Kiah Jasper — Big Birding Year

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Kiah Jasper Big Birdi year speaker

In 2022 Kiah broke the Ontario Big Year record for most birds spotted in a calendar year, with 359 species seen across the province!  Kiah is a 23 year old birder who has grown up with the Bruce Peninsula as his backyard. His keen interest in photography sparked his more serious fascination with all things avian. Kiah is the winner of the 2018 Canadian Geographic wildlife photographer of the year (under 17). He is currently an eBird reviewer for 5 counties and is an active Ontario birder. Kiah is on the Board of the Ontario Field Ornithologists and the Ontario Bird Records Committee (OBRC). Kiah runs Gyrkite Birding Tours with Alessandra Kite, leading birding outings across the province.

This Headwaters Nature meeting will be an entirely ZOOM meeting.
(This occasional switch to fully-online ZOOM
is what many of the Naturalist Clubs to the north of us do.)
There will be no-one at the Seniors Hall on January 27th.

If you do not get the ZOOM link via your membership email,
then send info@onheadwatersnature.ca an email,
and we will send you the actual link.

We are confident that troubles you may have had in the past
with our ‘hybrid’ Zoom meetings will be fixed by going completely online.

Christmas Bird Count results for 2025/2026 for Caledon and for Luther Marsh

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Luther Marsh Christmas Bird Count
Date: January 12, 2026 at 1:31:40 PM EST
from: “birdnews@ontbirds.ca” 

Last year in 2024, we had a trial Luther Marsh bird count. Birds Canada approved our application for a new circle, and we had the first official Luther Marsh Christmas Bird Count on Thursday 2024 December 18. Eighteen birders in six teams participated. The weather forecast was for a high of 5 degrees (after weeks of bitter cold); what we didn’t expect was the biting wind, up to 45 km/hour.
The birders clocked 31 hours, drove 415.5 km and walked 5.2km. In total we had 33 species and 1,962 birds. As yet we don’t have any bird feeder watches.
Highlights included many small flocks of Snow Buntings, 60 Cedar Waxwings, 82 Bohemian Waxwings, 45 Common Redpolls, some Pine Grosbeaks, one Evening Grosbeak and a bird feeder by the road that had 100 Goldfinch (and little else).

Russ McGillivray, Headwaters Nature Compiler

HN CBC Results Luther Marsh 2025Dec

HN CBC Results Luther Marsh 2025Dec

Caledon Christmas Bird Count Results
Date: January 12, 2026 at 1:38:26 PM EST
from: “birdnews@ontbirds.ca”

This year was the 34th count for our circle which includes most of Caledon, Orangeville and parts of Erin, and Mono. The bird count was on Friday 2026 January 2. The temperature was -7°C with significant wind at times. This was the coldest count since 2017. Only the largest streams were open so there were few waterfowl, and this substantially cut the number of birds counted.

Twenty-seven field observers took part, lower than the 39 last year. However, we more than doubled the number of feeder watchers at 8. Field observers logged 46.5 hours and covered 637 km driving or on foot.

2,598 birds were counted, the lowest count since 2013 (average 3,645 in the prior five years). We found 39 species, which is slightly below average. Two species were found only on the Feeder Watch – Brown Creeper and Purple Finch.

There were three high counts – Bald Eagle (4, tied with 2021), Red Breasted Nuthatch (47, previous 38 in 2022) and Juncos (346, previous 335 in 2017). Absent were any Gulls, Owls, Kingfishers, Bluebirds, Song Sparrows or Pine Siskins.

Russ McGillivray, Headwaters Nature Compiler

HN CBC Results Caledon 2025

HN CBC Results Caledon 2025

 

Ontbirds and Birdnews are moderated email Listservs provided by
the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO)
as a service to all birders in Ontario.

Christmas Bird Counts, 2025–6

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Headwaters Nature 2025: Christmas Bird Count Information

It’s that most wonderful time of the year: CBC – Christmas Bird Count time.

Headwaters Nature has been participating in Bird Studies Canada Christmas Bird Count since the club’s inception in 1987.

Whether you’re a seasoned birder or a beginner, it’s a great chance to spend time outdoors, meet like-minded people, and make a real impact by helping scientists track bird populations. Plus, you’ll get to enjoy the excitement of spotting new species, all while being part of a long-standing tradition. It’s a perfect way to celebrate the season and make a difference!

This year: Headwaters Nature will be conducting two official CBCs. Last year’s trial run of a Luther Marsh count was successful and has been accepted by Birds Canada as an official CBC.

The Luther Marsh CBC will be held on Thursday Dec. 18, 2025, and the Caledon CBC will be held Friday Jan. 2, 2026 . 

See map below and larger detailed maps at end of this web page. 

For more information, or to indicate your interest,
please send a message to info@onheadwatersnature.ca

 

Ways for you to participate in CBC 2025:

Outside Mode

Spend part or all of the day outside looking for birds. Most searching is conducted by driving along backroads while scanning skies, fields and bird feeders. There are some sections (conservation areas, local woods) that are covered by foot. Depending on your level of bird identification ability you can choose to search for birds on your own, with some friends or join a group that has some experienced birders.

Indoor Mode (AKA Feeder Watch)

No need to leave your home to do this. The day is spent periodically monitoring your bird feeders, listing bird species and number of individuals. If you’re interested in doing a feeder watch contact Russ at russmcgillivray@hotmail.com He will send you information on how to conduct a feeder watch and bird checklist for recording birds at your feeder. Note: your bird feeder must be in the CBC circle designated for the date you are doing the watch.

Post Count Pot Luck Get Together

Traditionally, count day ends with a pot luck supper for all members regardless whether they were counting or not. It’s a great time to socialize with one another and share stories about the days’ sightings and adventures.

 

 

For more information,
please send a message to
info@onheadwatersnature.ca

 

 

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