News

124th Christmas Bird Count High Counts of Species in Canada

December 14, 2023 to January 5, 2024

By Yousif Attia

Canada CBC Coordinator, Birds Canada

Published November 08, 2024

During the 124^th Christmas Bird Count (CBC) in Canada, counts reported 293 species, an increase of fourteen species compared to last season. Four species (Gray Heron, Limpkin, Philadelphia Vireo, and Pinyon Jay) were new for the all-time Canada list, bringing the total to 443 species. Five additional species: American White Pelican, Fish Crow, Green Heron, Least Flycatcher, and White-eyed Vireo were only recorded during Count Week (three days prior to, and three days after a designated Count Day).

Each of Canada’s ten provinces and three territories recorded at least one species high count during the 12th CBC season. Circles in British Columbia recorded the most species with high counts (130), followed by Ontario (81) and Nova Scotia (44). Victoria, BC, was the circle to record the most species high counts (43), followed by Ladner, BC (23), and Long Point, ON (11). Forty-six high counts are high counts not only for Canada, but all North America during the 124^th (record underlined). Unestablished exotics and hybrids are excluded from this list.

Snow Goose 48,086 (QC, St-Jean-sur-le-Richelieu); Ross’s Goose 1 (AB, Lethbridge; ON, Cedar Creek, Kleinburg, Long Point, Meaford, Wallaceburg); Greater White-fronted Goose 28 (BC, Comox); Pink-footed Goose 2 (NS, The Sydneys); Brant 2107 (BC, Ladner); Cackling Goose 10,792 (BC, Chilliwack); Canada Goose 57,245 (AB, Lethbridge); Mute Swan 1261 (ON, Kingston); Trumpeter Swan 848 (BC, Chilliwack); Tundra Swan 3591 (ON, St. Clair N.W.A.); Wood Duck 183 (BC, Chilliwack); Blue-winged Teal 6 (ON, Pembroke); Northern Shoveler 955 (BC, Ladner); Gadwall 459 (ON, Blenheim); Eurasian Wigeon 56 (BC, White Rock-Surrey-Langley); American Wigeon 22,660 (BC, Ladner); Mallard 10,410 (BC, Comox); American Black Duck 3801 (QC, Tadoussac); Northern Pintail 2393 (BC, Ladner); Green-winged Teal (American) 4810 (BC, Ladner); Canvasback 40,501 (ON, Holiday Beach); Redhead 17,531 (ON, Long Point); Ring-necked Duck 705 (BC, Duncan); Tufted Duck 35 (NL, St. John’s); Greater Scaup 11,621 (ON, Point Pelee); Lesser Scaup 1510 (ON, Point Pelee); King Eider 5 (QC, Forillon N.P.); Common Eider 1493 (NS, Louisbourg); Harlequin Duck 332 (BC, Deep Bay); Surf Scoter 3929 (BC, Comox); White-winged Scoter 1520 (PE, East Point); Black Scoter 2056 (PE, East Point); Long-tailed Duck 27,499 (ON, Peach Tree); Bufflehead 2058 (BC, Sidney-South Saltspring); Common Goldeneye 3417 (ON, Point Pelee); Barrow's Goldeneye 1997 (BC, Lower Howe Sound); Hooded Merganser 541 (BC, Victoria); Common Merganser 2966 (ON, Orillia); Red-breasted Merganser 5634 (ON, Blenheim); Ruddy Duck 1582 (ON, Blenheim).

California Quail 1859 (BC, Penticton); Chukar 26 (BC, Lillooet); Gray Partridge 375 (SK, Regina); Ring-necked Pheasant 85 (NS, Wolfville); Ruffed Grouse 55 (ON, Nipigon-Red Rock); Spruce Grouse 14 (NT, Yellowknife); Willow Ptarmigan 253 (NT, Yellowknife); Rock Ptarmigan 1 (NU, Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet); White-tailed Ptarmigan 1 (BC, Smithers, Sunshine Coast); Dusky Grouse 2 (BC, Oliver-Osoyoos); Sooty Grouse 2 (BC, Denny Island-Bella Bella); Sharp-tailed Grouse 227 (SK, Redberry Lake); Wild Turkey 625 (ON, Vankleek Hill); Pied-billed Grebe 59 (BC, Victoria); Horned Grebe 633 (BC, Victoria); Red-necked Grebe 236 (BC, Vernon); Eared Grebe 2 (BC, Ladner); Western Grebe 348 (BC, Sidney-South Saltspring); Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 4144 (ON, Toronto); Band-tailed Pigeon 16 (BC, Vancouver); Eurasian Collared-Dove 346 (BC, Oliver-Osoyoos); Mourning Dove 1860 (ON, Oshawa); Anna's Hummingbird 1448 (BC, Victoria); Rufous Hummingbird 4 (BC, Lower Howe Sound); Virginia Rail 19 (BC, Nanaimo); Sora 1 (BC, Ladner, Pitt Meadows); American Coot 2500 (BC, Kuskanook); Limpkin 1 (ON, Point Pelee); Sandhill Crane 4195 (ON, Long Point).

