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<color><param>0100,0100,0100</param>BRIER ISLAND CHRISTMAS COUNT, DECEMBER 14 2006 Weather overcast, 8C; wind S to SW 5-10 kph 0715-1645 AST Participants: Carl Haycock, Pat Mackay, Dawn Mackenzie, Blake Maybank, Ian McLaren, Anne Mills, Eric Mills (compiler), Elizabeth Stern, Richard Stern, June Swift, Joan Waldron, Jim Wolford. 65 species, 29,549 individuals Canada Goose - 7; Black Duck - 117; Mallard - 6; <bold>Ring-necked Duck</bold> <bold>- 1</bold>; Greater Scaup - 4; Common Eider - 241; Harlequin Duck - 1; Surf Scoter - 10; White-winged Scoter - 7; Black Scoter - 2; Long-tailed Duck - 45; Bufflehead - 3; Common Goldeneye - 25; <bold>Barrow's Goldeneye - 2</bold>; Red-breasted Merganser - 34; Ring- necked Pheasant - 12; Ruffed Grouse - 1; Red-throated Loon - 3; <bold>Pacific Loon - 1</bold>; Common Loon - 43; loon sp. - 1; Horned Grebe - 3; Red-necked Grebe - 14; N. Gannet - 143; Double-crested Cormorant - 1; Great Cormorant - 107; Great Blue Heron - 1; Turkey Vulture - <bold>9</bold>; Merlin - 1; Purple Sandpiper - 3; <bold>Wilson's Snipe - 1</bold>; <bold>Pomarine Jaeger - 1</bold>; Ring-billed Gull - 1; Herring Gull - 494; Iceland Gull - 2; Great Black-backed Gull 231; Black-legged Kittiwake - <bold>15,615</bold>; Dovekie - <bold>3346</bold>; Common Murre - 20; Thick- billed Murre - 1; Razorbill - <bold>8215</bold>; Black Guillemot - 62; Atlantic Puffin - 1; alcid sp. - 100; Rock Pigeon - 12; Mourning Dove - 32; <bold>Great Horned Owl - 1</bold>; N. Flicker - 3; Blue Jay - 24; Am. Crow - 201; C. Raven - 13; Horned Lark - 6; Black-capped Chickadee - <bold>106</bold>; Golden-crowned Kinglet - 5; <bold>Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1</bold>; Eu. Starling - 142; Am. Pipit - 4; Am. Tree Sparrow - 6; Song Sparrow - 6; Snow Bunting - 1; N. Cardinal - 1; Red-winged Blackbird - 2; C. Grackle - 25; Purple Finch - 1; Pine Siskin - 1; Am. Goldfinch - 10; House Sparrow - 8. (Birds in the count week: Lesser Scaup, Hooded Merganser, Peregrine Falcon, Bonaparte's Gull, Savannah Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco) Comments: A calm, mild and virtually landbird-less day that had the compensation of outstanding numbers of seabirds, counted during a 6+ hour watch at Northern Point. I can't remember a count that didn't have Juncos and White-throated Sparrows, although the number of Chickadees was well above average. The Pacific Loon reported from Northern Point (and subject to review, as are all rare species) was a first for a Brier Island count, although not for the island. A Great Horned Owl that flew over Lighthouse Road in the pre-dawn gloom was a first for a Brier count, although this species breeds on the island and is probably an year-round resident. The huge count of Kittiwakes (15,516) was only exceeded by 48,000 in 1978, while 3346 Dovekies and 8215 Razorbills were all-time records. Finally, plaintively, where were the count period species (all seen the day before) during the count day - they would have pushed the total species list to 71, equalling the highest-ever count on the island in 1976. <nofill> ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Eric L. Mills 286 Kingsburg Road RR#1, Rose Bay, Nova Scotia B0J 2X0, CANADA E.Mills@Dal.Ca ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
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