A RECORD NUMBER OF SPECIES

BY ROSEMARY CURLEY

A record number of 45 species was recorded on the December 21, 1985 Prince Edward Island Bird Count. Highlighting the line—up was a short-eared owl sighted at 12:45 p.nn by'Paul and Elsebeth Olshefsky on the Stanhope Road about a mile west of the Dalvay entrance to the park. This is the first record of

this species on any P.E.I. count.

Ifigh Nmflxus oflkflmnuanVEmwimmh.Gray

Pertrhkfin ReidumasuaiNUUEHImes,Iapbmtilongqgns amifihihswdnged crossbills were also recorded, while sightings of water birds such as Canada Geafiawere huh dme to a:flxxtage of<xxulwater. The chmnnxacfi the smfitary landfill filEast Rmfiflty same to manaatfecuaithe nmdxns ofqnfllszhzthe

area,andinmy hmvnmflxmsvmne naamimd.

TEmperatures were cool (-19 to -8 o C), but the stillness of the day facilitated identification through both sight and sound. Twenty observers

recorded 45 species and 3839 individual birds.

Great Blue Heron - l CundaCknse-—4 ‘AmerhanlBlaCKImxk - 178 OhinnaM-12

Sui Sxmer-1 “binsmumfifl,axXBr-l CanmxiGohkamwe-166 EnmowfisGohmamwe-SO Camnnbkmgnmer-69 RalbnfisuaIMagamfix-l RutheniGoQEmk-l Reddzuledikmm-2 lkmgh-hxgedikmm.— 1 Grayimmiridge-96 :mfifaicnmmei-4 Harring<afll - 28 Gnafirtdafl:8ad«¥iGflLL-43 kaIXNe-118

Munnfing Dmne- 10 fixmtqaued<mfl-l Beltedlfingfisher-l Dwmylkndgxker-—5 murkanmx$d«5‘-5 mnmedlark-58

Blue Jay - 187

American Crow - 509

The breakdown is as follows:

Common raven - 59 Black-capped Chickadee - 95 Boreal Chickadee - 5 Red-breasted nuthatch - 15 Golden-crowned kinglet - 7 Bohemian waxwing - 60 European starling - 630 Song sparrow - 2 White-throated sparrow - 1 Northern junco — 18

Lapland longspur - 135

Snow bunting - 477 Brown-headed cowbird - 1 Pine grosbeak - 9

Purple finch - 11 White—winged crossbill - 30 American goldfinch - 1 Evening grosbeak — 79

House sparrow - 662

Following the count, many of the enthusiastic birders repaired to the Synnes household in Bonshaw where food and prizes were distributed. The prizes were just one feature of the National Parks Centennial Celebration, and a welccne addition to the count, which has been held in the park and surrounding areas since 1972. P.E.I. National Park Operations Manager, Robert MacNeill, was on hand to reward the following crews for their diligence: