Snow Buntings Dominate 2025 Pembroke Christmas Bird Count Amid Freezing Conditions

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The results are in from the 48th annual Pembroke Christmas Bird Count, held on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. The Christmas Bird Count, which began more than 120 years ago in North America, continues to provide valuable long-term data for scientists studying winter bird populations, migration patterns, and changes linked to food supply and climate conditions.

This year’s count involved 29 field observers and an additional 29 participants who monitored birds at their feeders. Together, they recorded 39 bird species and a total of 6,651 individual birds. While the number of species was about average, it was lower than last year’s total of 44 species. However, the overall number of birds counted increased significantly compared to 4,065 individuals recorded in 2024.

Cold temperatures and widespread ice coverage on the Ottawa River had a noticeable impact on waterfowl sightings. Large sections of the river were frozen, resulting in just three waterfowl species being recorded during the count: Mallards, Hooded Mergansers and Common Goldeneye.

Seven raptor species were observed this year, up from five species last year. These included two Barred Owls, three Bald Eagles, two Red-tailed Hawks, one Northern Shrike, two Cooper’s Hawks, one Sharp-shinned Hawk and one Rough-legged Hawk. No falcon species were spotted during the count.

Several other noteworthy sightings were recorded, including two Golden-crowned Kinglets, five Brown Creepers, and two species typically associated with warmer seasons that remained in the area over winter: the American Robin and the Song Sparrow.

The standout feature of this year’s count was the exceptionally high number of Snow Buntings. A remarkable 3,154 individuals were recorded, accounting for nearly half of all birds observed during the count.

Snow Buntings were also the most common species recorded overall, followed by Rock Pigeons (946) and Black-capped Chickadees (585). By comparison, last year’s most frequently recorded species were Black-capped Chickadees (694), Snow Buntings (691) and Rock Doves (450).

Preliminary analysis suggests that 2025 was a slightly below-average year in terms of species diversity. The cold weather and frozen waterways likely contributed to the reduced number of waterfowl and fewer summer birds overwintering in the area. Although the total number of birds counted increased, more than half were Snow Buntings, indicating that populations of typical wintering birds may have declined locally.

Winter northern migrants were well represented during the count, including Dark-eyed Juncos, American Tree Sparrows, Evening Grosbeaks, Northern Shrikes, Bohemian Waxwings, Purple Finches and Snow Buntings. Notably absent were Pine Grosbeaks, Pine Siskins, Red and White-winged Crossbills and Common Redpolls.

Field observers participating in this year’s count included Vincent Agnesi, Logan Baldwin, Miriam Baril, Kristi Beatty, Tony Beck, Jean Brereton, Robin Cunningham, Susan Ellis, Merv Fediuk, Lynn Jones, Jennifer Montgomery-Finnamore, Manson Fleguel, Theresa Frechette, Cathy Hammel, Ole Hendrickson, Ted Hiscock, Ken Hooles, Sarantia Katsaras, Liz Link, Margaret McLeod, Willem and Rowan Nadon, Charity Parisien, Mark Reinert, Christian Renault, Vanessa Robinson, Nina Stavlund, Maurice Thibaudeau and Gilles Valliere.

Feeder watchers once again played a vital role in the count, contributing valuable data on species that are often difficult to locate in the field, such as Northern Cardinals, House Finches and various sparrow species. This year’s feeder watchers included Barbara Beimers, Fern Burger, Ron Bertrand, Dave Colton, Daryl Coulson, Lucy and Dwight Dickerson, Merv and Jane Dougherty, Harry and Marie Fick, Patty Hanson, Jeremy Inglis, Lynn Jones, Carolyn Lance, Eric and Marg Leskie, Myron and Beth Loback, Joan McQuire, Allan Mills, Sandra Muir, Kevin Nieman, Jill Renault, Jim Roche, Lynn Romchild, Larry Termarsch, Diane Thrasher, Henry Verschelden, and Grant and Maureen Radley Walters.

The Pembroke Area Field Naturalists thanked all participants for their contributions and extended special thanks to Christian Renault for coordinating the annual event.