Prince Edward Point Christmas Bird Count 2024 Twenty-six enthusiastic citizen scientists headed out early on December 14th for the forty-eighth Prince Edward Point Christmas Bird Count. The count circle is centred on Waupoos Island in Prince Edward Bay and extends along the water from Point Traverse of the Prince Edward National Wildlife Area to across the Bay of Quinte near Adolphustown. The weather was good, with an early morning temperature of -7C, warming to near -1C by afternoon and only light winds. There was little snow cover or ice on the lakes and ponds. The count of 74 species was above the all-time average of 68. However, only 8,796 birds were counted, well below the average of 30,589. Over the past several years, a trend has been noticed in the declining number of common water birds like Long-tailed Ducks (1,243) and Greater Scaup (207). These birds contributed to this low tally, as they were starkly lower than their respective averages of 17,760 and 2,813. Bird counts at feeders helped to push the species count higher. A good red cedar berry crop resulted in good numbers of Cedar Waxwings (202) and a record number of American Robins (613). One Barred Owl, one Great-horned Owl and one Snowy Owl were seen on count day. A Northern Goshawk that has been dining on feeder birds was also counted. Historically, this species is only seen once every four or five years. Another unusual species was a flock of Rusty Blackbirds, also seen at the National Wildlife Area. The tally for Blue Jays, Common Ravens, and Slate-coloured Juncos was well above the 48-year average. The woodpecker family was well represented with 19 Red-bellied Woodpeckers, 3 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, 25 Downy Woodpeckers, 14 hairy Woodpeckers, 8 Northern Flickers, and one Pileated Woodpecker! Thanks to all the volunteers, especially the team leaders Paul Mackenzie, Barry Pinsky, Amy Bodman, Ketha Gillespie, Les Stanfield, Tom Wheatley, Joanne Dewey, Tyler Hoar and feeder watcher Pamela Stagg. Dale Smith December 2024