Again this year, the 116th Christmas Bird Count (CBC) was very successful in Quebec. A total of 139 species, a hybrid (Black Duck X Mallard) and three species of domestic origin (Domestic Goose, Mallard of domestic origin and Ring-necked Pheasant) were observed on census day or during the week of this one, including 52 aquatic species (36% of all species), 21 raptors (diurnal and nocturnal; 15%) and 70 terrestrial birds (grouse, woodpeckers, perching birds; 49%).
Forty counts were conducted in Quebec. A new was added this year: Boileau. Three censuses have not been made or did not provide data this year. Counts were held from December 16th to January 3th. The most popular day was December 19th with 18 censuses followed by December 20th with six counts. The warm weather in December resulted in low amounts of ice on the water bodies, which had a significant impact on the important presence of aquatic birds, especially waterfowl. An impressive total of 1066 people participated in the census (913 on the ground and 153 at feeders). The CBC in Quebec has scored the highest number of observers (118), followed by Montreal (70) and Lennoxville (69).
The 143 species of birds observed in Qu茅bec census totaled an impressive total of 404,967 individuals. St-Jean-sur-Richelieu ranked first with 134,206 birds, mainly due to the presence of Snow Goose (40,000) and American Crow (71,583), followed distantly by St-Timothee with 34,592 birds (21,848 Snow Goose) and Granby with 33,155 birds (largely to the presence of 16,883 American Crow). The CBC of Quebec had the largest number of species (71), closely followed by Montreal (69), Hudson (68), and Otterburn Park (68).
Two species have been reported in all census areas: the Common Raven and Black-capped Chickadee. Rock Dove was noted in 39 censuses, and three species were observed in 38 of 40 CBC: Blue Jay, American Crow, and European Starling. Finally, Downy Woodpecker and Red-breasted Nuthatch were found in 36 CBC. The total number of identified individuals over 10 000 individuals were: American Crow (95,455), Canada Goose (84,039), Snow Goose (70,063), European Starling (24,269), Black-capped Chickadee (14,049), Rock Pigeon (12,623), and Snow Bunting (12,295).
Among the threatened species, there were 31 Harlequin Ducks (Forillon) and 298 Barrow's Goldeneye (in 5 CBC). The Bald Eagle totaled 96 birds spread over 25 CBCs. The Golden Eagle (one individual) was seen during the count week in Quebec City and the Peregrine Falcon (21) was reported on 11 counts. Three Short-eared Owls (2 at Otterburn Park and 1 at Baie Missisquoi) and two Rusty Blackbirds (Otterburn Park and Quebec) were also observed.
In terms of rare species (in general or for the season), the following species were observed on the count day in only one count in Quebec this year: Ross's Goose (St. Timothee), Blue-winged Teal (Tracy), Redhead (Montreal), Harlequin Duck (Forillon), Northern Gannet (Perce), Killdeer (Neuville), Wilson's Snipe (Perce), Black-headed Gull (Perce), Turkey Vulture (Georgeville), Black-backed Woodpecker (Neuville), Eastern Bluebird (Granby), Gray Catbird (Lac Brome), Northern Mockingbird (Montreal), Common Yellowthroat (Otterburn Park), Northern Parula (Quebec), Yellow-rumped Warbler (Montreal), Hooded Warbler (Longueuil), Harris鈥檚 Sparrow (Longueuil), Savannah Sparrow (Baie Missisquoi), Swamp Sparrow (Quebec), White-crowned Sparrow (Laval-Ahuntsic), Lapland Longspur (Baie Missisquoi), and Summer Tanager (Quebec).