One such team, the Sora Losers, took on the challenge on May 20^th with a focus on completing it in a green way.  Below is a report of their day (well done Sora Losers!):

“Hello everyone:

Well, we gave it our best, but Laurena Kirkwood-Lazazzera, Colin Gerber and I (aka the Sora Losers) were unable to match last year’s total of a record 104 species on our Wellington Green Big Day – but we came close at 100 species on a storm-shortened day. And we have raised $800 for Birds Canada, burning no fossil fuels along the way – making us feel more like Happy Harriers than Sora Losers!

Our day started out very well. The weather was perfect early on – mild, sunny and calm – a beautiful morning to be birding. We had found 83 species by 9:40 am as we walked our bikes and hiked along the Powerline Train, but there was a worrying lack of migrating birds passing through – very few northern warblers, thrushes, etc.. We did find a single Tennessee, 2 Cape Mays, and a Bay-breasted Warbler and a couple of Blackburnians, but numbers were really quite thin. Highlights included 4 Common Gallinules and both Virginia Rail and Sora in the marshes. 

Then it was on to the Ignatius grounds where we added Eastern Bluebird, Savannah Sparrow and Wilson’s Warbler among others. Next came the Cross Creek Trails (all the while walking our bikes), where we added a Black-throated Green Warbler. We were finally able to mount our bikes when we got onto the Guelph Lake trails. The lake was full of swimmers, canoeists, kayakers and wind-surfers, but no ducks. We did get a distant view of a Bald Eagle feeding young on the nest. We biked to the Watson Road wetlands, then on to Pollinator Park, where we added an Osprey but could not find a Bobolink anywhere. It was getting hot by this time and the birds had gone very quiet – and we were going through a lot of water!

Pedalling ever onward, we reached the Correctional ponds around 4:30 pm, at 99 species and feeling pretty confident that we could reach the record – there were still some seemingly simple gaps to fill – including Red-breasted Nuthatch! Things started off well with a gorgeous male Orchard Oriole but went downhill fast from there. A quick check of the weather app showed that a storm was expected to roll into Guelph in 49 minutes (which turned out to be accurate to the second!) and was expected to continue on and off for the rest of the evening. We decided to make a run for my house, birding the river trails along the way. As we pedalled furiously (or as furiously as we could at this point in the day) up the final hill to my house (Guelph definitely seemed hillier this year!), the storm hit and we got a buffeting from a wind squall and spattered with the first few heavy rain drops – practically diving onto the porch to avoid a soaking. Then it was Moose Tracks ice cream, some rehydration and a little time to consider the day – and start planning for next year. 

We thanks all those who provided support. It will help Birds Canada fulfill its valuable mandate to conserve our birds.

A full listing of the birds we found and the locations we visited is at: https://ebird.org/tripreport/242400

All the best,

Mike

The gauntlet has been cast.  Interested in joining the challenge? If not this year, then start planning for next year!

1. Fill out the team/individual registration for Nature Guelph Bird Wing Birdathon. This is the registration for our friendly competition for most species observed within Guelph and Wellington County. 
2. (Optional) Sign up as an individual or as a team on the Great Canadian Birdathon website to raise funds for Birds Canada. Share your fundraising page with your family, friends and colleagues to raise money to help with bird conservation efforts in Canada.
3. Pick your day, map out your birding spots and route, and list the birds you see in 24 hours.
4. Email your results to Marlene, Nature Guelph Bird Wing Coordinator.

Click here to learn more about the Great Canadian Birdathon.
 

The group met at the park store and began with a walk down Water Street, with great looks at Eastern Kingbird, Yellow Warbler, Cape May Warbler, Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Orchard Oriole, and White-crowned Sparrow.  A short walk down the first section of the Marsh Trail off Water Street yielded a Tree Swallow visiting a nesting box. 

The group then visited Warbler Way and back to the park store to see a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Downy Woodpecker, Black-throated Green Warbler, Palm Warbler and Eastern Bluebird. They also observed a nesting colony of Purple Martins, along with Tree and Barn Swallows. 

A short trip to the Pony Barn included a Carolina Wren, Gray Catbird, Rusty Blackbird and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. 

The group proceeded south into the park and checked out Bennett Road, where they were treated to views of Great Crested Flycatcher, Blue-headed Vireo, Black-and-white Warbler, Northern Parula, Blackburnian Warbler, and Philadelphia Vireo. 

After a lunch break, the group rounded out the day with a quiet walk down the Tulip Tree Trail to look for the famous Prothonotary Warbler; while it was not visible during the walk, it was heard singing a few times, along with a distant Yellow-throated Vireo. 

