2021 Cache Valley (Logan) Christmas Bird Count

These are the preliminary feeder watch counts from the 2021 Cache Valley (Logan) Christmas Bird Count
Sector numbers will be added after the entire count has been submitted to National Audubon.

Links:
  • Feeder Watch Count Summary
  • Feeder Watch Species List
  • Feeder Watch Seen 2021 but not 2020:
  • Logan Christmas Bird Count Narrative by Jim Cane
  • Logan Christmas Bird Count Summary
  • Logan Christmas Bird Count Spreadsheet
  •   
    Feeder Sector Report
    Many thanks to Debi Evans for the participant summary and species checklist.
    Numbers for 2021 are in brackets: [#]

    Feeder Sector Report Summary 2021 [#] 2020 (2019 in parentheses)
    Participation: [23 people] 49 people, [39 hours 15 minutes] 53 hours (in 2019: 31 people, 29 hours; 15 minutes)
    Birds Seen: [548 birds] 1738 birds; [ 24 species] 32 species (in 2019: 775 birds; 20 species)
     
    Seen 2021 but not 2020: Brown Creeper, Canada Goose, Common Raven, Cooper’s Hawk.

    Seen last year (2020), but not this year (2021) for the feeder watch: Blue Jay, Cassin’s Finch, Evening Grosbeak, House Sparrow, Mountain Chickadee, Mourning Dove, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Ring-necked Pheasant, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Song Sparrow, Wild Turkeys
     
    The Feeder Watch Species List:
    American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) [3] 28 [one murder of 15 crows] (4)
    American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) [21] 88 (39)
    American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) [2] 4
    American Robin (Turdus migratorius) [26] 25 (48)
    Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) [26] 60 (52)
    Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia) [20] 37 (46)
    Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) [0] 1
    Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) [1]
    Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) [1]
    Cassin’s Finch (Haemorhous cassinii) [0] 28
    Cedar Waxwing (Bonbycilla cedrorum) [20] 2
    Common Raven (Corvus corax) [1]
    Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) [1]
    Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) (Junco hyemalis) [122] 340 (130)
    Dark-eyed Junco (Grey-headed) (Junco hyemalis) 1
    Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) (Junco hyemalis) 15
    Dark-eyed Junco (Pink-sided) (Junco hyemalis) 5
    Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) [1] 8 (7)
    Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) [38] 74 (44)
    European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) [76] 406 [2 large murmurations] (111)
    Evening Grosbeak (Coccothraustes vespertinus) [0] 2
    Hairy Woodpecker (Dryobates villosus) [3] 1
    House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) [105] 293 (154)
    House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) [0] 65 (41)
    Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria) [30] 91 (37)
    Mountain Chickadee (Poecile gambeli) [0] 12
    Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) [0] 17
    Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) [7] 12 (8)
    Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius) [1] 1
    Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus) [23] 106 (30)
    Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) [0] 14 (3)
    Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) [1] 2
    Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) [8] 85
    Ring-necked Pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) [0] 9 (4)
    Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) [0] 2
    Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) [0] 19
    Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) [5] 15 (5)
    White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) [4] 12
    Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) [0] 29 (12)
     
    2021 Christmas Bird Count Narrative per Jim Cane
    The 2021 annual Christmas Bird Count was like one other, being 2020, with the continued disruptions of the coronavirus contagion. To limit transmission, our local CBC coordinators distributed and collected count forms electronically, skipped the compilation potluck. We generally had few newcomers and no carpooling. I am optimistic that can return to our usual flocking behaviors in a year, they are sorely missed! Meanwhile, Mykel Beorchia organized our dedicated crew in continuing the long-standing tradition in this, Logan’s 67th annual CBC. Makenna Johnson ably tackled recording and reporting, made more difficult and less fun without the potluck compilation.

    After a chilly start to December 18th, temperatures warmed into the 20’s. It was calm and sunny, with road surfaces largely bare and dry. The good weather was a boon for bird watching. The agreeable weather, coupled with a flock of committed, capable observers (still being tallied), plus swelling ranks of feeder watchers, allowed us to find 83 species. We found over 72,000 individual birds, with wwaaayy too many European Starlings (64,710)!

    We (the Roamer mostly) found a record number of Yellow-rumped Warblers. Five merlins and 34 pipits were near-record numbers. Owlers did a great job, prowling around in the chilly predawn to hear 5 of the 7 species possible (and barn owls later in the day). For the third straight (and only) years, a few great-tailed grackles were swaggering around too. Several rarities for our many years of counting were also encountered, including 2 white-winged scoters, a savannah sparrow and the first ever male black-throated blue warbler (an eastern species). On eBird you can see pictures of that warbler taken near Lundstrom Park on the Logan bench.

    Other species were unusually scarce for this year’s count, including several less common (for the CBC) web-footed friends, including: pied-billed grebe, bufflehead, redhead, canvasback, pintail, and wood duck. More disturbingly, several formerly common species – American wigeon, ring-necked duck, shoveler – were well below-average in numbers as well. Even the numbers of mallards and gadwalls seen have tumbled over the past few years to ¼ of their usual counts during the CBC. Happily, at least common goldeneye numbers were back up. Snipe and wood duck have succumbed to lost wetlands filled by rampant development. That may also explain red-winged blackbirds being at 15% of their usual numbers. Gull number are inevitably down now that the landfill is closed. Declining sightings of ducks may reflect (so to speak) warmer weather and more open water across the valley these past few counts, allowing birds to spread around to where we don’t see them. Irruptive species were absent from our count, including crossbills, evening grosbeaks, Bohemian waxwings. Cassin’s finches have been seen in the mountains recently, and redpolls (!) were working river birches for seed up Smithfield Canyon in January, but they did not grace our count. We also missed the elusive Pacific wren and the thin high voice of the golden-crowned kinglet, although they are around.

    Our count relies entirely on the keen eyes, identification skills and perseverance of our volunteer birders, and the hours spent organizing and later compiling by Makenna, Mykel and Debi. We greatly appreciate so many stalwarts sticking with the count despite the absence of the evening compilation festivities and swapping of tales about tail feathers seen. As a consequence, there is no gap in the continuum of our local CBC over the past half century. Next year, we look forward to again welcoming new participants in our cars, carpooling with chums, and a return to the chattery enthusiasm of our traditional compilation potluck. I wrote those words last year, but really mean it this time!

    Signed: Jim Cane
       
    2021 Logan Christmas Bird Count Summary (Redacted for Privacy)
    2021 Logan Christmas Bird Count Spreadsheet (Download .xlsz file. Participants redacted for Privacy)
    2021 Logan Christmas Bird Count Participants (Redacted for Privacy)