There were 25 parties of birders for this year’s count, a usual number based on the last seven years.  The number of individuals in these parties was 61, also a usual number of suspects. And there usual ends. Hours spent in the field were 110, lowest in the last seven years as was 344 miles driven. A part of this was due to an old suburban losing control on an icy road in Smithfield and being hit by a new SUV, resulting in a tow to Totalsville. Dean and Deanna Lester continued on the count, true birders for sure. Also of note were the 20 feeders counted this year, another high in seven years.

The weather was mild Cache winter preceded by some extensive cold, leaving limited open water. It didn’t snow during the count but snow definitely fell during the previous day. We counted 61,632 birds and saw 93 species. This number was in the usual range. Species with the highest counts were:

1. Starlings 48,006
2. House Sparrows 3,214
3. Red-winged Blackbirds 1,858
4. Gadwalls 1,236
5. Mallards 1,172
6. Canada geese 959
7. Dark-eyed Juncoes 518
8. House Finches 485
9. Horned Larks 387
10. European Collared Doves 385

Species with only one seen were: Blue winged Teal, Osprey, immature Bald  Eagle, Cooper’s Hawk, Hairy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Mountain Chickadee, Pacific Wren, Marsh Wren, and Yellow headed Blackbird.

A mere 78% of starlings account for our valley’s winter population.

Hilary

Christmas Bird Count Feeder Count Summary 12/16/17

15 people
19.5 hours
24 species
537 birds

Ring-necked pheasant 1
Bald Eagle 1
Red-tailed hawk 1
Eurasian Collared Dove 24
Mourning Dove 4
Downey Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 5
Scrub Jay 1
Steller’s Jay 2
Black-billed Magpie 20
Black-capped Chickadee 101
Mountain Chickadee 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch 5
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2
American Robin 4
European Starling 40
Spotted Towhee 1
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 103
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate CL) 1
House Finch 99
Pine Siskin 65
American Goldfinch 29
Lesser Goldfinch 9
House Sparrow 16