First Birds of 2014 and results of Christmas Bird Count 2013 in Edmonton

I didn’t have to work today, and the temperatures were above -20 celsius so headed for the park. At first there were quite a few Juncos that remained un-photographed, then Black-capped Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers, and red-breasted and white-breasted Nuthatches. At one point I was going to leave because not much was happening and I told myself, “Good things come to those who wait.” A few minutes later a female Pileated Woodpecker flew over me to a tree that was in the open and right in front of me.I managed to get some good, unobstructed shots. i was happy about that!

Here’s a list of the total bird count at Christmas in Edmonton, Alberta. I thought some of you would be interested.

Final numbers for the 2013 Edmonton Christmas Bird Count!

Total Birds = 26,566
Total # of Species = 46
Total # of Participants = 506!
(159 Bushbeaters + 347 Feederwatchers)
Feederwatchers spent a total of 535.25 hrs
Bushbeaters party hours = 299.44 hrs

Mallard = 444
Common Goldeneye = 20
Northern Goshawk = 5
Merlin = 21
Gray Partridge = 41
Ruffed Grouse = 1
Rock Pigeon = 3802
Great Horned Owl = 2
Downy Woodpecker = 474
Hairy Woodpecker = 61
Three-toed Woodpecker = 1
Northern Flicker = 73
Pileated Woodpecker = 65
Blue Jay = 741
Black-billed Magpie = 2745
American Crow = 40
Common Raven = 1053
Black-capped Chickadee = 4841
Boreal Chickadee = 34
Red-breasted Nuthatch = 613
White-breasted Nuthatch = 377
Brown Creeper = 8
Golden-crowned Kinglet = 7
American Robin = 45
Bohemian Waxwing = 3941
Cedar Waxwing = 52
Northern Shrike = 3
European Starling = 107
Dark-eyed Junco = 646
Snow Bunting = 5
Pine Grosbeak = 6
Common Redpoll = 144
Pine Siskin = 145
House Sparrow = 4901
Bald Eagle = 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk = 5
Coopers Hawk = 1
Rough-legged Hawk = 1
Gyrfalcon = 1
Prairie Falcon = 1
Great Gray Owl = 1
Townsend Solitaire = 8
White-throated Sparrow = 8
White-crowned Sparrow = 1
American Goldfinch = 5
House Finch = 1067 * New Record high

And here is a sample of what I saw today. Used my 70-300mm lens, mostly at 300mm and hand held with high(for me) ISO 800 . I have not seen Pine Grosbeaks this year nor any Red Polls. That is reflected in the bird count as well. Just not the year for them.