Looking over careful records kept of the Christmas bird counts
Ive been involved with, starting in 1958, reveals an interesting
personal point. It is so easy, in reviewing a particular count
and its results, to recall incredibly detailed observations and
experiences you and your group had that day, some occurring over
40 years ago. The excitement of the event and its strong ongoing
memories help to make life more interesting.
Several years after we left our work at the Ridges, where we
had coordinated the winter bird counts for 27 years, we decided
to begin two new counts in Door County, a Sturgeon Bay count
covering the central part of the county, and the Brussels count
taking in much of the southern part of the county.
The total number of people involved on the most recent of
these two counts was 93 people. The Sturgeon Bay count on Dec.
15, 2001 had 65 people helping while the Brussels count on Dec.
22, 2001 had 28 helping. Twelve people worked at observing birds
for both counts, bringing the actual total of participants to 81
people. Charlotte has a wonderful knack for recruiting a lot of
good birdwatchers.
This was the sixth year we have been organizing these two
counts. Depending upon weather conditions during the previous
few weeks, and availability of food for the birds, the number of
species seen on counts can vary considerably from year to year.
The total number of species seen from year to year on the
Sturgeon Bay count, starting in 1996, were: 46, 59, 59, 58, 54,
and 72. The totals for the Brussels counts, beginning in 1996,
were: 38, 53, 39, 61, 46, and 56.
Quite a few records were set with the counts in 2001, some due
to the mild weather and lack of snow. The following is a list of
"firsts." Record high number of species for the
Sturgeon Bay count 72; record high individual birds for
Sturgeon Bay count 14,497; Record high individual birds for
Brussels count 7245; warmest temperatures for both days,
reaching 40 degrees F. on Dec. 15 and 44 on Dec. 22.
Combine excellent observing conditions and really good birders
and good sightings are bound to occur. Here is the list of
first-time birds seen on our Dec. 2001 counts; mute swan,
white-winged scoter, black scoter, sandhill crane, great
black-backed gull, belted kingfisher, winter wren and hoary
redpoll on Dec. 15, and an Iceland gull and common yellowthroat
on Dec. 22. Of vital importance for accepting rarely-seen
species on winter counts is very careful documentation, a point
that is strongly stressed with all participants.
The total accumulation of species for both the Sturgeon Bay
and Brussels winter counts, over a six-year period, was 103
species. Just for comparison and an item of interest, here is a
list of species seen only on one count day in the previous five
years (not counting the 2001 counts) we have been conducting
these surveys: wood duck, green-winged teal, hermit thrush, brown
thrasher, Savannah sparrow, fox sparrow, white-throated sparrow,
meadowlark species, white-winged crossbill and evening grosbeak.
As was previously mentioned, a high number of serious,
qualified counters is needed to carefully document the birds on a
given day in a circular area having a diameter of 15 miles, the
official size of all count areas in the country. The number of
counters in the field, carefully covering swamps, open fields,
marshes, agricultural areas, etc. is of special importance in
arriving at a fairly accurate account of "all" birds
present on the count day.
Some of the other species seen only in very small numbers on a
few counts over the past six years help to bring up the totals.
Included were: common loon, pied-billed and horned grebes,
great-blue heron, mute swan, northern pintail, canvasback,
white-winged and black scoters, ruddy duck, northern goshawk,
merlin, sandhill crane, Iceland gull, great black-backed gull,
snowy owl, short-eared owl, belted kingfisher, northern flicker,
winter wren, varied thrush, yellow-rumped warbler, common
yellowthroat, Savannah sparrow, song sparrow, red-winged
blackbird,, common grackle, brown-headed cowbird and hoary
redpoll.
The ten highest-in-number birds seen on the Sturgeon Bay count
last Dec. 15 were: Canada geese 4033, ring-billed gull 1705,
European starling 1263, mallard 1100, American coot 784,
American crow 755, herring gull 686, black-capped chickadee
587, bufflehead 514, and pine siskin 384.
We look back to our low counts with interest too. The
Brussels count of 3470 total birds in 1998 was due to blowing
snow nearly all day. The 5260 total for the day on the 2000
Sturgeon Bay count was due to a pesky combination of snow and
rain making seeing the birds very difficult.
Were already planning and looking forward to our next
Christmas bird counts. Do you want to help? The Sturgeon Bay
event will be on Sat. Dec. 14, 2002 while the Brussels count will
be on Sat. Dec. 21, 2002. See you there!
An uncommon bird seen during the Sturgeon Bay Christmas Bird Count Dec. 15
was the great black-backed gull.
This column appeared in the Door County Advocate
on 01/11/2002.
© Copyright 2002 Roy Lukes. All rights reserved.
