The 117th CBC period was preceded by an intense cold snap in early December, combined with heavy snow accumulation, which persisted into the period, resulting in lower than usual party hours and may have been responsible for the loss of at least one count. Counts held later in the period had milder temperatures.
Twenty counts were held this year, a decrease of one from last year. A new count from Whiteshell was offset by the loss of the Lyleton CBC and the near loss of Thompson. The latter count was held, but the effort and species count are too low to be meaningful and aren鈥檛 discussed below. A new compiler stepped forward very close to count period with little organization time and so we are hoping for a better result next year and perhaps the return of the Lyleton count as well. Sadly, these counts reflect a continuing decline in participants on most Manitoba CBCs.
A total of 81 species were recorded on count days across the province, down five from last year, including a Ring-necked Pheasant, probably not from an established population, at Brandon. In addition, there were two count-week only species (seen on at least one of the three days before or the three days after the count, but not on count day itself): American White Pelican at Selkirk and the long-staying Eurasian Tree Sparrow at Winnipeg.
Winnipeg retained top spot this year at 48 species, three more than last year鈥檚 total, edging out Brandon鈥檚 47, followed by Glenboro-Spruce Woods (38), with Pinawa-Lac du Bonnet and Cypress River-Spruce Woods, both at 37, rounding out the top five. The lowest totals were recorded at Whiteshell (12), Inglis (16), The Pas (17), Cranberry Portage (18), and a tie for fifth lowest between Carman and Dauphin at 25 species.
Only four species were seen on every count, Downy and Hairy woodpeckers, Common Raven, and Black-capped Chickadee. In the 鈥榓lmost everywhere鈥 category were Blue Jay (missed at Cranberry Portage), Black-billed Magpie (missed at Whiteshell), and Red-breasted Nuthatch (missed at The Pas).
The following species, not mentioned elsewhere, were found on one count only: Lesser Scaup at Winnipeg; Common Merganser at Oak Hammock; Cooper鈥檚 Hawk at Winnipeg (nicely photographed by Garry Budyk), a species fairly often reported, but seldom withstanding scrutiny; Red-tailed Hawk (two) at Winnipeg; Boreal Owl at Riding Mountain; Northern Flicker at Winnipeg (in a very poor winter for this species); Townsend鈥檚 Solitaire at Winnipeg; Brown Thrasher at Balmoral; Lapland Longspur (two) at Carman; American Tree Sparrow at Brandon; Fox Sparrow at Winnipeg; White-crowned Sparrow at Glenboro; Harris鈥檚 Sparrow at Brandon; Spotted Towhee at Winnipeg; and Red-winged Blackbird at Selkirk.
The cold weather had pushed out most water-related birds by count period.
Gray Partridges were in good numbers, totalling 811 on 12 counts.
Sharp-shinned Hawks totalled at least six over four counts. Rough-legged Hawks reached 13 on five counts, including an impressive seven in Winnipeg.
Eurasian Collared-Doves numbered 41 on four counts (plus a count week bird at Carman), including an impressive 23 at Glenboro, by far their highest total yet on Manitoba CBCs.
It was a great winter for Red-bellied Woodpecker, numbering seven over five counts, including two each at Winnipeg (very much under-counted) and Morden, and singles at Brandon, Delta Marsh (same bird for several year years running), and Oak Hammock.
A total of 2766 Bohemian Waxwings in Winnipeg was a fine total, about two thirds of the provincial CBC total of 3642, but far from being a record.
House Finches totalled a mere 376 across all counts, with Brandon鈥檚 total of 118 actually exceeding Winnipeg鈥檚 105. Winnipeg compiler Rudolf Koes has noted a recent, continuing decline for this species.
The winter of 2016/17 could quite accurately be described as the winter of the Purple Finch, especially in much of eastern Manitoba. This was typified by their total of 382 at Pinawa, exceeding the Pinawa total of 鈥渙nly鈥 241 Evening Grosbeaks, unheard of on a Pinawa CBC and unthinkable only a few years back. More impressively, their numbers continued to build as winter progressed鈥攈ad the counts been held a few weeks later, their numbers would have been even greater than the 743 total over 15 counts.
All Manitoba CBCs can be viewed on the 约炮视频 website and I can also provide an Excel file of all the counts to anyone requesting it. Thank you to all compilers and everyone who took part.