ENHS Nature Trails January 2003 Article 6

Christmas Bird Count 2002
by Herb Wisner

On a pretty nice day sandwiched among a number of rainy ones, some 115 bird counters were out in the field to add this year's statistics on the species to the data from previous years. Home counters numbered 29. Several records were set; not the least of which was the number of participants. Special note should be made of the oldest person on the count, Homer Roberts, who helped his son-in-law, David Novack, in area 11, located in the mid southern portion of our count circle.

If the numbers (for some species) reported by each of the teams are added up, the total is probably too high because of overlapping sightings. As a result, some educated guesses have been made in an attempt to report a (perhaps) more reasonable number. Listen to what follows and muse on your own reflections.

Going down the page in Check List order, we first encounter the Great Egrets. There were 14 more of these than ever before. They are easy to see from West 11th at Fern Ridge Reservoir or below the dam at the north end of the lake. Turkey Vulture numbers didn't change much, but it is interesting to think that these birds consider the number of menu items here in the winter sufficient to make staying more desirable than going through the travails of migration. How does one count Canada Geese? I know, by the 1000's. With huge flocks going back and forth over the whole count circle, plus those that are on the ground in the fields, it's nigh impossible to be sure of just how many there are. It seems that hunting doesn't make a dent. Anyway, there were more than ever before, no matter how calculated.

Birders appreciate the opportunity to list Eurasion Wigeons on their year list, though numbers don't change a great deal. This year American Wigeons were way down from the high of 3756 in 1985. Curious? Maybe the weather to the north has been mild enough to keep them there. Like exercising, why spend all that energy flying if you don't have to. Pintails were similarly here in reduced numbers. Canvasbacks don't show here every year, but at least we had one to build up our total species list. Buffleheads were an exception in that we had one more than the previous record; hardly significant, but it's nice to break records (except for starlings, house sparrows, rock doves and Canada geese).

Ospreys still hang around, although one would think that the competition from the large number of Cormorants might be a problem as far as the supply of fish is concerned.

According to observers in the Fern Ridge area, Northern Harriers were everywhere. Even accounting for possible overlap of observations, 102 this year beats the previous high of 94. It seems as though almost everyone tallied an accipiter. Only seven teams out of 24 failed to get either a Sharp-shinned or Cooper's hawk. While Kestrels were in ordinary numbers, the other two (expectable) falcons, Merlin and Peregrine, beat their previous record.

Semipalmated Plovers have only been tallied three times before. Twenty-seven more Greater Yellowlegs dined in west Eugene this year than heretofore, and the Lesser Yellowlegs put in their first appearance ever. Red Phalaropes sometimes show up in the fall; this year's single is only the second time for our count. We've been able to tally a Bonaparte's Gull only three times in the past. The Long-eared (Long-haired as reported in the newspaper) Owl was on stage for only the second time. Anna's Hummers were seen in a number of areas, but the home counters usually get the lion's share of these sightings--and maybe more people are providing the right flavor of syrup since the 45 seen this time beat the record of 32 in 1983. Belted Kingfishers didn't set any records, but most of the teams in the field chalked them off on their lists. The Lewis' Woodpecker was the first of its ilk to show (on the count here) since 1978. I hope that the observers invited it to come back often. We, I think, once had the U.S. record for Northern Flickers, and this year's total isn't far behind that number. Every team had two or more, and one team listed 38. It's a warning to make sure the walls of your house are carpenter ant free come spring.

Steller's (note that this is spelled with an 'er' not 'ar') Jays outdid their 1976 high by 40 individuals. How about having two Blue Jays (the real McCoys and not the impostors labeled by most locals as blue jays) compared to one previous show in 1978? Scrub Jays really outdid themselves, considerably beating an earlier record of 724. Swallows of any sort are not really expected during our winter months, so the Barn Swallows that showed were somewhat unique even though they were not first timers. Chestnut-backed Chickadees went for broke too, beating their previous high by more than 100. If all the Bushtits that were counted showed up in my backyard at once, I think every one would find a spot on the suet cake hanging there-- and be impossible to count. White-breasted Nuthatches continue to be difficult to find in the numbers of yore, but Brown Creepers, with somewhat similar habits, tied their earlier numbers. Kinglets hold their own pretty well, though if the Golden-crowned variety depended on me to count them, they would be out of luck. (There should be a rule that requires them to come down from the tops of the trees to be seen by more of us hearing impaired.)

Varied Thrush populations jump up and down from year to year. They were well above average in numbers this time around but far short of a record. It's interesting to note that they are unusual among thrushes at being willing to eat the small seeds put out by those of us who feed birds in our yards. Most, if not all thrushes go more for fruits and insects, etc.

To polish off this discussion we'll take note of the fact that Spotted Towhees (isn't it nice to have them back as a distinct species), White-throated Sparrows, Slate-colored form of the Dark-eyed Juncos, and Lesser Goldfinches all exceeded past glories. House sparrows did too, but I'm not even going to mention them.

AUDUBON WATCH LIST 2002
More than 800 bird species occur within the United States. With limited time and resources available to protect them, it is vital to know which species are at greatest risk. It is especially important to identify at-risk species before their populations become so small that protecting them from extinction is costly, in every sense of the word. Find out more at http://www.audubon.org/bird/watchlist/

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