It was a very successful walk, with 75 species observed in total. We wish you good birding this spring, whether it be at a birding hotspot such as Rondeau, or at your local park.

Long Point is a 40-km freshwater sandspit and is a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. This bird watching hotspot sees over 300 migrating bird species each year. Long Point/Point Rowan is also home to Birds Canada Headquarters and the Long Point Bird Observatory. The Long Point Bird Observatory is a part of the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network and has been collecting data since 1960. Most of the stops on the Bird Watching Trip were on the Long Point Bird Trail.

The day started out at Birds Canada HQ with a walk to the lake for viewing of waterfowl. The group was pleasantly surprised to see that the protected bay had a number of waterfowl species (Ruddy Ducks, Northern Shovelers, Ring-necked Ducks, Gadwells and more) floating over the waves. The group also caught the glimpse of some early warbler arrivals – Yellow-rumped Warblers. The harbour had great views of American Coots and a close up view of a  Horned Grebe. 

The group made their way down to the Long Point Bird Observatory at Old Cut. LPBO was banding birds in the morning and the group was eager to watch the banding in action.  It was too windy for the mist nets, but the ground traps were operational picking up Common Grackles and others. The trail through the forest at Old Cut made for a wonderful stop before lunch. The group was particularly surprised to see both Caspian and Forster’s Terns in the same area and a sneaky Black-crowned Night Heron in a tree.

The group made their way back inland with a quick stop at Big Creek NWA. This stopped proved to be very windy and made it difficult to see birds at a distance.  The group packed up and made their way further inland, checking out Port Royal and the Port Rowan Restored Wetland. The wetland had a number of Buffleheads finding shelter from the windy weather. 

Backus Woods rounded out the day with a walk into the Wild Turkey Monument and a short loop. The woods were showing the early signs of spring with ephemerals in bloom. The group also were treated to a DeKay’s Brownsnake who was sunning in the warm spring sun. 

Check out the full trip report: https://ebird.org/tripreport/221343

With a chilly start to the day, the group started in Owl Woods.  Owl Woods is a private property but the landowners allow eager birders, such as ourselves, to search the cedar and Jack Pine plantations for owls and other winter birds.  We initially found only a few winter bird species including Black-capped Chickadees, Common Ravens, Downey Woodpeckers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers and a Bald Eagle.  Finally a Barred Owl was located and photographed in a thick cedar growth.

After a break for lunch, the afternoon was spent driving clockwise around the east side of the island looking for other owls, raptors and birds along the shoreline and in fields.  The drive did not disappoint as the group sighted numerous Red-tailed Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, Northern Harriers, Northern Shrikes and over 25 Short-eared Owls. Waterfowl included Trumpeter Swans, Gadwalls, Long-tailed Ducks, Common Goldeneyes, Buffleheads and several other species.  In total the group counted 34 species.

The last minutes of the trip, before sunset, were spent watching several Short-eared Owls hunting in the fields around the village of Stella.  By 6pm the group participants headed to the ferry for the mainland or returned to their lodgings on the island.

A record total of 87 people took part(!), tallying 17,676 birds altogether, which represent considerable increases over 2022 (12,998) and 2021 (13,390). The high bird numbers this year were largely due to unusually large numbers of Canada Goose and other waterfowl, European Starling, Dark-eyed Junco, Pine Siskin and American Goldfinch.

A Red-necked Grebe was new for the count. Record highs were set for Red-breasted Merganser (12, previous high 1); Hooded Merganser (38, previous high 31); Great Blue Heron (14, previous high 13); Eastern Screech-Owl (27, previous high 16); Belted Kingfisher (21, previous high 15); Winter Wren (12, previous high 10); Northern Cardinal (199, previous high 172); Pine Siskin (798, previous high 562) – the latter corresponding with a very heavy crop of cedar cones.

Records were tied for White-crowned Sparrow (6, 4th count); Great Egret (1, 3rd count).

Other Highlights:

Sandhill Cranes (4, 2nd count) in the marsh north of Home Depot was the second highest total ever; 22 Eastern Bluebirds was the second highest total ever; More duck species were reported than usual, with Redhead, Greater Scaup (2nd count), Long-tailed Duck (3rd count), Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, and Gadwall among the less usual species.

Winter finches varied, with a single Red Crossbill and 21 Purple Finch being unusual. No Evening or Pine Grosbeaks or Redpolls were found, and Snow Buntings were also absent. Lows were noted for Ruffed Grouse (0, but birds were noted in Count week); American Kestrel (0). Raptors were generally low, probably due largely to the rainy conditions.

