Now that the CBC season is over, it is time to reflect on the state of Iowa's winter birds. I've noticed in listserv messages from other states that sparrow numbers have been down considerably.
Since 1937 the IOU has a compiled and published the summary of each year's count data in Iowa Bird Life. That first year there were only nine counts completed and in 2024-25 we were up to 55! These published summaries will continue going forward, but instead of publishing large tables of hard to read information, the data will be available almost immediately as compilers enter their counts. As of today there are still many missing for this year, but you can review the preliminary results on https://iowabirds.org/Connections/CBCReports/ or by clicking on the "Iowa Results" link on the main CBC page. Naturally, weather conditions and the availability of open water impact count totals a great deal, but over time it will be interesting to see the differences year to year in the ten-year summaries. Enjoy!
