Christmas Bird Count
by Herb Wisner

If Sunday Jan. 4th had been as rainy as Saturday, Jan. 3rd, you'd probably be attending a memorial service (well some of you might have come) for the count organizer (me) instead of reading this report. The counters ire would have taken its toll. Fortunately the 4th was quite a nice day with only the slightest of a sprinkle and temperatures in the 40's. The result was a good count, species wise. Numbers of many individuals were down for a number of species however, though this was not uniformly true.

The down numbers included the less appreciated Starlings and House sparrows (not a bad turn of events) but also included some more appreciated ones such as Wood Ducks, Pheasants, California Quail, Mew Gulls, even Ring-billed Gulls (though not exactly hard to find), Acorn Woodpeckers, Winter Wrens, Varied Thrushes, Savannah Sparrows and Blackbirds in general (no huge flocks). The lower numbers of these were balanced by higher numbers of others. The recent news reports of the problems being created by Canada Geese were supported by the very high count of 20,000 plus in our count circle. Other highs included Gadwalls, Hooded Mergansers, White-tailed Kites, Bald Eagles, Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawks, Rock Doves (watch out when you go downtown), Mourning Doves (a record number), Bushtits, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Western Bluebirds (in the WOW category), Townsend's Warblers, White-crowned Sparrows and American Goldfinches.

When we speak of high or low numbers we are making historical comparisons, so even if the numbers on the tally list don't sound extravagant they do represent departures from averages. Some species deserve special note. Cattle Egrets have been appearing in the northwest for several years now and may possibly increase in the future. They have an amazing history in the last 60 years or so, having moved from Africa to South America, to the West Indies, to Florida then up the east coast and across the southern tier of states and now northward along the west coast. It is believed that they found an unoccupied niche and have exploited it well. They make a living in fields to a much greater extent than others of their ilk which tend more to wetlands. Turkey Vultures and Ospreys have traditionally headed south by mid Fall. A few Ospreys have been experimenting with staying around here for several years now. The Turkey Vultures are newcomers to this idea. Red-tailed Hawks are mostly what you may notice when driving up I-5 in the winter. This appears to be sort of bumper year for the gathering of their clan here. Rock Doves are those blame pigeons that irritate some people by the messiness of their habits. What we need to control these is a nice pair (or two) of Peregrines nesting on our high rises as they have been doing in some eastern big cities. Mourning Doves are not normally as easy to find here in the valley as they are in the central parts of the state or in the plains states of the U. S. Home feeders turned up most of these in a couple of locations.

If you hang up a humming bird feeder in almost any part of town there is a good chance that an Anna's Hummingbird will find it and keep it company most of the winter. We hardly expect to find Barn Swallows or House Wrens in these climes in the winter. Insect catching isn't very easy as a rule now. That little fact didn't seem to bother either of those species however this year. Don't look for them every winter however. Bushtits are those little gray, longish tailed birds that fly through yards and elsewhere. Don't look for them every winter however. They are more reliable come May. Bushtits are those little gray, longish tailed birds that fly through yards and elsewhere in fairly large flocks. They like suet in case you'd like them to stop with you for a few minutes. I think that most all of our field counters probably came across a flock, or maybe it was vice versa. With all those Western Bluebirds seen it's time to whip out your tools and knock together a number of appropriate bird houses and get them up in the open country outside of town, especially west of Eugene. It would be nice to keep a number of them around to enjoy. People have complained about not seeing many Varied Thrushes this winter. They do have their ups and downs over the years. Maybe the weather has been mild enough to keep them out in their more normal haunts. People who have been keeping several sunflower seed and thistle feeders in their yards have appeared to strike a responsive chord in the goldfinches, mostly American but also in some cases, Lesser Goldfinches which, at best, occur in much fewer numbers at any time of year. Pine Siskins have sometimes been around in such huge numbers that everybody gets to see some. This year there was only one back yard feeder that enticed any to show up. They are quite tame little birds which come readily to the hand for sunflower seeds - if you're a little patient. They have had hard times the past couple of years because of a disease problem. They'll be back in quantity though, if past experience is any guide.

