The Egret Article

By Jeremy Hatt

Since 2015, birders in Essex County have kept a list of all the species found in our area during the month of February, a challenge we call the “Depths of Winter”. It was originally started to encourage local birders to get out during the coldest month of the year and to have a friendly competition amongst ourselves. Depths of Winter used to be conducted on a local listserv named WEPBirds but now reports during the period can be posted to the Ontario Bird Alert Discord server or posted to eBird. Data for the Depths of Winter list is tallied from eBird, Discord, other local listservs, and word of mouth.

2024 was the ninth year birders have taken part in the Depths of Winter challenge. The total number of species tallied this year was 119, tying the record set in 2021. Mild temperatures bookending the month mostly account for this high total w/ many shorter distance migrants arriving earlier than usual and other species being able to overwinter due to almost no ice cover throughout most of the month.

New additions to the Depths of Winter List since 2015 included American White Pelican (record early migrants) Black-crowned Night-Heron (rare overwintering species in the county), and Black-headed Grosbeak (new to Essex County!). American White Pelicans arrived on February 23rd w/ an estimate of about 50 birds. This number rose quickly to about 325 birds by March 3rd. The Black-crowned Night-Heron was an immature bird that managed to overwinter at the Little River Pollution Control Plant, and the Black-headed Grosbeak was coming to a private feeder.

Other highlights this year included Ross’s Goose, Greater White-fronted Goose, Black Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Snowy Owl (virtually absent in the county this winter), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-headed Woodpecker, Townsend’s Solitaire, and Tree Swallow (record early).

Notable misses included Short-eared Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Northern Mockingbird (becoming more scarce in the county outside of spring migration), Lapland Longspur, Marsh Wren, American Pipit, and Savannah Sparrow.

Since its inception in 2015, the Depths of Winter List now stands at a total of 146 species. Historically, according to eBird, there have been 163 species recorded in Essex County in February.

By Jeremy Hatt

The Holiday Beach CBC took place on Wednesday, December 27th. The Count includes Holiday Beach Conservation Area, Big Creek, the Lower Detroit River north to LaSalle, Boblo Island and surrounding areas. Unfortunately, Boblo Island continues to be inaccessible due to construction on the island but the rest of the count circle received good coverage. 

25 volunteers clocked in 65 party hours during the Count, which included about 30km of total walking and about 250km by car. Volunteers wracked up a record-breaking 89 species for the count and 54,933 individual birds! Trumpeter Swan and American Coot were added during Count Week. Participants were excited to break the species count record for the CBC this year and it’s a testament to the skills and commitment of our volunteers that we reached 89 species at the end of December.

The Count was overall quite comfortable weather-wise. Skies were cloudy throughout the day w/ light drizzle in the early morning and in the late afternoon.  Winds were light to moderate out of the northwest and temperatures ranged from 7C to 9C. Mild temperatures leading up to the Count meant the entire area had open water resulting in higher than usual waterfowl counts and a few late species lingering in the area. 

Three new species were added to the Count this year. They were American Goshawk, American Woodcock, and Red-headed Woodpecker. Waterfowl highlights included 2 Snow Geese, 4 Cackling Geese, 27 Northern Shoveler (record high), 3,143 Mallard (good count), 364 American Black Duck (record high), 15 Northern Pintail (often missed), 40,501 Canvasback (record high), 43 Ring-necked Duck (often missed), 108 Bufflehead (good count), 208 Red-breasted Merganser (good count), 2 Long-tailed Ducks (rare for the count) and 4 scoter sp. (rare for the count). 

Other highlights included 11 Sandhill Crane (often missed), 123 Bonaparte’s Gull (good count), 1 Killdeer (rare for the count), 1 Long-eared Owl (sometimes missed), 1 Peregrine Falcon (often missed), 1 Northern Shrike (often missed), 1 Marsh Wren (often missed), 1 House Wren (rare for the count) 1 Brown Thrasher (rare for the count), 1 Field Sparrow (often missed), 1 Eastern Meadowlark (rare for the count), 25 Rusty Blackbird (often missed), 1 Purple Finch (often missed), and 3 Pine Siskin (often missed). 

Several record high counts were broken or tied this year (previous record in brackets) including Northern Shoveler – 27 (21), American Black Duck – 364 (268), Canvasback – 40,501 (11,326), Ring-necked Duck – 43 (6), Killdeer – 1 (1), American Robin – 145 (97), Fox Sparrow – 9 (3).

Notable misses for Count Day included Trumpeter Swan, Wood Duck, Redhead, Ruddy Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, American Coot, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Double-crested Cormorant, Red-shouldered Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Bluebird, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Lapland Longspur, Snow Bunting, and Chipping Sparrow. These misses indicate that in a particularly exceptional year, 100 species may be possible for the Holiday Beach CBC.

Many thanks to all the Area Leaders and volunteers for their efforts and to Kory and Sarah Renaud for hosting another excellent roundup. Everyone enjoyed the Renaud’s hospitality and Kory’s county-famous chili. Next year’s Count will take place on Saturday, December 28th.