On the 27th of December 34 field and 16 feeder observers participated in the 75th Carleton Place CBC. It was a cold but clear day with not a lot of snow to wade through. The cold December reduced the open water in the area with the main unfrozen section being from the boat launch in town to near Glen Isle and close to Appleton. The total birds seen was 4785, considerably lower than our 10 year average of 6400 and the total species was 48, above our 10 year average of 45. With trumpets blaring the Trumpeter Swans reached an amazing crescendo at 30! It seems CP may have one of the only stretches of open water in the area, which they are taking advantage of. As well the Mallard population is good with 136 and the 78 Common Goldeneyes made their traditional stop here for winter. In only a matter of weeks the male Goldeneyes will be throwing their heads back and calling to the females. There was a record 7 Red-bellied Woodpeckers. It was a reasonable year for raptors with Red-tails, Cooper's, Kestrel and eagles (Bald and Golden). It was a terrible year for finches and grosbeaks with minimal numbers of all species except for Goldfinch's. Some late to leave the party types turned up; Grackle, RW Blackbird and a couple of Song Sparrows. Again, this year, no Snowy Owls. I have visited their favourite lampposts and fields over the last few weeks and seen zip. Of course one must mention the Waxwings, both Cedar (40) and Bohemian (184) as they both put in appearances in good numbers. Now to identify the difference one must first consider location; Cedars never sit in trendy cafes and absolutely never discuss philosophy. The Bohemians can be reliably found at their arty cafe haunts and yes talk of Hegel, Kant and Descartes is all the rage. They also sport headwear unique to their lifestyle and despite the well understood health issues of smoking, they still indulge in this habit, using Gauloises to jester emphatically when making a strong point in a conversation. This year there were a few bongo players as well but the Clements List doesn't have them as an official subspecies. It will require sound and complete research to get them recognized. Well that is all for now and I trust 2026 will be better than 2025 for the flora and fauna of this blue and green orb Cheers Iain