Winter List 2012-13

It’s that time of year again! The official winter listing period has begun, and once again I will be keeping a list of all of the birds I observe during the months of December, January and February. Winter listing is an activity that has gained in popularity over the last few years, partly as a way to relieve the boredom that sets in during the three slowest months of the year, and partly due to its competitive nature. Each province keeps a list of all the birds seen each winter season; for years Blake Maybank of Nova Scotia has hosted them on his website. Ottawa maintains its own Official Winter List, and a winter list of 90 species or more in the Ottawa checklist circle is considered excellent. While most birders aim for a list of 100 species, in the past five years that I have kept a winter list I have only averaged 60 species per winter. My best season was last winter, when I tallied 70 species altogether!

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. It helps, too, if it is an invasion year; we have seen large numbers of Boreal finches in the Ottawa region this past fall, so hopefully many of them stick around for the winter. It is too early to tell whether this will be an exceptional winter for seeing owls.

Here is this year’s winter list:

1. Common Raven – December 1
2. Red-tailed Hawk – December 1
3. Canada Goose – December 1
4. American Crow – December 1
5. Common Redpoll – December 1
6. Pine Grosbeak – December 1
7. Black-capped Chickadee – December 1
8. European Starling – December 1
9. Mourning Dove – December 1
10. Hairy Woodpecker – December 1
11. White-breasted Nuthatch – December 1
12. Ring-billed Gull – December 1
13. Mallard – December 1
14. Red-breasted Merganser – December 1
15. Common Goldeneye – December 1



16. American Black Duck – December 1
17. Wood Duck – December 1
18. House Finch – December 1
19. Dark-eyed Junco – December 1
20. Northern Cardinal – December 1
21. Downy Woodpecker – December 1
22. Rock Pigeon – December 1
23. Red-breasted Nuthatch – December 2
24. Blue Jay – December 2
25. Brown Creeper – December 2
26. American Goldfinch – December 3
27. Bohemian Waxwing – December 3
28. American Robin – December 3
29. Great Black-backed Gull – December 3
30. Hooded Merganser – December 3



31. Wild Turkey – December 3
32. American Tree Sparrow – December 3
33. Common Merganser – December 3
34. House Sparrow – December 7
35. Harlequin Duck – December 9
36. Black-backed Woodpecker – December 9
37. Merlin – December 12
38. Pileated Woodpecker- December 15
39. Ruffed Grouse – December 15
40. Snow Bunting – December 23
41. Herring Gull – December 26
42. Cooper’s Hawk – December 26
43. Barrow’s Goldeneye – December 26
44. Rough-legged Hawk – December 29
45. Snowy Owl – December 29



46. Bald Eagle – December 30
47. Northern Shrike – December 31
48. Carolina Wren – January 1
49. Barred Owl – January 13
50. Brown-headed Cowbird – January 20
51. Bufflehead – January 26
52. Northern Harrier – January 26
53. Northern Saw-whet Owl – January 26
54. Red-bellied Woodpecker – January 26
55. American Kestrel – January 26
56. Snow Bunting – January 26
57. Great Gray Owl – January 27
58. Horned Lark – February 3
59. Cedar Waxwing – February 10
60. Peregrine Falcon – February 19
61. Northern Hawk Owl – February 23
62. Sharp-shinned Hawk – February 24
63. Hoary Redpoll – February 24
64. Green-winged Teal – February 24

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