Two species that we can't count are the Egyptian Geese and the lone Black Swan. The former have been sighted flying freely west of town for 3 or 4 years now. The latter has taken up with the Tundra Swans, spending the night on Fern Ridge Reservoir and flying out with the swans to the feeding fields north of town during the day. Since it is an Australian species it's beyond imagination to think that it got here on its own. There are a number of people raising exotic water fowl (and other species of birds too) so maybe we'll hear from them about the origin of this guy (or gal). Such birds are, of course, interesting to see. It was listed on OBOL (Oregon Birders on Line) and as a result a number of people have gone to check it out.

Well, you can have some fun looking over the total list and cogitating on the whys and wherefores of the numbers of each species of interest to you. If you want to join the effort next time around keep Sunday Jan. 3 , 1999 open. And, if you're among those who helped out this year, thanks very much. Your devotion is much appreciated.


98th CBC Eugene OR 1-4-98 results follow:

Common Loon 1
Pied-billed Grebe 91
Western Grebe 27
Am. White Pelican 2
Double-crest. Cormorant 258
American Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron 133
Great Egret 61
Cattle Egret 2
Green Heron 1
Tundra Swan 2000
Great. White-front. Goose 2
Canada Goose 20000
Wood Duck 8
Green-winged Teal 452
Mallard 3765
Northern Pintail 3155
Northern Shoveler 193
Gadwall 110
Eurasian Wigeon 3
American Wigeon 1034
Canvasback 18
Ring-necked Duck 74
Greater Scaup 5
Lesser Scaup 276
Bufflehead 33
Hooded Merganser 28
Common Merganser 226
Ruddy Duck 15
duck species 5329
Turkey Vulture 5
Osprey 2
White-tailed Kite 18
Bald Eagle 9
Northern Harrier 47
Sharp-shinned Hawk 5
Coopers Hawk 5
Red-shouldered Hawk 8
Red-tailed Hawk 150
Rough-legged hawk 8
American Kestrel 82
Merlin 4
Ring-necked Pheasant 35
Wild Turkey 98
California Quail 77
Virginia Rail 4
American Coot 739
Killdeer 1991
Greater Yellowlegs 26
Spotted Sandpiper 7
Least Sandpiper 38
Dunlin 905
Long-billed Dowitcher 74
Common Snipe 69
Mew Gull 14
Ring-billed Gull 1239
California Gull 143
Herring Gull 15
Thayer's Gull 4
Glaucous-winged Gull 294
Gull species 3606
Rock Dove 1117
Mourning Dove 419
Barn Owl 3
Western Screech Owl 12
Great Horned Owl 9
Northern Pygmy Owl 1
Short-eared Owl 3
Northern Saw-whet Owl 3
Anna's Hummingbird 27
Belted Kingfisher 30
Acorn Woodpecker 10
Red-breasted Sapsucker 15
Downy Woodpecker 39
Hairy Woodpecker 3
No. (Yellow-shaft.) Flicker 1
No. (Red-shaft.) Flicker 297
Pileated Woodpecker 5
Barn Swallow 2
Steller's Jay 130
Scrub Jay 617
American Crow 1765
Common Raven 34
Black-capped Chickadee 591
Chest.-backed Chickadee 93
Bushtit 970
Red-breasted Nuthatch 86
White-breasted Nuthatch 15
Brown Creeper 38
Bewick's Wren 65
House Wren 1
Winter Wren 34
Marsh Wren 25
Golden-crowned Kinglet 369
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 465
Western Bluebird 134
Hermit Thrush 13
American Robin 1025
Varied Thrush 31
Wrentit 4
American Pipit 153
Cedar Waxwing 179
Northern Shrike 5
European Starling 8707
Hutton's Vireo 10
Orange-crowned Warbler 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler 79
Townsend's Warbler 86
Spotted Towhee 361
Savannah Sparrow 29
Fox Sparrow 305
Song Sparrow 876
Lincoln's Sparrow 32
White-throated Sparrow 11
Golden-crowned Sparrow 786
White-crowned Sparrow 229
Harris Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed (Slate-col.) Junco.. 1
Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco. 1528
Red-winged Blackbird 892
Western Meadowlark 157
Brewer's Blackbird 659
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Purple Finch 31
House Finch 509
Pine Siskin 6
Lesser Goldfinch 27
American Goldfinch 214
House Sparrow 330

125 species
71,843 individual birds

Seen during the count period:
Black-crowned Night Heron
Egyptian Geese
Black Swan
(Note: these last 2 species don't count since they are, very likely, escapes from a breeding facility.)

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