Some Thoughts about Christmas Bird Counts
Every year I participate in at least two Christmas Bird Counts, generally one close to home, and one farther afield. I go with birding friends, and it makes for a pleasant social as well as a scientifically worthwhile day.
Christmas Bird Counts have been around since 1900, when the first bird census takers came out on Christmas Day to present a pacifist alternative to the traditional killing binge in which Americans went into the woods on that day to shoot as many birds and small animals as they could.
Sponsored by the National Audubon Society, CBCs serve the purpose of annually monitoring non-migratory bird populations. Each team is assigned a “count circle” and is furnished with a checklist of birds that are likely to be found in that particular area. The CBC checklist is different from most other kinds of birding checklists in that numbers of individuals, as well as individual species are recorded. This is done so that bird populations can be assessed and studied. Hours spent in the field, as well as miles covered in a vehicle and on foot are also tabulated. Results are submitted to NAS, and are sent out to all participants later in the year.
It takes a certain level of commitment to do a CBC. For one thing, at Christmastime the weather can be nasty. We were lucky this year on both of the days I participated. Not too cold, and not snowing or raining, though we’ve had doses of both in the past.
On my first count, on Saturday, December 17, I went with two birding friends, Bill and Lynn, on the local count. We started out at a pond in Oreland, PA at 7:00 AM to survey geese and ducks before they headed out to feed. We counted hundreds of Canada Geese, as well as a few Mallards, three Hooded Mergansers, and a few American Coots. Bill was disappointed that the Ring-necked Ducks he had seen in the same place the day before did not make an appearance. That’s birding for you.
From there we drove to several local habitats including the two sections of Fort Washington State Park. We had all noticed, from monitoring our own bird feeders, that bird populations are down in our area this winter. So we were a bit pessimistic about what we would find.
For me, one surprise had to do with American Goldfinches. At our home feeders, Nyger seed, which goldfinches favor, has been pretty much untouched this fall. I’d been concerned about this. Were goldfinch numbers seriously declining? However, on our CBC, in one locale, we found big numbers of goldfinches eating seeds from the prickly balls on Sweet Gum trees. I’d never realized they’d go for those. Live and learn.
We were out until 2:30 PM, when we had finished covering our designated area. We finished up with 37 species and 2785 individuals. We covered 33 miles in the vehicle, and walked 7 miles.
The next day, Sunday December 18, Bert picked me up at 3:15 AM. We collected the rest of our group, Connie, Ann and Mike, at our regular meeting spot and headed for Bombay Hook NWR, Delaware. We arrived at the gates, which had been opened early for us, at 5:00 AM and drove straight to the owl barn. (We’d gotten advance permission to go there). Two Barn Owls flew out of the barn and a third perched on a cross beam to have his (?) picture taken. Awesome. Our next bird was a Barred Owl which came into our owl noises and perched on a branch. Another photo-op. We also counted four Great Horned and Eastern Screech Owls by call only. We’d peaked early. We knew it would be hard to beat those sightings, and we didn’t.
Then it was time for a brief rest at daybreak before we began birding our designated part of the refuge, Bear Swamp, for passerines, waterfowl and any other birds that might be around. We finished up just before noon, and handed in our tally. We’d found 51 bird species and a total of 916 individuals, not counting the thousands and thousands of Canada and Snow Geese. Some highlights were 11 species of waterfowl, a couple of Bald Eagles, some falcons and hawks, two sandpiper species, three species of woodpecker, both kinglets, chickadees, titmice, lots of Eastern Bluebirds, several sparrows including Fox Sparrow, and Eastern Meadowlark. We covered 25 miles in the vehicle, and ¾ mile on foot.
This type of birding activity has nothing to do with building a big list, or striving for a “Big Year” as portrayed in the recent movie. It has more to do with conservation; more to do with seeing the big picture. Every person who participates in a CBC has contributed something to foster the health of bird populations.
Showing posts with label Birds and Birding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Birds and Birding. Show all posts
Friday, December 23, 2011
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Birding Trip to Oregon, June 2010
Early in June, a group of six birders from the Delaware Valley area set out for Oregon to visit several different habitats to look for as many bird species as we could find. We landed in Portland in late morning on June 7. We began birding right after lunch, visiting Killin Wetlands, Pacific University in Forest Grove (where we found Acorn Woodpecker), and Fern Hill Wetlands (where we found Cinnamon Teal and Band-tailed Pigeons). From there we began heading toward the coast. Some of the highlights the next day were a visit to the Lewis and Clark statue
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Wood-warblers at Magee Marsh
Bob and I spent the last few days at Magee Marsh on the shore of Lake Erie, not far from Toledo. We saw lots of migrating birds, including assorted wood-warblers (23 species), thrushes (3 species), vireos, grosbeaks, cuckoos, tanagers and orioles.
The birds pile up here at Magee Marsh because it is one of the few undeveloped places where they can make landfall and find food before they cross Lake Erie to go north to nest. Many of these birds have wintered in the southern United States and in Central and South America.
Most visitors to Magee Marsh, veteran birders as well as rookies, go there for the spring warbler migration. It is possible to see up to 35 species of wood-warbler in the eastern part of the United States during spring and fall migrations. Many of them turn up at Magee Marsh. (9 additional species pass through the states west of the Rocky Mountains.)
Wood-warblers are among the most beautiful of the birds we can see in North America. In breeding plumage many warbler species are stunning: the Cape May Warbler is bright yellow, orange and black; the Black-throated Blue Warbler is a deep blue, black and white; the Blackburnian Warbler has a day-glow orange throat. The sad part of all this is that, even when these birds pass through our neighborhood in eastern Pennsylvania, most people have no idea that they’re here. That’s because so many of these birds sing from the tops of trees, and people do not stop to look for them. At Magee, though, many of these same species can be found at eye level in low bushes and trees.