Other Count Week birds (seen within 3 days either side of the count day but not on the day) were Cackling Goose (at Guelph Lake), Ruddy Duck (first for the count, at McMillan Pit), Eastern Towhee (on Powerline Trail) and Common Grackle (at Ignatius College).

The high counts in this year’s CBC were likely due to the very mild fall and the fact that all water was open, including Guelph Lake and the Speed and Eramosa Rivers. These conditions are becoming more regular as climate change affects our ecosystem, bringing about changes in the number of birds occurring in the Guelph area in the late fall/early winter period. The CBC is a useful means of tracking these patterns, allowing us to contribute usefully to an understanding of the effects of our changing climate and the other factors influencing our bird numbers.

Thank You!

Thanks to group leaders for organizing the coverage of their sections, and the participants who did a great job despite the rain. (See the list of participants below, with group leaders shown in bold.) Special thanks also to Marlene Paibomesai and Nature Guelph for help with the website and logistics for the Tally Rally, and to Wild Birds Unlimited Guelph for hosting the Tally Rally and providing prizes for lucky participants.

Tamara Anderson, Susan Atkinson, Natasha Barlow, KB Barret, Andrew Bendall, Marnie Benson, Jenn Bock, Chris Bowyer, Heather Broddy, Mike Cadman, Sally Cheung, Scott Delyea, Jeff DeRuyter, Jer DeWaard, Weston DeWaard, Chris G. Earley, Karla Everard, Jasper Fekete, Kristyn Ferguson, Scott Ferguson, Tom Forestell, Brett Forsyth, Colin Gerber, Tim Griffiths, Corbin Grynol, Karl Heide, Erin Hellinga, Nathan Hellinga, Debbie Hernandez, Kyle Horner, Brian Husband, Matthew Iles, Nicola Inglefield, Dan Kennaley, James Kirkland, Laurena Kirkwood-Lazazzera, Tom Kleinbeernink, William Konze, Francine Lacoste, Joseph Langlois, Michael Lepage, Robert Linfield, Ron H. Lohr, Julie MacDonald, Sarah Mainguy, Claire McCann, Aleks Mell, Greg Meredith, Jennifer Minogue, Sandy Moores, Brad Morley, Graham Nancekivell, John Near, Dav Nemethy-Fekete, Colin Oaks, Sam Osman, Gard Otis, Marlene Paibomesai, Aspen Parks, Dean Post, Patty Quackenbush, Luke Raso, Julie Read, Jane Robinson, Carolyn Ross, Ann Schletz, Dan Schneider, Julie Scott, Hannah Sennit, Janet Sippel, Heather Staines, Greg Staines , Heather Sutton, Nina Szpakowski, Adam Thompson, Patrick Tuck, Pearl van Geest, Marina van Twest, Rohan van Twest, Hazel Wheeler, Glenn White, Marilyn White, Annika Wilcox, Christa Wise, Pat Woodford, Lesley Work.

Results of Guelph Christmas Bird Count 2023

Above photo: Brett Forsyth

There were no new species for the count, but 6 species had record numbers (previous records and years shown in brackets):

• Greater White-fronted Goose – 2 (1 in 2006)
• Trumpeter Swan – 49 (36 in 2021)
• Bald Eagle – 13 (10 in 2021)
• Belted Kingfisher – 15 (13 in 2018)
• Common Raven – 58 (55 in 2021)
• Hermit Thrush – 3 (1 in 2009)

The swan, eagle and raven have all been showing steady increases in recent years.

Notable, but not record, numbers were reported for:

• American Wigeon – 2 (record 3 in 1971)
• Eastern Bluebird – 10 (record 38 in 2021)

Great Horned Owl and Merlin were notable absences, likely due to the poor weather. Both were reported during Count Week, along with Golden Eagle and Snow Goose. Winter Finches were generally scarce (25 Common Redpoll, 1 Pine Siskin and 1 Purple Finch) except for 38 Evening Grosbeaks, which is the highest tally in over 20 years (though far below the record 495 reported in 1977).

A complete list of the birds reported is provided below.

Thanks to everyone who took part, especially the group leaders, and to Nature Guelph for providing a prize for a lucky participant.

Photos: Marilyn White

Bill 23

This omnibus bill proposes sweeping changes to the province’s natural heritage and land use planning legislation. The bill is framed as solving the housing crisis but obscures the fact that it is really just about serving the interests of developers.