American Avocet 4 (BC, Ladner); Black Oystercatcher 220 (BC, Deep Bay); Black-bellied Plover 339 (BC, Ladner); Killdeer 326 (BC, Victoria); Semipalmated Plover 1 (BC, Cortes Island); Whimbrel 2 (BC, White Rock-Surrey-Langley); Marbled Godwit 2 (BC, White Rock-Surrey-Langley); Ruddy Turnstone 2 (NL, Cape Race); Black Turnstone 365 (BC, Deep Bay); Surfbird 83 (BC, Victoria); Ruff 1 (NL, St. John’s); Sanderling 504 (NS, Sable Island); Dunlin 38,742 (BC, Ladner); Rock Sandpiper 3 (BC, Victoria); Purple Sandpiper 175 (NL, Cape Race); Western Sandpiper 1 (BC, Vancouver); Short-billed Dowitcher 4 (BC, Victoria); Long-billed Dowitcher 70 (BC, White Rock-Surrey-Langley); American Woodcock 1 (ON, Blenheim, Cambridge, Holiday Beach); Wilson's Snipe 151 (BC, Ladner); Spotted Sandpiper 6 (BC, Deep Bay); Greater Yellowlegs 103 (BC, Ladner); Lesser Yellowlegs 1 (NS, Cape Sable Island).

Pomarine Jaeger 1 (NS, Cape Sable Island, Lunenburg); Parasitic Jaeger 1 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Dovekie 214 (NL, Cape Race); Common Murre 2739 (BC, Parksville-Qualicum Beach); Thick-billed Murre 62 (NS, Cape Race); Razorbill 516 (NS, Machias Seal Island); Black Guillemot 127 (NL, Forillon N.P.); Pigeon Guillemot 337 (BC, Victoria); Marbled Murrelet 28 (BC, Victoria); Ancient Murrelet 4974 (BC, Victoria); Cassin’s Auklet 1 (BC, Sooke); Rhinoceros Auklet 85 (BC, Victoria); Atlantic Puffin 20 (NL, Cape Race); Black-legged Kittiwake 483 (NB, Machias Seal Island); Bonaparte's Gull 900 (BC, Pender Harbour); Black-headed Gull 32 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Little Gull 5 (ON, Long Point); Franklin’s Gull 1 (ON, Brantford); Short-billed Gull 1965 (BC, Duncan); Ring-billed Gull 5583 (ON, Cedar Creek); Western Gull 4 (BC, Victoria); California Gull 299 (BC, Penticton); American Herring Gull 5660 (NS, Wolfville); Iceland Gull 1892 (NL, St. John’s); Iceland Gull (kumlieni) 7 (BC, Ottawa-Gatineau);Iceland Gull (Thayer’s) 495 (BC, Nanaimo); Lesser Black-backed Gull 9 (ON, Woodstock); Glaucous-winged Gull 6214 (BC, Ladner); Glaucous Gull 119 (QC, Forillon N.P.); Great Black-backed Gull 1581 (NS, Sable Island); Red-throated Loon 51 (BC, Vancouver); Pacific Loon 5367 (BC, Parksville-Qualicum Beach); Common Loon 203 (BC, Comox); Yellow-billed Loon 1 (BC, Kamploops, Ladner, Parksville-Qualicum Beach); Northern Gannet 14 (NS, Cape Sable Island); Brandt's Cormorant 3787 (BC, Victoria); Double-crested Cormorant 852 (BC, Vancouver); Great Cormorant 114 (NS, Cape Sable Island); Pelagic Cormorant 731 (BC, Victoria); American Bittern 1 (BC, Pitt Meadows); Gray Heron 1 (NS, Yarmouth); Great Blue Heron 196 (BC, Ladner); Great Egret 1 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Black-crowned Night Heron 11 (ON, Toronto).

