A Christmas Eve Mockingbird

Northern Mockingbird

The Ottawa-Gatineau annual Christmas Bird Count was held on December 20th, and with the warm December we’ve had so far, there was no snow cover and almost all the rivers and ponds were completely open. This resulted in the second-highest number of species ever tallied; among the 86 species were a large number of waterbirds and late-lingering land birds that would have otherwise flown south by now or perished in the cold. The open rivers and ponds also resulted in the highest number of Canada Geese, Buffleheads and Hooded Mergansers ever tallied, and White-breasted Nuthatches, White-throated Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos also enjoyed new high counts.