By: Jeremy Hatt

The 20th Holiday Beach CBC took place on December 27 with 29 volunteers counting a total of 82 species and 62,905 individual birds. This is the third highest species total since the Count was started in 2005. Previous high counts are 94 (set in 2024) and 88 (set in 2023). This is a testament to the volunteers who put an exceptional effort into covering their areas and inspecting large flocks of birds closely for that one special species mixed in.

Temperatures ranged from 0-2C and skies were cloudy all day but luckily there wasn’t any rain (the days before and after the Count were miserable!). There was a light east wind throughout the day.

Cooler temperatures leading up to the Count meant that all inland waters were mostly frozen. However, Lake Erie and the Detroit River were open and significant numbers of waterfowl were scattered across the lake off of Holiday Beach and at the river mouth. No snow cover was present on the day of the Count. Tundra Swans (4,188), Canada Geese (10,548), and Mallards (8,206) were present in particularly impressive numbers. Winter conditions following the count have pushed most of these birds even further south; as in January and February, most of the waters of Lake St. Clair, Erie, and the Detroit River were completely frozen.

One bit of fortune in 2025 is that Boblo Island finally allowed access to Kory Renaud and me to bird there during the Count. This was the first time since 2019 that we’ve been able to cover the island, and subsequently, all the areas of the CBC. From the Covid-19 pandemic to construction on the middle portion of the island, access had previously been restricted. Birding the island helps give a fuller, more accurate snapshot of the birds present during the Count. Highlights from Boblo Island included large numbers of waterfowl just south of White Sands Conservation Area including 1,160 Canada Geese, 900 Tundra Swans, 260 Mallards, 1,500 Canvasback, and 2,500 Redhead. Three separate Ruby-crowned Kinglets were tallied from the south end of the island and 45 Black-capped Chickadees!

Highlights of the rest of the Count Circle included 2 Cackling Geese, 1 Long-tailed Duck, 1 Green-winged Teal (difficult on this Count), a Turkey Vulture soaring over Amherstburg (very few have attempted overwintering in Essex County this year), 5 Red-shouldered Hawks, 1 American Coot, 1 Iceland Gull, 1 Eastern Phoebe, 1 Gray Catbird, 3 Yellow-rumped Warblers (often missed on this Count), and 3 Field Sparrows. Once again, as we entered January and February and much harsher winter conditions, many of these species have not been reported since!

Several high counts were broken this year:

Trumpeter Swan – 7 (previous high of 4)

Tundra Swan – 4,188 (previous high of 1,505 set last year)

Mallard – 8,206 (previous high of 4,544)

American Wigeon – 42 (tied record set last year)

Redhead – 2,676 (previous high of 1,730)

Common Goldeneye – 1,301 (previous high of 318)

Blue Jay – 239 (previous high of 227)

Winter Wren – 8 (previous high of 6)

European Starling – 3,285 (previous high of 3,086)

Brown-headed Cowbird – 1,072 (previous high of 954)

Notable misses on the Count included Snow Goose, Hooded Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Double-crested Cormorant, Sandhill Crane, Great Black-backed Gull, Long-eared Owl, Peregrine Falcon, Horned Lark, Marsh Wren, Fox Sparrow, Rusty Blackbird, and Pine Siskin.

Many thanks to all the dedicated Area Leaders and volunteers for another great count and to Kory and Sarah Renaud for graciously hosting another excellent roundup. Special thanks to those who helped w/ the tally at the roundup.

Jeremy Hatt