Black Vulture 12 (ON, Niagara Falls); Turkey Vulture 128 (NS, Yarmouth); Osprey 1 (ON, Hamilton, Long Point); Golden Eagle 5 (ON, Skunk's Misery); Northern Harrier 96 (BC, Ladner); Sharp-shinned Hawk 13 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Cooper's Hawk 60 (BC, Victoria); American Goshawk 3 (NB, Cape Tormentine); Bald Eagle 654 (BC, Ladner); Red-shouldered Hawk 4 (QC, Laval-Ahuntsic); Broad-winged Hawk 2 (NS, Glace Bay; NS, Eskasoni-Big Pond); Red-tailed Hawk 109 (ON, London); Red-tailed Hawk (Harlan’s) 1 (AB, Cochrane Wildlife Reserve; BC, Merritt); Rough-legged Hawk 52 (ON, Amherst Island); American Barn Owl 4 (BC, Ladner, White Rock-Surrey-Langley); Western Screech-Owl 3 (BC, Vaseux Lake); Eastern Screech-Owl 58 (ON, Skunk's Misery); Great Horned Owl 54 (BC, Victoria); Snowy Owl 27 (SK, Regina); Northern Hawk Owl 3 (QC, Parc Aiguebelle); Northern Pygmy-Owl 8 (BC, Oliver-Osoyoos); Barred Owl 17 (BC, Victoria); Great Gray Owl 5 (AB, Cochrane Wildlife Reserve); Long-eared Owl 5 (ON, Toronto); Short-eared Owl 15 (ON, Amherst Island); Boreal Owl 1 (AB, Edmonton; QC, Tadoussac; YT, Tagish); Northern Saw-whet Owl 7 (AB, Edmonton).

Belted Kingfisher 56 (BC, Victoria); Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 4 (ON, St. Thomas); Red-breasted Sapsucker 19 (BC, Victoria); Red-headed Woodpecker 3 (ON, Frontenac); Red-bellied Woodpecker 159 (ON, London); American Three-toed Woodpecker 12 (AB, Sheep River); Black-backed Woodpecker 7 (ON, Algonquin N.P.); Downy Woodpecker 372 (AB, Edmonton); Hairy Woodpecker 188 (MB, Winnipeg); Pileated Woodpecker 59 (ON, Ottawa-Gatineau); Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 578 (BC, Victoria); Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 37 (ON, Holiday Beach); American Kestrel 23 (ON, Fisherville); Merlin 24 (BC, Victoria); Gyrfalcon 1 (AB, Bergthal, BowKan, Cochrane; NL, Happy Valley-Goose Bay); Peregrine Falcon 6 (BC, Victoria); Prairie Falcon 3 (AB, Milk River).

Eastern Phoebe 2 (NS, Wolfville; ON, Long Point, West Elgin); Hutton's Vireo 4 (BC, Lower Howe Sound); Blue-headed Vireo 1 (NL, Ferryland; NS, Cape Sable Island, Eskasoni-Big Pond, Truro); Philadelphia Vireo 1 (ON, London); Northern Shrike 10 (QC, Québec); Canada Jay 75 (ON, Eagle River); Pinyon Jay 1 (BC, Vancouver); Steller's Jay 336 (BC, Victoria); Blue Jay 686 (NS, West Hants); California Scrub-Jay 2 (BC, Ladner); Black-billed Magpie 3288 (AB, Edmonton); Clark's Nutcracker 76 (BC, Kimberley); American Crow 118,384 (ON, Woodstock); Common Raven 2979 (NT, Yellowknife); Horned Lark 142 (ON, Point Pelee); Barn Swallow 2 (BC, Ladner); Black-capped Chickadee 3220 (ON, Ottawa-Gatineau); Mountain Chickadee 405 (AB, Banff-Canmore); Chestnut-backed Chickadee 3253 (BC, Victoria); Boreal Chickadee 120 (AB, Cochrane Wildlife Reserve); Tufted Titmouse 64 (QC, Cowansville); Bushtit 1220 (BC, Victoria); Red-breasted Nuthatch 583 (BC, Victoria); White-breasted Nuthatch 572 (MB, Winnipeg); Pygmy Nuthatch 206 (BC, Penticton); Brown Creeper 213 (BC, Victoria); Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1 (NS, Antigonish; ON, Blenheim).

