC, Deep Bay).
Pomarine Jaeger 4 (NS, Brier Island); Dovekie 6990 (NL, Cape Race); Common Murre 1716 (BC, Hecate Strait); Thick-billed Murre 20 (NL, Ferryland); Razorbill 10 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Black Guillemot 165 (NB, Cape Race); Pigeon Guillemot 583 (BC, Sidney-South Saltspring); Marbled Murrelet 178 (BC, Victoria); Ancient Murrelet 560 (BC, Little River-Powell River Ferry); Rhinoceros Auklet 49 (BC, Sidney-South Saltspring); Black-legged Kittiwake 205 (NB, Brier Island); Bonaparte's Gull 4393 (ON, Niagara Falls); Black-headed Gull 6 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Little Gull 9 (ON, Niagara Falls); Laughing Gull 1 (NS, St. Peters); Mew Gull 1300 (BC, Powell River); Ring-billed Gull 5087 (ON, Kettle Point); Western Gull 12 (BC, Galiano-North Saltspring); California Gull 38 (BC, Galiano-North Saltspring); Herring Gull 3810 (ON, La Foret Larose); Iceland Gull 1200 (NS, Sable Island); Iceland Gull (Thayer鈥檚) 711 (BC, Powell River); Iceland Gull (kumlieni) 1588 (NL, St. Johns); Lesser Black-backed Gull 9 (NL, St. Johns); Slaty-backed Gull 1 (ON, London); Glaucous-winged Gull 8899 (BC, White Rock); Glaucous Gull 65 (QC, Longueuil); Great Black-backed Gull 3200 (NS, Sable Island); Common Tern 1 (PE, Hillsborough); Red-throated Loon 154 (ON, White Rock); Pacific Loon 1349 (BC, Nanoose Bay); Common Loon 270 (BC, Comox); Yellow-billed Loon 7 (BC, Hecate Strait); Northern Fulmar 9 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Short-tailed Shearwater 9 (BC, Rose Spit); Northern Gannet 35 (NS, Brier Island; PE, East Point); Brandt's Cormorant 2047 (BC, Victoria); Double-crested Cormorant 2361 (BC, Vancouver); Great Cormorant 74 (NS, The Sydneys); Pelagic Cormorant 809 (BC, Sidney-South Saltspring); American Bittern 1 (BC, Abbotsford-Mission);Great Blue Heron 174 (BC, Vancouver); Great Egret 1 (BC, Abbotsford-Mission; ON, Guelph, Holiday Beach); Green Heron 1 (BC, Vancouver); Black-crowned Night-Heron 5 (ON, Toronto).
Black Vulture 16 (ON, Niagara Falls); Turkey Vulture 157 (ON, Dunnville); Osprey 1 (NB, Cape Tormentine); Golden Eagle 10 (BC, Oliver-Osoyoos); Northern Harrier 33 (BC, Pitt Meadows); Sharp-shinned Hawk 20 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Cooper's Hawk 57 (BC, Victoria); Northern Goshawk 9 (AB, Calgary); Bald Eagle 715 (BC, Chilliwack); Red-shouldered Hawk 4 (ON, Point Pelee); Broad-winged Hawk 1 (NS, Bedford-Sackville, Halifax-Dartmouth); Red-tailed Hawk 186 (BC, Vernon); Red-tailed Hawk (Harlan's) 1 (BC, Merritt); Rough-legged Hawk 42 (ON, Linwood); Barn Owl 6 (BC, White Rock); Western Screech-Owl 3 (BC, Kelowna, Oliver-Osoyoos); Eastern Screech-Owl 37 (ON, West Elgin); Great Horned Owl 27 (BC, Victoria); Snowy Owl 37 (ON, Linwood); Northern Hawk Owl 5 (MB, Pinawa-Lac du Bonnet); Northern Pygmy-Owl 5 (BC, Peachland, Vaseux Lake); Barred Owl 26 (ON, Petroglyphs); Great Gray Owl 6 (AB, Cochrane Wildlife Reserve); Long-eared Owl 5 (ON, Blenheim); Short-eared Owl 9 (BC, Kuskanook); Boreal Owl 1 (AB, Devon-Calmar); Northern Saw-whet Owl 7 (NS, Bedford-Sackville).
