Brown Thrasher, Dovekie, a Long-eared Owl, Short-cared Owl, a Hermit Thrush, a Northern Mockingbird, and 
     
     Red-winged Blackbirds. With the exception of the American Goldfinch and Common Redpoll and Pine Siskin, 
     
     very few finches were present in any of the four count areas. 
     
     Parks Canada staff hosted the pot~luck held at lunch at the Dalvay Shelter during the P.E.I. National Park 
     
     Count and an evening potluck was hosted at Diane and Kevin Griffin’s home in Stratford after the Hillsborough 
     
    
   
   
    
     Count. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The Montague count began calm with blue skies but as the morning passed the sky filled with clouds. 
     
     Some snow was predicted for that evening and there did seem to be a quietness to the day that is often felt before a 
     
     storm. When the Montague count was started, in the early 1980's, it was unusual to see a Bald Eagle. This year 
     
     nine were sighted on the Montague count day. One Great Blue Heron was sighted, as were Bohemian and Cedar 
     
     Waxwings. The most exciting sighting was the Northern Mockingbird that has been a visitor at a feeder in 
     
     Montague most of the fall. It has not been seen since the extremely cold weather in mid-January. 
     
    

    
     Most Montague counters commented that the numbers were down this year, especially members of the 
     
     sparrow and finch families including Evening Grosbeak, Purple Finch, Song Sparrow and White-throated Sparrow. 
     
     This is the second year in a row that these bird species seem to be down in numbers. Once again the actual number 
     
     of species and birds sighted was not down. The most numerous species on the Montague count was the European 
     
     Starling, which was the second most numerous in 2002 when 887 starlings were counted. The second most 
     
     numerous was the Common Goldeneye at 654 and the third most numerous was the Common Redpoll with 604. 
     
     All in all 60 species were recorded, compared to 51 for the 2002 count. 6,937 birds were counted this year 
     
     compared to 6,458 birds in 2002. The number of teams out and the number of counters were down from the past 
     
     couple of years. If the full complement was out, numbers would be even higher. 
     
    

    
     The reports for each area are provided below. 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     OBSERVATIONS NUMBERS OBSERVED 
     
     East Point National Park HillsborougL Montague Total 
     
     Dec. 14, 2003 Dec. 21, 2003 Dec.27, 2003 Jan. 3, 2004 Dec. 21 -Jan. 3 
     
    

    
     Red-throated Loon Recorded 1 1 2 
     
     Common Loon Recorded Recorded 
     
     Northern Gannet Recorded 3 3 
     
     Double-crested Cormorant Recorded CW CW 
     
     Great Cormorant Recorded 4 4 
     
     Great Blue Heron Recorded 1 1 
     
     Snow Goose CW CW 
     
     Canada Geese Recorded 1245 1,620 303 3,168 
     
     Gadwell Recorded Recorded 
     
     Eurasian Mgeon 1 1 
     
     American Black Duck Recorded 872 2,023 444 3,339 
     
     Mallard 12 66 14 92 
     
     Northern Pintail 1 4 5 
     
     American Green-winged Teal 5 12 17 
     
     UlD Duck 56 
     
    

    
     Greater Scaup Recorded 304 1 305 
     
     Lesser Scaup Recorded Recorded 
     
     Common Eider 640 640 
     
     Surf Scoter Recorded 4 4 
     
     White-winged Scoter Recorded 3 1 4