Date: 1/14/25 8:44 am From: ed pandolfino via groups.io <erpfromca...> Subject: [centralvalleybirds] Lincoln CBC Dec 26
The 65 hearty participantsin this year’s Lincoln count (the 22nd) had to deal with cold windsand grey skies all day long and the results reflected that. We posted a new lowfor total species of 127 (128 count week) compared to our average of 135.
We added one new speciesfor the count, a long overdue Chipping Sparrow found by Ted Beedy. We had a“near miss” on a likely Long-eared Owl seen briefly in flight by Cliff Hawley butnot included in our total. Lesser Yellowlegs was found for only the 7thtime and Sandhill Cranes for only the 10th time. Given the conditions,managing to find foraging White-throated Swifts (in two locations) and TreeSwallows (in one) was unexpected. Our total of 251 Green-winged Teal was theonly significant new “high” for us.
There were plenty of“misses” and new lows. Our inability to find Brown Creepers and Golden-crownedKinglets was understandable, given the conditions, but missing Common Goldeneyefor the first time was a shock. We also missed Canvasback for only the 3rdtime. We missed Rough-legged Hawk and Golden Eagle, species we get about halfthe time on this count. Our only Eurasian Wigeon was a count week bird and the8th time we missed it on count day.
New low totals includedAmerican Pipit, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, Fox, Lincoln’s, andGolden-crowned Sparrows. We recorded only two Ring-necked Pheasants, a speciesthat persists only because of regular releases of captive-raised birds. The lownumbers of American Robins is something I have observed (anecdotally) thiswinter throughout the area. I think this species is more “irruptive” in winterthan is generally realized, with large numbers some winters, and few in others.It would be interesting to know how many (if any) of our breeding robins stayaround for the winter.
Ed PandolfinoSacramento
