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WINTER
POPULATION MONITORING |
Welcome
to the McGill Bird Observatory weekly report. Click
here for a complete listing of our archives. Comments or questions are welcome at mbo@migrationresearch.org.
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PICTURE OF
THE WEEK: |
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So far this winter Pine Siskins have been a rare visitor to the MBO feeders, but reports
from elsewhere suggest they are on the move south and east, so we will keep our eyes
open for more arrivals in the new year. This photo shows well the much more elongated
and fine bill of the siskins compared with most other finches.
(Photo by Greg Rand)
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THIS MONTH |
THIS WINTER |
2008 TOTAL |
SITE TOTAL |
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# birds (and species) banded |
- |
- |
5943 (84) |
18921 (105) |
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# birds (and species) repeat |
- |
- |
1122 (49) |
3348 (65) |
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# birds (and species) return |
- |
- |
123 (22) |
454 (32) |
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# species observed |
22 |
30 |
158 |
197 |
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# net hours |
- |
- |
8519.5 |
30465.3 |
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# birds banded / 100 net hours |
- |
- |
69.8 |
62.1 |
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Note: table does
not include nocturnal banding (owls) |
Censusers: Jean Bacon, Shawn Craik, Gay Gruner, Christine Murphy
Notes: It was difficult to access MBO in December. First, freezing rain converted the road to MBO into an Olympic bobsled event. Next, there were some heavy snowfalls and ploughing the road to the MBO was bottom of the snow-clearers' priority list and wasn't done until after Christmas. However, we still managed to fill the feeders and observe a few birds.
The total number of species observed this month was 22, of which the most numerous were Canada Goose. House Finch, Mourning Dove and Black-capped Chickadee were regular guests at the feeders.
American Tree Sparrows have been regular winter residents at MBO, but only one
individual was recorded in December - though the reduced number of visits due to
weather may have resulted in some being missed. (Photo by Greg Rand)
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