Last Saturday's count was conducted under pretty raw conditions with a nasty northwest wind and temperatures not reaching ten degrees. Still, we ended up with 60 species as noted before. One bird--eastern bluebird--seen during count week does not contribute to our count day total.
Species list is as follows followed by some not-so-random thoughts on the count.
Cackling goose-2 Canada goose-1955 Trumpeter swan-2 Mallard-351 Redhead-4 Lesser scaup-3 Common goldeneye-8 Hooded merganser-1 Ring-necked pheasant-3 Gray partridge-28 Wild Turkey-191 Golden eagle-1 Northern harrier-2 Sharp-shinned hawk-1 Cooper's hawk-3 Bald eagle-35 Glaucous gull-1 Rock pigeon-349 Eurasian collared dove-36 Mourning dove-1 Eastern screech owl-3 Great horned owl-5 Barred owl-1 Long-eared owl-2 Short-eared owl-1 Red-bellied woodpecker-25 Downy woodpecker-84 Hairy woodpecker-53 Northern flicker-4 Pileated woodpecker-8 American kestrel-3 Merlin-3 Prairie falcon-1 Northern shrike-1 Blue Jay-83 American crow-225 Common raven-7 Horned lark-1 Black-capped chickadee-245 Red-breasted nuthatch-7 White-breasted nuthatch-107 Brown creeper-2 Eastern bluebird-count week (not countable for our total) American robin-34 European starling-1789 Cedar waxwing-79 Snow bunting-13 American tree sparrow-2 Fox sparrow-1 Dark-eyed junco-658 Harris's sparrow-1 White-throated sparrow-23 Song sparrow-4 Northern cardinal-24 Red-winged blackbird-16 House finch-291 Purple finch-45 Redpoll-23 Pine siskin-6 American goldfinch-75 House sparrow-477
--I believe we had the most participants ever, right around 54, including about 40 in the field plus 14 feeder watchers. Obviously this adds immeasurably to our ability to detect and count birds.
--Some exceptionally good species were found including golden eagle (for only the third time); the first-ever glaucous gull; long-eared owl (for only the 8th time), trumpeter swan (third time); prairie falcon (7th time); and northern harrier for the 7th time. Weirdly, there is a count record of one other gull in the late 90s that was recorded as a herring gull. I highly suspect this may well have been a glaucous as well given their similarity and the time of year.
--Some other iffy data can be gleaned if one takes the time to look through the historical record from our count circle. For example, about 60 years ago we recorded 370 song sparrows. Not a chance. That is someone fat-fingering the wrong column. Then, 44 years ago, 16 ravens were counted, another highly suspect number since these birds have only recently been moving into our area. Oh, let's not forget the American three-toed woodpecker recorded in the 1950s here. While it is *possible*, I have serious doubts.
--Like every count, there were some low numbers or even missing birds. Patrick described the Moorhead lagoon system as being more frozen than ever leading to our low waterfowl diversity and totals. Red-tailed hawk was not detected this year despite us getting it 30 times in the past. Common grackle was our biggest miss (46 times historically) followed by snowy owl (43 times), bohemian waxwing (41 times) and golden-crowned kinglet (32 times). Some species that seemed low were redpoll and pine siskin, plus we missed any crossbill or pine/evening grosbeak. We set a record for robins last year with 845, this year we had only 34.
--We set a record for dark-eyed junco (658), edging out last year's record. I believe this is due to more and diligent feeder watchers and more folks in the field.
--Ravens have become established in our area making this--what I'm confident will be--a long term trend, similar I suppose, to the establishment of Eurasian collared doves. Trumpeter swans seem to be leaning that way also as the nearby Minnesota population continues to grow. On the other hand species such as greater prairie chicken, which used to be regular on the count in the 1950s, are only rarely seen here anymore. So goes the fluctuating populations as our count circle and habitat continues to change. Once the Red River Diversion is finally complete (2027?) it will be interesting to see what that does to the bird diversity and numbers there.
