Christmas Bird Count 2023
Summary
This year's CBC was held Monday, Dec. 18. It was a fairly sunny and pleasant day in the mid-40’s to mid-50’s. Unfortunately, the birds didn't think it was as pleasant as the birders did. They seemed to stay home while the birders were out. Our numbers were down this year from 2022.
We did decrease from five field teams to three but covered the best parts of our historical territory. We had a total of 16 field birders and 37 feeder birders.
Our total count was 2,325 birds and 72 species. In comparison, we saw 4,176 birds and 73 species in 2022. That's a large difference in number of birds, but not species. However, both field and feeder birders said that it was an unusually slow day of birding. For example, several people reported seeing multiple waterfowl the day before and the day after our official count. However, on the day of the count, waterfowl were difficult to find. The same was said about common birds like American goldfinch.
Highest count was American crow at 314, followed by dark-eyed juncos at 181. Canada geese at 173, starlings at 147, and turkey vultures at 142 rounded out the top five.
One year does not make a trend; however, the lower number of birds is troubling. What can we do to improve this number? First, we can continue to improve the habitat around our Village by planting native plants and replacing mono-culture lawns with a more diverse planting mix. We can keep cats indoors since they are very efficient bird killers – even declawed cats. It’s their nature. We can build brush piles for birds to hide and forage. We can leave snags standing to provide nesting areas. There are many more ways to improve habitat. Check out the “Attracting Birds” section of this website.
Secondly, we need more birders in the field. More birders usually equates to seeing more birds.
Thirdly, we can all improve our birding skills! When we have a birder like Dr. Dan Scheiman on a team, the bird count goes up. He uses his ears and his eyes – and that takes practice and time out in the field. Start practicing now so you can join a field team in December 2024!! We love our feeder counters, but we really need more field counters. Think about joining the HSV Audubon birding classes in March. Walk Beaver Dam Trail with a better birder than you so you can learn on site. Get on a field trip. Sit on your back porch with the Merlin sound ID app and see if you can visually find all the birds that Merlin hears.
Thanks go to our team leaders: Mike Cigelman, Jeri Garcia, Vic Prislipsky, and Sharon Prislipsky, who led our feeder counters this year. Thanks to all you birders who either counted at your feeders or went out into the field. Your efforts helped keep this citizen science project prospering.