Belted Kingfisher 38 (BC, Victoria); Red-headed Woodpecker 4 (ON, Kettle Point, Wye Marsh); Red-bellied Woodpecker 115 (ON, Hamilton); Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 (ON, Belleville, Huntsville, Kettle Point, London, Orono, Rice Lake Plains, Sandbanks, Westport, Woodstock); Red-breasted Sapsucker 24 (BC, Victoria); American Three-toed Woodpecker 25 (AB, Banff-Canmore); Black-backed Woodpecker 12 (AB, Edmonton); Downy Woodpecker 453 (AB, Edmonton); Hairy Woodpecker 141 (MB, Winnipeg); Northern Flicker 528 (BC, Victoria); Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 481 (BC, Penticton); Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 72 (NL, St. Johns); Pileated Woodpecker 67 (AB, Edmonton); American Kestrel 38 (ON, Peach Tree); Merlin 21 (BC, Victoria); Gyrfalcon 3 (BC, Abbotsford-Mission); Peregrine Falcon 15 (BC, Victoria); Prairie Falcon 5 (AB, Milk River).
Eastern Phoebe 4 (ON, Point Pelee); Say鈥檚 Phoebe 1 (BC, Kelowna); Northern Shrike 10 (BC, Kamloops); Hutton's Vireo 14 (BC, Victoria); Blue-headed Vireo 1 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth, Yarmouth); Canada Jay 78 (ON, Timmins); Steller's Jay 346 (BC, Victoria); Blue Jay 652 (ON, Petroglyphs); Clark's Nutcracker 49 (AB, Banff-Canmore); Black-billed Magpie 2346 (AB, Calgary); American Crow 126,000 (ON, St. Clair N.W.A.); Northwestern Crow 22,492 (BC, Vancouver); Common Raven 2618 (NT, Yellowknife); Horned Lark 546 (SK, Ponteix); Tree Swallow 2 (NS, Caledonia, Halifax-Dartmouth); Black-capped Chickadee 3276 (AB, Edmonton); Mountain Chickadee 319 (BC, Banff-Canmore); Chestnut-backed Chickadee 3143 (BC, Victoria); Boreal Chickadee 111 (AB, Cochrane Wildlife Reserve); Tufted Titmouse 29 (ON, Wallaceburg; QC, Lennoxville); Bushtit 1226 (BC, Victoria); Red-breasted Nuthatch 611 (ON, Algonquin P.P.); White-breasted Nuthatch 708 (MB, Winnipeg); Pygmy Nuthatch 236 (BC, Kelowna); Brown Creeper 232 (BC, Victoria).
Canyon Wren 13 (BC, Oliver-Osoyoos); House Wren 1 (BC, Deep Bay; ON, Cedar Creek, London, Sutton, Woodstock); Pacific Wren 378 (BC, Victoria); Winter Wren 25 (ON, Hamilton); Sedge Wren 1 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Marsh Wren 32 (BC, Victoria); Carolina Wren 122 (ON, Hamilton); Bewick's Wren 355 (BC, Victoria); American Dipper 45 (BC, Yalakom Valley); Golden-crowned Kinglet 1387 (BC, Victoria); Ruby-crowned Kinglet 247 (BC, Victoria); Eastern Bluebird 76 (ON, St. Catharines); Western Bluebird 268 (BC, Penticton); Mountain Bluebird 2 (BC, Penticton); Townsend's Solitaire 27 (BC, Hat Creek); Swainson鈥檚 Thrush 1 (ON, Toronto); Hermit Thrush 33 (BC, Victoria); Fieldfare 1 (BC, Rose Spit); American Robin 2436 (BC, Victoria); Varied Thrush 161 (BC, Vancouver); Gray Catbird 4 (NS, Yarmouth; ON, Hamilton); Brown Thrasher 1 (ON, Ottawa-Gatineau, Sudbury, Toronto); Northern Mockingbird 24 (ON, Peach Tree); European Starling 18,078 (ON, Niagara Falls); Bohemian Waxwing 2601 (AB, Calgary); Cedar Waxwing 592 (ON, Halton Hills); House Sparrow 5062 (AB, Calgary); Red-throated Pipit 1 (BC, Victoria); American Pipit 146 (BC, Sidney-South Saltspring); Evening Grosbeak 316 (SK, Love); Pine Grosbeak 324 (NL, Happy Valley-Goose Bay); Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch 77 (AB, Crowsnest); House Finch 1402 (BC, Penticton); Purple Finch 647 (ON, Algonquin P.P.); Cassin's Finch 13 (BC, Kaslo); Common Redpoll 411 (BC, Smithers); Hoary Redpoll 24 (NT, Yellowknife); Red Crossbill 194 (ON, Algonquin P.P.); White-winged Crossbill 1240 (YT, Haines Junction); Pine Siskin 1962 (BC, Victoria); American Goldfinch 942 (ON, Algonquin P.P.).
