Report by Peter Candido

The 2024 Vancouver Christmas Bird Count took place on Saturday December 14th.  On count day a powerful windstorm swept over the Vancouver area with gusts up to 100 kph. This severely affected observation conditions, particularly in areas near the water. Heavy wave action made visibility of birds on the water extremely difficult, and coverage of Area Y (English Bay) by boat was not possible.  This explains the low numbers of sea ducks, cormorants, grebes and loons on the count. Coverage of forested areas was also limited due to danger of falling trees and branches. Precipitation was light until mid-day, with showers in the afternoon. Temperatures ranged from 6-10 C during the day.

As was the case last year, winter finches and grosbeaks were in short supply, with very few Red Crossbills (reported from only 2 areas) and no Pine Grosbeaks, Evening Grosbeaks or Redpolls.

The species total stands at 114 and 53,824  individuals, compared to 125 species and 63,557 individuals in 2023.   

We had a total of 213 participants this year. A big Thank You to all who contributed to the count!  A special Thank You to Peter McNamee for coordinating the teams and to Alan McKenzie for managing the spreadsheet. If you notice any errors or omissions in the data, please contact me at pcandido328@shaw.ca or petercandido328@gmail.com.

Selected Highlights

Canvasback, 1 in Area P	Barred Owl, 1 in Area D-East
Long-tailed Duck, 1 in Area Q	Northern Shrike, 1 in Area S
Pacific Loon, 1 in Area Q	Black Phoebe, 1 in Area K, an overwintering bird
Glossy/White-faced Ibis, 1 in Area U; an overwintering bird	White-throated Sparrow, 1 in Area E
Rough-legged Hawk, 1 in Area S	Savannah Sparrow, 3 in Area U
Great Horned Owl, 1 in Area E	Wilson’s Warbler, 1 in Area Q
Short-eared Owl, 2 in Area S

Complete List of Species

Species	2024	2023	Species	2024	2023
Snow Goose	58	3156	Cooper’s Hawk	5	27
Greater White-fronted Goose	13	2	Bald Eagle	206	186
Cackling Goose	597	304	Red-tailed Hawk	24	39
Canada Goose	1942	2802	Rough-legged Hawk	1	1
Trumpeter Swan	39	22	Great Horned Owl	1	1
Wood Duck	175	144	Barred Owl	1	2
Northern Shoveler	141	88	Short-eared Owl	2	0
Gadwall	135	116	Belted Kingfisher	11	8
Eurasian Wigeon	5	10	Red-breasted Sapsucker	4	2
American Wigeon	2372	2587	Downy Woodpecker	9	66
Mallard	4792	4609	Hairy Woodpecker	0	3
Northern Pintail	1266	726	Pileated Woodpecker	4	21
Green-winged Teal	1177	662	Northern  Flicker	173	420
Canvasback	1	0	American Kestrel	3	3
Ring-necked Duck	94	110	Merlin	5	13
Greater Scaup	4	37	Peregrine Falcon	4	3
Lesser Scaup	20	126	Black Phoebe	1	0
Harlequin Duck	0	4	Hutton’s Vireo	0	3
Surf Scoter	2387	3455	Northern Shrike	1	1
White-winged Scoter	46	92	Pinyon Jay	0	1
Long-tailed Duck	1	11	Steller’s Jay	30	185
Bufflehead	271	468	American/Northwestern Crow	16838	17429
Common Goldeneye	108	205	Common Raven	51	93
Barrow’s Goldeneye	974	1446	Black-capped Chickadee	624	1494
Hooded Merganser	118	61	Chestnut-backed Chickadee	131	262
Common Merganser	195	113	Bushtit	481	654
Red-breasted Merganser	54	195	Golden-crowned Kinglet	611	581
Ruddy Duck	0	18	Ruby-crowned Kinglet	107	223
Pied-billed Grebe	16	17	Red-breasted Nuthatch	65	66
Horned Grebe	65	171	Brown Creeper	40	79
Red-necked Grebe	3	8	House Wren	0	1
Eared Grebe	0	1	Pacific Wren	149	250
Western Grebe	0	3	Marsh Wren	6	12
Rock Pigeon	1610	1624	Bewick’s Wren	4	64
Band-tailed Pigeon	11	16	American Dipper	8	9
Eurasian Collared-Dove	48	161	European Starling	2197	2761
Anna’s Hummingbird	146	466	Varied Thrush	187	133
Virginia Rail	2	5	Hermit Thrush	15	6
American Coot	124	197	American Robin	320	655
Black Oystercatcher	15	5	Bohemian Waxwing*	0	1
Black-bellied Plover	25	1	Cedar Waxwing	2	28
Killdeer	1	30	House Sparrow	72	161
Dunlin	53	600	House Finch	183	485
Western Sandpiper	0	1	Purple Finch	22	17
Long-billed Dowitcher	62	56	Common Redpoll	0	40
Wilson’s Snipe	0	13	Red Crossbill	23	5
Spotted Sandpiper	0	3	Pine Siskin	693	283
Common Murre	0	114	American Goldfinch	32	258
Marbled Murrelet	0	7	Fox Sparrow	44	197
Bonaparte’s Gull	57	13	Dark-eyed Junco	1315	1269
Short-billed Gull	1286	858	White-crowned Sparrow	44	73
Ring-billed Gull	373	224	Golden-crowned Sparrow	107	266
California Gull	68	20	White-throated Sparrow	1	3
Herring Gull	6	4	Savannah Sparrow	3	0
Iceland Gull  (Thayer’s)	2	14	Song Sparrow	308	1255
Glaucous-winged Gull	5484	4622	Swamp Sparrow	0	1
Red-throated Loon	2	51	Lincoln’s Sparrow	2	3
Pacific Loon	1	0	Spotted Towhee	616	616
Common Loon	4	27	Western Meadowlark	0	3
Brandt’s Cormorant	55	14	Red-winged Blackbird	61	368
Pelagic Cormorant	259	297	Brown-headed Cowbird	30	45
Double-crested Cormorant	699	852	Brewer’s Blackbird	25	36
Great Blue Heron	144	186	Orange-crowned Warbler	1	6
White-faced/Glossy Ibis	1	0	Yellow-rumped Warbler	2	14
Northern Harrier	8	9	Wilson’s Warbler	1	1
Sharp-shinned Hawk	2	4	Total	114	125