When the warblers pass through here in Eastern Pennsylvania in the fall, their colors are duller, and sometimes it is difficult to identify them.
Some of the birds passing through Magee were the same species we can see, if we’re lucky, here in and around the Delaware Bay area. This spring I had seen these species before the trip: Yellow Warbler, Northern Parula, Magnolia Warbler, Black-throated-blue Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Pine Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, Prothonotary Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Ovenbird, Louisiana Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat, Hooded Warbler. All were in small numbers – sometimes just one individual.
At Magee Marsh, there were birds everywhere, most of them singing. We saw all of the above except for Yellow-throated Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler and Louisiana Waterthrush. But we also saw some of the species that do not occur regularly around home: Golden-winged Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Cape May Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Kentucky Warbler.
Last year, at Magee Marsh, we saw Mourning Warbler and Cerulean Warbler. We were sorry to miss those this year. They are very scarce in areas close to home. Perhaps they turned up at Magee after we’d left.
Of all the amazing things that birds do, to me, their annual migration stands out as the most remarkable. Each bird species has its own timetable and “map”, and knows what to do: where and when to go north, and when to return “home” to its wintering grounds.
Why is it in a bird’s interest to migrate? A bird has four basic needs: food, finding a mate, nesting and raising young. If a warbler were to remain on its wintering grounds throughout the year, it would have to compete with other species for food and nest sites. Over millennia, many bird species have evolved to best cope with these basic needs.
According to the Peterson Field Guide, Warblers, by Jon Dunn and Kimball Garrett, “the most highly migratory wood-warbler, the Blackpoll, breeds across the boreal forests as far north as northwest Alaska and winters mainly east of the Andes in northern south America. In spring its migration is mainly north through peninsular Florida or across the Gulf of Mexico, but the fall migration is quite easterly, with many birds apparently flying well out over the Atlantic from the northeastern states and provinces.”
Magee Marsh is a user-friendly place. Although it gets crowded with birders and photographers during the height of migration, everyone is generally very accommodating and it is always possible to maneuver so as to get a good look at the birds. More experienced birders are always ready to help “rookies” find and identify the birds.
Spring isn’t over yet. There’s still hope. I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll be able to catch a few other warbler species that I’ve missed so far this year: Blue-winged Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Canada Warbler.
And then there’s always next year.
The birds pile up here at Magee Marsh because it is one of the few undeveloped places where they can make landfall and find food before they cross Lake Erie to go north to nest. Many of these birds have wintered in the southern United States and in Central and South America.
Most visitors to Magee Marsh, veteran birders as well as rookies, go there for the spring warbler migration. It is possible to see up to 35 species of wood-warbler in the eastern part of the United States during spring and fall migrations. Many of them turn up at Magee Marsh. (9 additional species pass through the states west of the Rocky Mountains.)
Wood-warblers are among the most beautiful of the birds we can see in North America. In breeding plumage many warbler species are stunning: the Cape May Warbler is bright yellow, orange and black; the Black-throated Blue Warbler is a deep blue, black and white; the Blackburnian Warbler has a day-glow orange throat. The sad part of all this is that, even when these birds pass through our neighborhood in eastern Pennsylvania, most people have no idea that they’re here. That’s because so many of these birds sing from the tops of trees, and people do not stop to look for them. At Magee, though, many of these same species can be found at eye level in low bushes and trees.
When the warblers pass through here in Eastern Pennsylvania in the fall, their colors are duller, and sometimes it is difficult to identify them.
Some of the birds passing through Magee were the same species we can see, if we’re lucky, here in and around the Delaware Bay area. This spring I had seen these species before the trip: Yellow Warbler, Northern Parula, Magnolia Warbler, Black-throated-blue Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Pine Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, Prothonotary Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Ovenbird, Louisiana Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat, Hooded Warbler. All were in small numbers – sometimes just one individual.
At Magee Marsh, there were birds everywhere, most of them singing. We saw all of the above except for Yellow-throated Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler and Louisiana Waterthrush. But we also saw some of the species that do not occur regularly around home: Golden-winged Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Cape May Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Kentucky Warbler.
Last year, at Magee Marsh, we saw Mourning Warbler and Cerulean Warbler. We were sorry to miss those this year. They are very scarce in areas close to home. Perhaps they turned up at Magee after we’d left.
Of all the amazing things that birds do, to me, their annual migration stands out as the most remarkable. Each bird species has its own timetable and “map”, and knows what to do: where and when to go north, and when to return “home” to its wintering grounds.
Why is it in a bird’s interest to migrate? A bird has four basic needs: food, finding a mate, nesting and raising young. If a warbler were to remain on its wintering grounds throughout the year, it would have to compete with other species for food and nest sites. Over millennia, many bird species have evolved to best cope with these basic needs.
According to the Peterson Field Guide, Warblers, by Jon Dunn and Kimball Garrett, “the most highly migratory wood-warbler, the Blackpoll, breeds across the boreal forests as far north as northwest Alaska and winters mainly east of the Andes in northern south America. In spring its migration is mainly north through peninsular Florida or across the Gulf of Mexico, but the fall migration is quite easterly, with many birds apparently flying well out over the Atlantic from the northeastern states and provinces.”
Magee Marsh is a user-friendly place. Although it gets crowded with birders and photographers during the height of migration, everyone is generally very accommodating and it is always possible to maneuver so as to get a good look at the birds. More experienced birders are always ready to help “rookies” find and identify the birds.
Spring isn’t over yet. There’s still hope. I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll be able to catch a few other warbler species that I’ve missed so far this year: Blue-winged Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Canada Warbler.
And then there’s always next year.
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