Canyon Wren 15 (BC, Vaseux Lake); Northern House Wren 2 (ON, Long Point); Pacific Wren 367 (BC, Victoria); Winter Wren 20 (ON, Long Point); Marsh Wren 60 (BC, Ladner); Carolina Wren 146 (ON, Hamilton); Bewick's Wren 281 (BC, Victoria); American Dipper 50 (BC, Squamish); Golden-crowned Kinglet 1307 (BC, Victoria); Ruby-crowned Kinglet 413 (BC, Victoria); Eastern Bluebird 87 (ON, Flamborough); Western Bluebird 201 (BC, Oliver-Osoyoos); Mountain Bluebird 1 (BC, Sooke); Townsend's Solitaire 26 (BC, Lake Windermere District); Hermit Thrush 27 (BC, Victoria); Wood Thrush 1 (ON, Ottawa-Gatineau); American Robin 7221 (BC, Victoria); Varied Thrush 716 (BC, Victoria); Gray Catbird 2 (ON, Prince Edward Point); Brown Thrasher 1 (MB, Winnipeg; ON, Holiday Beach, Ottawa-Gatineau, Peel Halton Counties, Toronto, Midland-Penetanguishene); Northern Mockingbird 22 (ON, Toronto); European Starling 17,327 (ON, Niagara Falls); Bohemian Waxwing 3071 (AB, Edmonton); Cedar Waxwing 817 (ON, Peterborough); House Sparrow 6593 (AB, Edmonton); Eurasian Tree Sparrow 1 (MB, Morden); American Pipit 73 (BC, Ladner); Evening Grosbeak 336 (ON, Algonquin P.P.); Pine Grosbeak 206 (YT, Whitehorse); Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch 2 (BC, Kitimat); House Finch 1429 (AB, Edmonton); Purple Finch 537 (ON, Algonquin P.P.); Cassin's Finch 12 (BC, Lillooet); Redpoll 1221 (QC, Parc Aiguebelle); Red Crossbill 1330 (ON, Algonquin P.P.); White-winged Crossbill 460 (NL, St. John’s); Pine Siskin 5314 (ON, Algonquin P.P.); American Goldfinch 1604 (ON, Ottawa-Gatineau).

Lapland Longspur 130 (ON, Hillsborough); Snow Bunting 2510 (ON, Gravenhurst-Bracebridge); Chipping Sparrow 12 (NS, Wolfville); Clay-colored Sparrow 1 (NB, Moncton; NS, St. Peters; QC, Georgeville); Field Sparrow 7 (ON, Long Point); Lark Sparrow 2 (NS, Louisbourg); American Tree Sparrow 995 (ON, London); Fox Sparrow 705 (BC, Victoria); Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 1297 (ON, Skunk’s Misery); Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 6161 (BC, Victoria); White-crowned Sparrow 710 (BC, Victoria); Golden-crowned Sparrow 2622 (BC, Victoria); Harris's Sparrow 1 (MB, Brandon, Winnipeg); White-throated Sparrow 219 (ON, Kleinburg); Nelson’s Sparrow 2 (NS, Chezzetcook); Savannah Sparrow 29 (BC, Victoria); Savannah Sparrow (Ipswich) 5 (NS, Sable Island); Song Sparrow 1255 (BC, Vancouver); Lincoln's Sparrow 22 (BC, Victoria); Swamp Sparrow 144 (ON, Long Point); Spotted Towhee 1276 (BC, Victoria); Eastern Towhee 4 (ON, Wallaceburg).

Yellow-breasted Chat 4 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Yellow-headed Blackbird 10 (BC, Creston Valley); Western Meadowlark 98 (BC, White Rock-Surrey-Langley); Eastern Meadowlark (ON, West Elgin); Baltimore Oriole 2 (NL, Ferryland); Red-winged Blackbird 2494 (BC, Ladner); Brown-headed Cowbird 2228 (ON, West Elgin); Rusty Blackbird 59 (ON, Blenheim); Brewer's Blackbird 669 (BC, Victoria); Common Grackle 395 (ON, Point Pelee); Ovenbird 1 (ON, Toronto); Black-and-white Warbler 1 (NL, St. John’s; NS, The Sydneys, Wolfville; ON, Toronto); Orange-crowned Warbler 6 (BC, Vancouver; NS, Halifax-Dartmouth, Yarmouth); Nashville Warbler 1 (NS, Yarmouth); MacGillivray’s Warbler 1 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Common Yellowthroat 2 (NS, Amherst; ON, Blenheim, London, Long Point); Cape May Warbler 1 (AB, Edmonton; NS, Pictou Harbour, The Sydneys); Northern Parula 1 (NS, The Sydneys); Yellow Warbler 1 (NL, St. John’s); Palm Warbler 4 (NS, Cape Sable Island); Pine Warbler 10 (NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Yellow-rumped Warbler 112 (NS, Cape Sable Island); Yellow-throated Warbler 2 (NL, St. John's); Prairie Warbler 1 (NS, The Sydneys); Townsend's Warbler 5 (BC, Sooke); Black-throated Green Warbler 1 (NB, Saint John); Wilson’s Warbler 1 (BC, Vancouver; NB, Shediac; NL, St. John’s; NS, Halifax-Dartmouth); Summer Tanager 1 (BC, Sidney-South Saltspring); Western Tanager 1 (ON, Ottawa Gatineau; QC Québec); Northern Cardinal 829 (ON, Ottawa-Gatineau); Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1 (ON, Kleinburg); Dickcissel 2 (NS, Bridgetown, The Sydneys; ON, Toronto).