15th Annual Christmas Bird Count – 2011
By Art & Barb Straub
Beautiful weather…45° F…sunshine…what more could one ask for on December 17th to bring about a fantastic Christmas Bird Count (CBC)? The birds!!! Judith Jones, Le Sueur, said she saw the least number of birds on her count since she started in 2001. Milt and Bev Meierbachtol, Henderson, summed it up: “So many of our winter birds had been here during the first part of November, now we don’t see them at the feeders.” Linda Rist, Sand Prairie, said, “Thank goodness for unplowed fields and woods, otherwise we wouldn’t have gotten the number of birds we had on the count.”
More than 90 children, women and men participated in the 15th annual Ney Nature Center CBC. In spite of the low counts, the number of species of birds reported was about 40. Without Mark and Shirley Katzenmeyer’s Canada goose count of 295, that total would have been 20! If not for a lone Red-breasted Nuthatch, two Brown Creepers, a couple of White-throated Sparrows, and a late migrating Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, species numbers would have been even lower. Even though the Minnesota River beckoned with open water, the usual ducks, kingfishers, even the Great Blue Herons of previous counts made themselves not just scarce, but entirely absent.
The event was conducted within a 7.5 mile radius the Ney Nature Center. One of the “counters” drove the entire circumference of the assigned circle, plus “zigzags” on gravel byways in between, taking eight hours and traveling 150 miles, and saw not a single Ring-necked Pheasant or a Wild Turkey. Fortunately, observers near ravines tallied 173 turkeys, and 18 pheasants. (A few pheasants DID survive the winter of 2010.)
Last year’s species’ winners were the Dark-eyed Juncos with 410. This year 310 chose to appear, which gives one a clue as to the scarcity of birds…perhaps the “open winter” thus far was the culprit, an unusual summer of high temperatures during the nesting season, disease, changing habitats, increase in natural enemies, severe storms or autumn drought. When CBC reports like the NNC reach Audubon, answers to the scarcity may be forthcoming. Time will tell.
This year as participants finished their tasks and turned in their results, they had the opportunity to enjoy refreshments and comradeship at the NNC. Special thanks to Art and Barb Straub for organizing the event in conjunction with NNC staff, especially resource manager, Michelle Bridges. Organizers are grateful to the many participants and look forward to the 2012 CBC. Comments regarding the CBC report are welcomed. A complete tally of the 2011 census may be obtained by contacting the NNC at 507-248-3474.
2010 Christmas Bird Count
Pictures by Becky Pollack
2009 Christmas Bird Count
Summary by Art and Barb Straub
More than 100 children, women and men participated in the annual Christmas Bird Count of Saturday, December 19th. The day was, as many put it, “for the birds,” as, due to the inclement weather, birds made themselves scarce. Area ponds, lakes and streams froze over early, this eliminated most waterfowl, thus the number of bird SPECIES observed was 41, yet this was about average for the annual count.
The event was conducted within a 7.5 mile radius of LeSueur County’s Ney Learning Center near Henderson. The species which garnered the migratory bird population prize was….the Dark-eyed Junco, with more than 800 reported. Juncos are often termed “Snow-birds,” and arrived especially early in autumn, 2009. Their numbers have escalated in this area especially after the deep snow accumulated. Juncos may be readily seen in weedy road-side ditches, and darting near woody copses and ravines. Their numbers have greatly increased over the 13 years of the local bird count.
Wild turkey numbers were the greatest ever, 420 observed, which coincides with recent DNR action. Turkey hunting permits will be awarded at an all time record high this spring…..providing of course, that the deep crusty snow and depredation by heavy coyote population doesn’t reduce their numbers drastically. The next few weeks will determine wild turkey winter survival. (Just 18 of these newly reintroduced birds were counted in 1957 during the CBC.)
Other birds enumerated in large numbers included Black-capped Chickadees (330); American Goldfinch (264); Northern Cardinals (253); Bluejays (232). An abundance of American Crows (264); House Sparrows (535); European Starlings (385) were spotted as well.
Just two surprises in the 2009 count…a lone Fox Sparrow braved the bluster under the feeders at Ney, while an observer counted four Pine Siskins, the first reported observation of that species in the area.
Comments regarding the CBC report are welcomed, while a complete tally of the 2009 census may be obtained by contacting the Ney Learning Center at 507-248-3474. Christmas Bird Count organizers are grateful to the many actors and actresses in the 2009 enumeration, and look forward to the 2010 CBC.
