By Liz Sheppard, Naturalist
On Saturday December 20th we held our 29th Annual Winter Bird Count! It was a wonderfully sunny day, unlike the previous 2 years. While we were not plagued by decreased visibility from fog, we did have high winds. During the day they were averaging at 18 mph, so most of the birds weren’t flying. While that was a little disappointing, we have been getting plenty of reports of bird activity this winter. It is a bummer that we didn’t see high numbers of birds on the day of the count, but that happens sometimes.
Clear winter sky, photo by Liz Sheppard
How many birds did we see? We aren’t sure as the final tally hasn’t been completed yet. Keep an eye out, though, as we will be updating things once we have finished compiling our reports! We want to make sure that everyone who participated has a chance to get their numbers back to us.
Our preliminary numbers show that we had at least 30 volunteers helping to count this year. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped! We truly appreciate your time and knowledge! Thanks to your efforts, we have records of Snow Buntings, Bald Eagles, Pine Siskins, Ring-necked Pheasants, Cedar Waxwings, and many more!
Cedar Waxwing in tree, photo by Skylar Ewing, https://www.pexels.com/photo/cute-cedar-waxwing-birds-sitting-on-snowy-tree-branches-with-red-berries-5754450/
There are some great birding opportunities this time of the year and I hope that you give yourself time to look at our feathered friends. Enjoy these sunny days, and keep an eye out for updates!
-Liz Sheppard
Naturalist
Note: None of the photos used were altered from their original format.