Results from the Count
Edmonton has been continuously participating
in this citizen science project since 1955.
in this citizen science project since 1955.
Edmonton holds the all-time record for number of participants!
And we're the Black-capped Chickadee capital of Canada.
And we're the Black-capped Chickadee capital of Canada.
Our World records:
PARTICIPATION World Record: Count #88 = 1287 total includes 135 Bushbeaters and 1153 Feeder Watchers (Dec 1987)
Boreal Owl: Count #106 = 8 (Dec 2005)
Black-billed Magpie: Count #121 = 3,447 (Dec 2020)
Bohemian Waxwing: Count #106 = 35,298 (Dec 2005)
Our Canadian Records
Downy Woodpecker: Count #116 = 568 (Dec 2015)
Pileated Woodpecker: Count #122 = 86 (Dec 2021)
Blue Jay: Count #89 = 1,598 (Dec 1988)
Black-capped Chickadee: Count #104 = 6,239 (Dec 2003)
Canadian and World record updates become available in the following year’s report.
PARTICIPATION World Record: Count #88 = 1287 total includes 135 Bushbeaters and 1153 Feeder Watchers (Dec 1987)
Boreal Owl: Count #106 = 8 (Dec 2005)
Black-billed Magpie: Count #121 = 3,447 (Dec 2020)
Bohemian Waxwing: Count #106 = 35,298 (Dec 2005)
Our Canadian Records
Downy Woodpecker: Count #116 = 568 (Dec 2015)
Pileated Woodpecker: Count #122 = 86 (Dec 2021)
Blue Jay: Count #89 = 1,598 (Dec 1988)
Black-capped Chickadee: Count #104 = 6,239 (Dec 2003)
Canadian and World record updates become available in the following year’s report.
The Audubon website allows you to search for results by year* and for any specific count including Edmonton. Historical Results
*The Count season occurs between December 14 and January 5 every year. Audubon's Count number reflects the year of the January completion.
*The Count season occurs between December 14 and January 5 every year. Audubon's Count number reflects the year of the January completion.
Audubon Count Year #123 (December 14, 2022 through January 5, 2023)
Edmonton Christmas Bird Count Final Results
Edmonton's Count was held Sunday, December 18th, 2022. The weather was a bit challenging; both birds and bush beaters spent time sheltering from the cold, snowy conditions! Zone captains organized folks to survey their zones with less time spent walking, and more time than usual driving during surveys. The temperature hovered around minus 20 and the overcast, snowy day didn't provide the best visibility. Photos provided by participants reflect the conditions they experienced, however, thanks to everyone's efforts, we had another successful count and recorded only one less species than last year!
Edmonton's Count was held Sunday, December 18th, 2022. The weather was a bit challenging; both birds and bush beaters spent time sheltering from the cold, snowy conditions! Zone captains organized folks to survey their zones with less time spent walking, and more time than usual driving during surveys. The temperature hovered around minus 20 and the overcast, snowy day didn't provide the best visibility. Photos provided by participants reflect the conditions they experienced, however, thanks to everyone's efforts, we had another successful count and recorded only one less species than last year!
Dark-eyed Junco, Zone 4 by Bob Bowhay
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Barred Owl in the count circle by Berta Beltran
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Highlights for December 18, 2022:
- Almost all zones recorded Northern Flicker as several overwintered in Edmonton, rather than heading further south.
- The number of cavity nesting birds such as woodpeckers, nuthatches and chickadees are strong, and those birds must be able to find a good number of suitable trees including dead limbs and snags.
- Responding to Count historian, Geoff Holroyd's challenge to watch carefully for Purple Finch, two of our feeder watchers each reported a Purple Finch along with reasons the birds weren't their usual House Finches.
- Participants found 40 of the 43 "A List" (expected species), as well as 7 additional species from the "B list" of difficult birds for a total of 47 species!
Cedar Waxwing, Zone 4 by Bob Bowhay
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Northern Goshawk, Zone 1 by Vivek Dabral
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Also notable:
- There was some open water on the river. Hundreds of ducks were present and attracted eagles ( ducks are a food source).
- Flocks of winter finches such as redpolls, grosbeaks and crossbills did not move into the area in time for the Count. They were found only in very small numbers in a few zones.
- Reduced numbers of finches and waxwings in the area, as well as fewer pigeons and house sparrows counted, led to the number of individual birds being less than last year. Zone 4 did find a nice little flock of Cedar Waxwings!
- Our ABC list of expected, difficult and rare bird species has been updated. After several years of Canada Goose sightings, the species has moved up to the A list ( although it wasn't seen this Count). Boreal Owl, Hoary Redpoll and Snow Bunting are no longer expected and have all moved down to the B list. Ring-necked Pheasant has dropped to C list status.
Common Goldeneye, Goldbar area, by Alfred Scott
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Bald Eagle, Goldbar area, by Alfred Scott
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Participation and total numbers:
# of Bush beaters: 187 # of Feeder watchers: 235 Total Participants: 446 Total # of Birds: 14349 Total Species: 47 |
Results compiled by: Ann Carter, Event coordinator Statistics by: Geoff Holroyd, Count historian |
Count historian, Geoff Holroyd notes that our participation numbers remain strong, and far beyond those of any other count. We hope to maintain this tradition for Edmonton! Thanks to everyone who participates! Geoff also notes that our number of species has hovered just under 50 for several years. Can we push through to the 50 species mark?
Rock Pigeon by Berta Beltran. One zone missed it!
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Black-billed Magpie by Emily Gorda. They're everywhere!
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“A List” Expected Bird Species: 40 out of 43 species
Canada Goose ZERO (1st year on the A list) Mallard 480 Common Goldeneye 159 Ruffed Grouse ZERO for the 4th year in a row Gray Partridge 35 Rock Pigeon 703 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Cooper's Hawk 1 Northern Goshawk 3 Bald Eagle 6 Great Horned Owl 9 N. Saw-whet Owl 3 Three-toed Woodpecker ZERO (cw last year) Downy Woodpecker 351 Hairy Woodpecker 52 Pileated Woodpecker 57 Northern Flicker 65 Merlin 5 Northern Shrike 2 Blue Jay 320 Black-billed Magpie 1988 American Crow 60 Common Raven 394 |
"A List" continued
Black-capped Chickadee 2125 Boreal Chickadee 10 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 Red-breasted Nuthatch 426 White-breasted Nuthatch 173 Brown Creeper 8 European Starling 50 Townsend's Solitaire 5 American Robin 25 Bohemian Waxwing 403 (2084 last year) Cedar Waxwing 38 House Sparrow 4748 Pine Grosbeak 43 (145 last year) House Finch 1073 (1709 last year, 1240 in '20, 853 in '19) Purple Finch 2 (ZERO last year) Common Redpoll 49 (1314 last year) White-winged Crossbill 7 (80 last year) Pine Siskin 8 (87 last year) Dark-eyed Junco 440 (119 last year) White-throated Sparrow 3 |
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"B List” Difficult To Find Bird Species: Total of 7 species
Common Merganser 2 Zone 7 Barred Owl 1 Count circle Boreal Owl 1 Zone 1 (just moved from A list) Black-backed Woodpecker 1 Zone 3 Red Crossbill 10 Zone 2 American Goldfinch 1 Zone 12 White-crowned Sparrow 1 Zone 2 |
“C List” Rare Species: Total of 0 species (0 individuals)
None |
File with details of all zone specific numbers 2022.dec.18.results.by.zone.xlsx
Report from last year VIEW HERE
Red-breasted Nuthatch counted in Whitemud Ravine by Wayne Oakes
Banner photo: Immature Bald Eagle by A. Carter
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