Annual Christmas Bird Count Totals Are In

By Scott Richardson;srichardson@pantagraph.com

Members of the John Wesley Powell chapter of the Audubon Society identified a record number of bird species when they braved the cold earlier this month to take part in the annual Christmas Bird Count.

Ornithologist Dale Birkenholz, an Illinois State University professor emeritus of biology and the annual count compiler, said the group counted 78 kinds of birds.

“The big factor is whether the lakes freeze or not, and this year our waterfowl count was really great,” Birkenholz said.

The count included several rare types of birds. A trumpeter swan hung around Evergreen Lake at Comlara Park, two greater scaup were swimming on White Oak Lake in Bloomington, a spotted towhee was also at Comlara and a northern shrike was spotted at ParkLands Foundation’s Merwin Preserve.

The group also saw a Mandarin duck normally found only in Asia. Birkenholz speculated the bird escaped from someone’s private collection.

The Audubon Society organized the first Christmas Bird Count more than a century ago to boost appreciation of birds in response to what was a barbaric hunting event of that period. Hunters would spend one day every Christmas season shooting as many birds as possible.

Scientists soon realized the Christmas Bird Counts, if done right, could provide a quick “snapshot” of bird numbers and their behavior during the cold months throughout North America. Teams of bird watchers fan out and identify species in the same 15-mile circle at the same time each year. As a result, Christmas Bird Counts spot population trends up and down and shifts in migration patterns over time.

During the most recent count, 17 volunteers from the Powell chapter set out in seven groups despite steady snow and a brisk northeast wind.

Together, they counted a total of 14,478 birds. Canada geese were the most plentiful at 4,945. The smaller cackling goose numbered 1,720. Mallards numbered 1,544; American crows, 1,450; house sparrows, 832; American tree sparrows, 762; starlings, 568; and rock pigeons, 522.

Birkenholz said the crow numbers indicate the species has recovered in Central Illinois from the devastating effects of West Nile virus, a disease which birds carry. Some species, including crows and blue jays, were hit harder than others.

Other interesting findings:- Though some observers have seen a decline in red-headed woodpeckers, the McLean County Christmas Count noted 17 at ParkLands and around lakes Bloomington and Evergreen.- The number of American tree sparrow was the highest seen in many years.- Eastern bluebirds, once extremely rare in winter, are now recorded locally every winter.

Ominous note

Conservation Biology recently published a study concluding that climate change and habitat loss could cause the extinction of nearly a third of all land-based bird species worldwide by the year 2100.

The research is one of the first to look at extinction rates using the most recent climate change data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the Nobel Peace Prize this year with former Vice President Al Gore.

“Of the land-bird species predicted to go extinct, 79 percent of them are not currently considered threatened with extinction, but many will be if we cannot stop climate change,” says Cagan Sekercioglu, a senior research scientist at Stanford University and lead author of the study.

More bad news for birds

Audubon and American Bird Conservancy say 178 bird species in the continental U.S. and 39 in Hawaii are on WatchList 2007.

The joint effort looks at population trends, distribution and threats for continued survival. About 700 species are studied in all.

The list includes 59 continental and 39 Hawaiian species of greatest concern on the red list. Another 119 are in the “yellow” category of seriously declining or rare species.

Reasons include habitat loss, energy exploration and extraction and the impact of global warming.

Not all news is bad. Some WatchList species are improving from conservation action, including the Endangered Species Act.

Analysis is based on data from several sources, including the annual Christmas Bird Count and the annual Breeding Bird Survey.

Among the most imperiled species are; Gunnison sage-grouse of southwest Colorado and Utah; lesser prairie chicken; California condor; whooping crane; piping plover; black-capped vireo; Florida scrub jay; golden-cheeked warbler; Kirtland’s warbler; red-cockaded woodpecker; tricolored blackbird; yellow rail; and Xantus’ murrelet.

Henhouses work

Recent research in Manitoba spells good news closer to home.

Henhouses are boosting mallard production in an area around Minnedosa in the parklands of southwestern Manitoba. The houses are like the ones the Illinois Prairie Chapter of Delta Waterfowl placed at Evergreen Lake in northern McLean County and the Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge on the Illinois River.

Nest success for mallards using henhouses in Manitoba was 58 percent. Just 12 percent to 15 percent is needed to maintain the population.

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