TAKING PART IN THE MID WINTER MADNESS 

Thursday, December 31, 2009

 It is called a ‘convocation.’  That is the official noun of assemblage that has been assigned to a flock of eagles. It is not unlike a covey of quail, or a gaggle of geese, or a kettle of hawks, or a flight of swallows. However, when we are talking eagles, it is a convocation. Our word of the day.

 We came upon one such convocation, in mid December, as we approached  Lake on the Mountain from Cressy. That they were circling like vultures over the mainland along Adolphus Reach was not surprising, for residents along there are accustomed to seeing bald eagles on the ice, west as far as Glenora ferry. There were five in our convocation, and were just part of more than a dozen that turned up on December 19th in Prince Edward County as observers tallied all the birds seen during the day for the official Prince Edward Point Christmas Bird Count.

 The annual exercise has been taking place every winter at this time, since 1977. It is part of a much larger picture, involving similar counts across the continent. The Christmas Bird Count, or the CBC, as it is better known among the birding types, has come a long way since pre-1900 when it had been a custom to break out into teams and see how many birds and animals could be shot on Christmas Day. Ornithologist Frank Chapman was eager to put an end to this "side hunt" and created a tradition which is now enjoyed by some 45,000 participants each year across North America. Today there are close to 2,000 bird counts held over a two week period between mid December and New Year's Day, from Panama to Alaska and from Cape Cod to the west coast.

From the data collected, wintering populations are revealed, and migration trends determined. While the numbers tabulated offer but a mere sampling of what's really out there, statistically, the information provides important insight into the changes that may be taking place with bird populations in the winter. Other local counts, some of which I take part in, are held at Kingston, Amherst Island, Napanee, Belleville and Presqu’ile.

 For me, as the new compiler for the Prince Edward Point census, it will be interesting to sit down one day this winter in front of our wood pellet stove and compare the trends that have taken place in the last 30 years. For us though on this frigid wintry day, it was business as usual for us as we sampled an area around Glenora, Lake on the Mountain, Chuckery Hill, and County Road 8, while other parties covered Cressy, Waupoos, Black River, South Bay and Prince Edward Point. Another party from Kingston covered the mainland section of the count circle on the north side of Adolphus Reach. When it was all over, party leaders, some of whom we bumped into that day, e-mailed their results to me. Now it is up to me to sift through these results and make some sense of the bird population in our area that day.

 All bird counts are done within a 24 km diameter circle. It was the importance of Prince Edward Point as a bird migration area that resulted in the Count being founded three decades ago. To centre the count on Prince Edward Point would have made little sense as much of Lake Ontario could not possibly be covered during the depths of winter. Founders of the Count, thoughtfully, moved the nucleus inland, to centre on Waupoos Island, the circle conveniently taking in its namesake, and a reasonable amount of water, but also taking in the entire North Marysburgh area, and some mainland on the other side of Adolphus Reach.

 As with all counts, there were surprises. Some failed to find any mourning doves, while just down the road, another party observer zoomed his binoculars in on an immature osprey – first record ever for the Count and first winter record ever for the County. Ospreys do not enjoy our winters, and always head to Central America by November at the latest. An amazing discovery, and possibly a first for Ontario. Observers covering Prince Edward Point proper counted almost 7,000 long-tailed ducks under extremely adverse conditions and managed to round up a golden eagle as well. An uncommon glaucous gull was tallied, and in another spot a hooded merganser, and at Lake on the Mountain, a loon swam in a sliver of open water in an otherwise frozen lake.

 How many species, and how many individuals at the end of the day? How many kilometres walked or driven in the effort? My adding machine is poised and the chair in front of the stove ready.