Winter List 2011-12

December 1st marks the “official” start to winter birding. Many birders keep a Winter List – a list of all birds seen in a defined area over the course of the winter, which encompasses the three slowest months of the year (December, January and February). Winter listing is an activity that has gained in popularity over the last few years, and each province keeps a list of all the birds seen each winter season. Ottawa maintains its own Official Winter List. A winter list of 90 species or more in the Ottawa checklist circle is excellent, but most birders aim for a list of 100 species.

The first weeks of December bring the most variety in species. Many birds that have not yet completed their migratory journeys south may linger if temperatures remain mild, the lakes and rivers remain open and ice-free, and food supplies are abundant. By the time the frigid temperatures of January set in and snowfall accumulates, however, any lingering migrants disappear and it becomes more and more difficult to add new species to the Winter List.

Although I have kept a winter list for the last 4 years, I usually only average 60 species per winter. Here is this year’s winter list:

1. Rock Pigeon – December 1
2. Mallard – December 1
3. Common Goldeneye – December 1
4. Ring-billed Gull – December 1
5. Herring Gull – December 1
6. Black-capped Chickadee – December 1
7. European Starling – December 1
8. Northern Cardinal – December 1
9. American Goldfinch – December 1
10. House Sparrow – December 1
11. Canada Goose – December 3
12. Snow Bunting – December 3



13. Snow Goose – December 3
14. Ring-necked Duck – December 3
15. Common Merganser – December 3
16. Pileated Woodpecker – December 3
17. Red-tailed Hawk – December 3
18. Great Black-backed Gull – December 3
19. Blue Jay – December 3
20. American Crow – December 3
21. Common Raven – December 3
22. Red-breasted Nuthatch – December 3
23. White-breasted Nuthatch – December 3



24. American Tree Sparrow – December 3
25. Bald Eagle – December 3
26. Lesser Scaup – December 3
27. Black Scoter Ottawa – December 3
28. Bufflehead – December 3
29. Great Blue Heron – December 3
30. Wild Turkey – December 4
31. Northern Harrier – December 4
32. Wood Duck – December 4
33. Gadwall – December 4
34. American Black Duck – December 4
35. Canvasback – December 4



36. Hooded Merganser – December 4
37. Mourning Dove – December 10
38. Hairy Woodpecker – December 10
39. Red-breasted Merganser – December 11
40. Glaucous Gull – December 11
41. Snowy Owl – December 11
42. Downy Woodpecker – December 11
43. American Robin – December 11
44. Red-winged Blackbird – December 11
45. American Coot – December 26
46. Dark-eyed Junco – December 26



47. Purple Finch – December 26
48. Northern Shrike – December 26
49. Barred Owl – December 31
50. Brown Creeper – December 31
51. Northern Flicker – January 1
52. Sharp-shinned Hawk – January 1
53. Cedar Waxwing – January 19
54. House Finch – January 19
55. Barrow’s Goldeneye – January 22
56. Varied Thrush – January 22
57. Evening Grosbeak – January 22



58. Ruffed Grouse – January 22
59. Bohemian Waxwing – January 22
60. Horned Lark – January 22
61. Gray Partridge – January 22
62. Cooper’s Hawk – January 22
63. Winter Wren – January 28
64. Belted Kingfisher – January 28
65. Carolina Wren – January 28
66. Northern Mockingbird – February 5
67. Northern Pintail – February 18
68. White-throated Sparrow – February 18
69. Red Crossbill – February 26
70. White-winged Crossbill – February 26

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