Redpolls love Ontario

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Common Redpoll (Acanthus flammea)

Results are being released for the 2011 Great Backyard Bird Count.   The American-Canadian survey, a joint project of The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Audubon Society and Bird Studies Canada, has received 92,000 bird checklists with more than 11 million bird observations reported.   My own results, for my own little backyard, are consistent with the big picture in Ontario.   I refer to Common Redpolls, in particular.   I have been inundated with redpolls this winter.   The most repolls I saw at one time, at the feeders and on the ground below, was 224.   The next nearest species, at one time, was American  Goldfinches at 61.   According to the 2011 GBBC stats I received today by email, Ontario led all other provinces/states with 27,186 Common Redpolls.   The province of Ontario has reported the most Common Redpolls in five of the last eight years.   The Acanthus flammea showed up on 982 Ontario checklists ( a record) and the total number of birds (27,186) was also a record.   The survey has taken place for the past 14 years.  Please comment if you wish.
BtheB