The 2002 Thunder Bay count produced 44 species and 12,199 individual birds. New high counts were set for Purple Finches, Black-capped Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches and European Starlings. No new species were found.
The 2001 Thunder Bay count produced 3 new species: Hooded Merganser, Peregrine Falcon and Cape May Warbler! Record high counts were tallied for Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Common Raven and White-breasted Nuthatch.
1996 Area Christmas Bird Counts
Includes summary of the 1996 count in Thunder Bay.
The (Audubon) Christmas Bird Count is an annual count of late-December birdlife, taken usually during Christmas week (December 20 to January 1 or 2 inclusive). It is the largest and longest-running wildlife survey ever undertaken. The tradition began in 1900 in the United States when ornithologist Frank Chapman organized 27 friends in 25 locations on Christmas Day. Instead of shooting birds in the annual holiday event called the "side hunt", they counted them.Today over 45,000 people from the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Central and South America and the Pacific Islands participate. They count all wild birds they see or hear in a single day within their predetermined area 15 miles in diameter (177 square miles). Over 1700 separate counts take place in the western hemisphere, including every state and province and all areas where the breeding birds of North America spend the winter. Over 600 species of birds are reported with a total of over 100 million individual birds counted. In Canada about 72 Canadian breeding species are recorded annually in the Christmas Bird Counts.
The count covers every type of bird habitat and the birders travel by whatever means are necessary to cover their count circle. Each census is carried out under specific guidelines. Numbers of individual birds of all species encountered are recorded and the habitats, weather, number of counters, and miles travelled (normally by car and by foot) are noted. Bird feeders within the circle are also censused.
The count day typically ends with a gathering of the participants, during which an official tally is compiled, the days events are recounted and food and refreshments are consumed.
The Christmas Bird Count is sponsored by the National Audubon Society and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The results are published in "American Birds", issued by the N.A.S. The data thus gathered is used to approximate the densities of wintering bird populations and keep track of cyclical movements of birds and their extent. A typical example is the southward movement (irruption) of some northern owls and finches during certain winters. The U.S. National Biological Survey has computerized and analysed the raw data (1960-1989).
The Thunder Bay Christmas Bird Count has been held every year since 1939 except 1944. We are one of approximately 230 counts made annually in Canada. Our count circle is centered close to the junction of the Harbour and the Thunder Bay Expressways. About 30 observes take part annually.The Thunder Bay record is 53 species and 16,668 individual birds counted in 1994. The second highest species total was in 1998 with 52. The 1988 count produced 49 species for the third highest total. The 5763 Herring Gulls boosted the 1994 total, European Starlings peaked at 3690 in 2001 and Common Ravens at 1707 in the same year. The 1996 count produced a record number of Dark-eyed Juncos at 47 and American Tree Sparrows (11). The 4 Gyrfalcons in 1995 may seem like a small number, but is very significant on a continent-wide scale.
Christmas Bird Counts are held in other parts of the District of Thunder Bay as well. The Marathon count was held for the 22nd time in 1998. Other counts in Northwestern Ontario take place at Nipigon (5th), Manitouwadge, Atikokan, Ignace, Dryden, Vermilion Bay-Eagle River, Kenora, Ear Falls, Fort Frances (4th) and Pickle Lake. The Grand Marais count in Minnesota on the shore of Lake Superior was held for the 26th time in 1998. Their data provides an interesting comparison to that of Thunder Bay's, just a short distance north along Lake Superior's western shore. Nipigon and Marathon are other count locations along the same shoreline.
In 1992, Thunder Bay had the highest count in Canada for Common Raven with 847, we were beaten for the highest in North America by Fairbanks, Alaska with 1034. Thunder Bay also shared the highest count in Canada for Gyrfalcon (1, along with 13 other counts), and Brown Thrasher (1, tied with 5 other Ontario counts). The highest Gyrfalcon count in 1992 was 3, at Izembek Alaska.So you think we have a lot of European Starlings and Rock Doves? The high count in Canada for Starlings in 1992 was 59,600 at Hamilton, Ontario; the highest North American total was 1,004,233 at Pine Prairie, Louisiana. Our 2239 is quite insignificant in comparison. On the other hand, our Rock Dove total is quite respectable: the highest Canadian count was 6014 at Vancouver, B.C., and the highest North American tally was 6352 at St. Paul, Minnesota.
In 1991, the 3 Gyrfalcons counted on the Thunder Bay CBC was the highest count in all of Canada and the U.S. Thunder Bay also had the highest counts in North America for Pine Grosbeaks in 1954 (838) and in 1964 (579), and the highest total in North America for Common Ravens in 1966 (479), 1969 (570), and 1970 (504).
Other North American records were set by Atikokan for Gray Jays in 1964 (22), by Manitouwadge for Pine Grosbeaks in 1970 (92), by Marathon for Pine Grosbeaks in 1973 (430), by Dryden for Hoary Redpolls in 1979 (22), and by Atikokan for Spruce Grouse in 1980 (4, tied with Marsh Lake, Yukon).