Here are some of the key changes they are proposing:

• Remove the requirement to notify members of the public about development plans.
• Give the Minister the power to override municipal planning decisions and impose development.
• Strip the power of Conservation Authorities to manage watershed level planning and protect watercourses and wetlands for flood/erosion control and natural heritage protection.
• Remove planning powers of several regional municipalities around the Greater Golden Horseshoe to protect farmland and natural areas.
• Completely overhaul the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System for Provincially Significant Wetlands (PSW), making it easier to remove PSW designation for existing wetlands, and ensuring that very few would be deemed PSW in the future.
• Destructive revisions to the Provincial Policy Statement which requires natural heritage systems planning and provides strong protections for Ontario’s farmland and natural heritage systems.
• Introduction of “offsetting” which could allow developers to destroy wetlands and recreate or restore them elsewhere.

As you can imagine, these changes would have serious consequences for the protections we count on to ensure ecological integrity for wetland complexes and wildlife habitats, as well as the vital role Conservation Authorities play to manage watersheds and protect communities from flooding. These changes will undermine environmental protection across the province and will severely constrain our collective ability to engage in municipal planning decisions.

This bill will soon be going through third reading so urgent action to reach your MPP, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and local municipal leaders is important!

Greenbelt

As if Bill 23 wasn’t bad enough, the provincial government is now proposing to open protected lands in the Greenbelt for development!

Late Friday afternoon, November 4, the Ontario Government announced its intention to remove 7,400 acres of precious farmland and natural areas from Greenbelt protection as a purported “solution” to the housing crisis and to add new land to the Greenbelt to make up for the loss.

The trouble is, some of the land they are proposing to swap (e.g., urban river valleys) are already protected from development through other mechanisms, so it’s really just another smoke screen to slip gifts to Ford’s campaign supporters while pretending to do something about the housing crisis. In reality, no affordable housing will come out of this, just more urban sprawl and profits for a few. (Who are the developers set to benefit from the Ford government’s Greenbelt land swap?)

Most frustratingly, the Greenbelt lands aren’t even needed to meet regional growth targets. Earlier this year, the Ontario government’s own Housing Affordability Task Force delivered a report that said: “A shortage of land isn’t the cause of the problem […] Land is available, both inside the existing built-up areas and on undeveloped land outside greenbelts.” Analysts agree there is enough available land within existing urban boundaries to meet housing needs for the next 50 years, without touching the Greenbelt.

Undermining the ecological integrity of the watersheds and natural systems that are in and around the Greenbelt is a recipe for disaster. If passed, this policy change could set a destructive precedent that Greenbelt protected lands will be sacrificed when land speculators want to develop them.

Actions You Can Take

ACTION 1 – November 16, 9:00 am

Pop-up rally at Wellington/Halton MPP Ted Arnott’s office, 181 St. Andrew St. E., Fergus

ACTION 2 – November 17 Deadline

Submit your comments on Bill 23 before it goes to third reading.

ACTION 3

Send notice to your MPP that you don’t support the changes in Bill 23 with this easy tool from Wellington Water Watchers.

ACTION 4 – December 4 Deadline

Submit your comments on the Greenbelt plans to the Environmental Registry Ontario.

ACTION 5

Talk to your MPP, Housing Minister Steve Clark, and local mayor and councillors to ask them to speak out against this. Check out this link for some talking points.

Links For More Information

Ontario Nature Backgrounder on Bill 23
Who are the developers set to benefit from the Ford government’s Greenbelt land swap?
Everything you need to know about Doug Ford’s plan to cut into Ontario’s Greenbelt

Nature Canada is proud to announce Canada’s next certified Bird Friendly City, Guelph, Ontario. The City of Guelph is the 17th city in Canada to earn the designation.

Guelph has worked in collaboration with Nature Canada’s partners including Bird Safe Guelph, The University of Guelph Arboretum and Nature Guelph alongside many other local organizations and dedicated volunteers to make their communities a safe haven for wild bird populations.

Click here to read the full press release from Nature Canada.

Photo: Brett Forsyth

The weir was impeding the movement of fish and potentially damaging downstream habitats by restricting water flow during the summer. Native plants were rescued and replanted at the site and volunteers prepared the site for construction. Now, a fully functional, maintenance-free boulder opening connects the upper pond with the lower reaches of the river, maintaining a healthy aquatic habitat while protecting property downstream from increased risk of flooding. This project connects the residents of Eden Mills with nature and protects the natural habitat and river system.

Honorable Mention goes to Denise Fell for her commitment to nature education and her tireless work as Social Media and Publicity Coordinator for Nature Guelph. Thanks to her efforts, Nature Guelph’s Facebook page now has nearly 3,500 followers and the Guelph Nature Community Facebook page has grown to over 1,370 members. In addition to growing our online community, Denise helps enhance all our communication initiatives.