Here are the preliminary totals from the Penticton Christmas Bird Count which was held on Dec. 16.
Weather was decent except for a south wind that hampered viewing along some lakeshore locations and occasionally at mid-elevations as well.
The species total of 101 is above the long-term average but well below the record high of 110 species.
The highlight was the brambling found at a feeder in Summerland.
This is the first record of that species on the count.
Three additional species were seen in count week (three days before the count): Green-winged Teal, Western Grebe and Snowy Owl.
Good numbers of robins and bluebirds were seen, though neither total is a record.
Snow Goose 15
Cackling Goose 7
Canada Goose 2,875
Trumpeter Swan 8
Tundra Swan 2
Wood Duck 2
Gadwall 16
American Wigeon 273
Mallard 1,763
Canvasback 4
Redhead 92
Greater Scaup 201
Lesser Scaup 2
Bufflehead 43
Common Goldeneye 32
Hooded Merganser 25
Common Merganser 69
Red-breasted Merganser 1
Ruddy Duck 2
Ring-necked Pheasant 16
Ruffed Grouse 1
California Quail 2,227
Common Loon 7
Pied-billed Grebe 2
Horned Grebe 13
Red-necked Grebe 4
Great Blue Heron 16
Bald Eagle 46
Northern Harrier 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk 18
Cooper’s Hawk 12
Northern Goshawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 46
Rough-legged Hawk 4
Golden Eagle 6
Peregrine Falcon 1
American Kestrel 10
Merlin 8
American Coot 883
Mew Gull 3
Ring-billed Gull 180
California Gull 377
Herring Gull 214
Thayer’s Gull 2
Glaucous-winged Gull 84
GW X Western Gull 5
Glaucous Gull 13
gull, sp. 139
Rock Pigeon 462
Eurasian Collared-Dove 12
Mourning Dove 27
Great Horned Owl 10
Northern Pygmy-Owl 3
Long-eared Owl 1
Northern Saw-whet Owl 1
Belted Kingfisher 5
Downy Woodpecker 12
Hairy Woodpecker 8
Red-shafted Flicker 428
Pileated Woodpecker 7
Northern Shrike 4
Steller’s Jay 97
Blue Jay 1
Clark’s Nutcracker 110
Black-billed Magpie 380
American Crow 264
Common Raven 478
Black-capped Chickadee 228
Mountain Chickadee 119
Red-breasted Nuthatch 79
White-breasted Nuthatch 18
Pygmy Nuthatch 145
Brown Creeper 2
Canyon Wren 3
Pacific Wren 2
American Dipper 4
Golden-crowned Kinglet 18
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Western Bluebird 147
Townsend’s Solitaire 22
Hermit Thrush 2
American Robin 844
Varied Thrush 6
European Starling 5,269
Bohemian Waxwing 1,108
Cedar Waxwing 217
waxwing, sp. 40
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Spotted Towhee 10
American Tree Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 221
White-throated Sparrow 1
White-crowned Sparrow 49
Dark-eyed (Ore) Junco 1,099
Dark-eyed (Sc) Junco 4
Red-winged Blackbird 83
Brambling 1
Pine Grosbeak 18
Cassin’s Finch 4
House Finch 1,547
Red Crossbill 57
Common Redpoll 236
Pine Siskin 64
American Goldfinch 387
House Sparrow 757
TOTAL INDIVIDUALS 24,930
TOTAL SPECIES 101
OBSERVERS 40