These are the preliminary Home Sector watch counts from the 2024 Cache Valley (Logan) Christmas Bird Count
Sector numbers will be added after the entire count has been submitted to National Audubon.
Contents:
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- 2024 Christmas Bird Count Narrative per Jim Cane
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- Logan Christmas Bird Count Spreadsheet
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- National Audubon Christmas Bird Count Analysis Tools
Please Enjoy Jim Cane’s 2024 Summary,
Our First Count Report
2024 Christmas Bird Count Narrative per Jim Cane
Participants in Cache Valley’s 2024 annual Christmas Bird Count enjoyed a clear, calm day that warmed into the low 30’s. Eric Bingham and sector leaders mustered our dedicated crew for the long-standing tradition in this, Logan’s 65th annual CBC over the past 69 years. Eric ably tackled recording, powered by our pizza dinner. Eric plus his son Thomas, Debi Evans and Jim Cane again compiled and reported our count results to national Audubon.
The good weather on December 14th was a boon for comfortable bird watching by our flock of committed, capable observers both in the field and at home feeders. We collectively found 102 species plus 2 more during count week. 50,763 individual birds were seen. Our crew counted record numbers of Wigeons (383), Green-winged Teal (1220), Bufflehead (67) Mourning Doves (251), Belted Kingfishers (19) Northern Mockingbirds (2), Great-tailed Grackles (45), and Turkey (244). Most surface waters were free of ice but for the sewage lagoons, were almost entirely frozen over.
Two species had never before been seen on our count, being a Dunlin, a Gray Catbird. Two Northern Mockingbirds doubled the number ever seen on our previous counts. With a warming climate, their winter range in Utah is likely to extend northward, as did that of the Lesser Goldfinch about 20 years ago. Will the occasional stray blue jays (2 seen this year) find each other some year and nest here? We hope the laggard migrants have flown to warmer climes after perhaps being fooled by the record warmth of this past autumn.
Hardy souls counted a few owls either a-calling (Great Horned, Pygmy, Short-eared and Saw-whet) or perched (barn). Screech owls were again silent. Diurnal raptor numbers generally came close to their 20-year average, excepting sparse counts of Rough-legged Hawks (still up north?) and Sharp-shinned hawks (which on other days have been swooping feeder birds).
A few Old World species comprised 2/3 of all the birds that we tallied. Our pheasant count returned to our 20 year average (76). Our record count of mourning doves is a welcome sign that they can co-exist with the Eurasian Collared-Dove newcomers.
Some species are dependable regulars, having been counted every year for the past half century of our CBC. These include too many starlings & house sparrows, but also five duck species (incl. Common Goldeneye & Gadwalls), Great Blue Herons, Dippers & Kingfishers, many of the diurnal raptors (incl. Golden Eagles and Kestrels), Downy Woodpeckers & Flickers, Rock Pigeons, Magpies & Larks, Chickadees, Solitaires, Towhees, House Finches, American Goldfinches and more.
Our count relies entirely on the keen eyes, identification skills and perseverance of our volunteer birders. We again thank Eric and Debi for fussy hours spent organizing and later compiling the count for Audubon. We greatly appreciate so many stalwarts sticking with our count, particularly sector leaders, and welcome returning new regulars. As a consequence, there is no gap in the continuum of our local CBC over the past half century.
Jim Cane
Logan Christmas Bird Count Spreadsheet
2024 Logan Christmas Bird Count Spreadsheet (Download .xlsz file. Participants redacted for Privacy)
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National Audubon Christmas Bird Count Reports & Analysis Tools
Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count Results-Year 124
Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count-Historical Results By Count
Where Have All The Birds Gone? Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count Trend Viewer
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