VISUAL BIRD COUNTS

This is the OOT’s highest priority activity: it allows the following of populations of a large number of species.

Under this program, birds are counted from two fixed points during the autumn migration. The counts are done daily from August up until the end of November by two highly experienced ornithologists. The counts are done from 8h00 to 16h00 over 105 consecutive days. The observers scan the sky following a standardized protocol and every hour they note all the birds that they have seen or heard.

Historically, the principal objective of the visual bird counts was to count migrating raptors. However, since 1995, the observers also simultaneously count shorebirds, passerines and other bird species. This program currently monitors 14 species of raptors, 66 predominantly coastal bird species and 117 terrestrial bird species. Approximately 17 000 raptors and 100 000 other birds are counted each autumn.

RAPTORS (SEASONAL RESULTS)
 

Species

 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Turkey Vulture 0 1 0 1 0 0 5 15 11 17 22 16 12
Osprey 955 656 608 278 724 1228 769 1002 434 595 809 337 516
Bald Eagle 60 19 55 47 88 72 147 89 140 124 178 160 155
Northern Harrier 374 269 427 61 202 281 402 298 294 382 398 298 265
Sharp-shinned Hawk 5815 4696 5646 2625 5516 4055 7917 6084 4263 6791 5184 4918 3704
Northern Goshawk 257 185 308 203 250 155 279 381 289 199 210 335 124
Broad-winged Hawk 1426 789 761 474 1919 576 1172 2360 2429 2443 716 1609 1037
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Red-tailed Hawk 6111 6335 9826 2299 3657 6012 10235 8041 3175 5531 7066 3530 3020
Rough-legged Hawk 554 528 305 299 187 787 958 240 407 480 904 295 177
Golden Eagle 60 35 64 47 57 31 105 66 58 53 65 26 33
American Kestrel 1898 1589 1926 466 1396 1576 2197 2344 1673 1869 1235 1241 801
Merlin 147 272 227 92 103 201 335 180 192 312 234 154 127
Gyrfalcon 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
Peregrine Falcon 80 36 46 48 43 67 59 90 47 104 129 106 116
   Unidentified raptor 149 193 93 68 48 69 109 65 111 142 105 61 74
TOTAL 17886 15603 20294 7009 14190 15110 24690 21255 13523 19042 17255 13088 10 163

 
 
PASSERINES
 
Most abundant species
Species Max/day 1 Mean/season 2
Pine Siskin

5 480

 15 382
Pine Grosbeak 4 265 7 713
Common Redpoll 4 079 11 388
American Robin 3 400 3 096
White-winged Crossbill 3 030 9 912
Horned Lark 2 328 3 019
American Crow 2 323 6 056
Cedar Waxwing 1 362 4 150
Purple Finch 1 143 1 081
American Pipit 965 1 981
Rusty Blackbird 925 855
Bohemian Waxwing 695 1 624
Yellow-rumped Warbler 695 3 065
Boreal Chickadee 675 2 031
Tree Swallow 597 227
Total   71 580
1) Highest number recorded on a single day between August and December (1996-2002)
2) Mean field season total (1996-2002)
COASTAL BIRDS
 
Most abundant species
Species

Max/day 1
Herring Gull

8 100
American Black Duck 7 000
Black-legged Kittiwake 6 000
Bonaparte's Gull 4 000
Common Eider 2 400
Great Black-backed Gull 1 525
Long-tailed Duck 1 396
Double-crested Cormorant 1 000
Ring-billed Gull 700
Red-breasted Merganser 500
1) Highest number recorded on a single day between August and December (1996-2002)