Lapland Longspur 30 (MB, Oak Hammock Marsh); Snow Bunting 4499 (ON, La Foret Larose); Spotted Towhee 1366 (BC, Victoria); Eastern Towhee 4 (ON, Long Point, St. Thomas); American Tree Sparrow 335 (ON, Long Point); Chipping Sparrow 12 (NS, Kingston); Field Sparrow 8 (ON, Cedar Creek); Lark Sparrow 1 (NS, Strait of Canso; QC, Montreal); Lark Bunting 1 (NS, Broad Cove); Savannah Sparrow 22 (BC, Abbotsford-Mission); Savannah Sparrow (Ipswich) 16 (NS, Sable Island); Fox Sparrow 603 (BC, Victoria); Song Sparrow 1735 (BC, Vancouver); Lincoln's Sparrow 51 (BC, Victoria); Swamp Sparrow 69 (ON, Long Point); White-throated Sparrow 116 (NS, Yarmouth); Harris's Sparrow 3 (BC, Creston Valley); White-crowned Sparrow 661 (BC, Abbotsford-Mission); Golden-crowned Sparrow 1505 (BC, Victoria); Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 1006 (NL, St. Johns); Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 4981 (BC, Victoria).
Yellow-breasted Chat 6 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Yellow-headed Blackbird 2 (BC, Vernon); Eastern Meadowlark 2 (ON, Point Pelee); Western Meadowlark 40 (BC, Abbotsford-Mission); Baltimore Oriole 3 (NL, St. Johns); Red-winged Blackbird 1757 (BC, Vernon); Brown-headed Cowbird 2416 (ON, Fisherville); Rusty Blackbird 15 (ON, St. Clair N.W.A.); Brewer's Blackbird 1227 (BC, Parksville-Qualicum Beach); Common Grackle 52 (NS, Yarmouth); Orange-crowned Warbler 6 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Common Yellowthroat 2 (ON, Long Point, Wallaceburg); Black-throated Blue Warbler 1 (NL, St. Johns); Palm Warbler 1 (BC, Victoria; NB, Memramcook-Hillsborough; NS, Sable Island); Pine Warbler 6 (NB, Memramcook-Hillsborough); Yellow-rumped Warbler 37 (BC, Oliver-Osoyoos ); Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 26 (NS, Cape Sable Island); Yellow-rumped Warbler (爆料公社's) 9 (BC, Kelowna); Yellow-throated Warbler 1 (NS, Antigonish, Sheet Harbour, Truro); Townsend's Warbler 8 (BC, Victoria); Hermit Warbler 1 (NL, St. Johns); Wilson's Warbler 1 (NL, St. Johns; ON, London); Scarlet Tanager 1 (QC, Montreal); Northern Cardinal 592 (ON, Ottawa-Gatineau); Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1 (ON, London, Minden); Dickcissel 1 (NB, Sackville; NL, Corner Brook)