- Darlene Hecomovich
- Posted On
Bird by bird: A recap of the Redbud Audubon 2012 Christmas Bird Count
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Redbud Audubon Society sponsors the Christmas Bird Count every year, a tradition that was started decades ago by conservationists in the East who wanted to replace the traditional “Christmas Hunt,” where hundreds of birds of all species were killed, to a practice of counting birds instead.
The birders participating in the 2012 Clear Lake Christmas Bird Count – held by the Redbud Audubon Society on Saturday, Dec. 15 – were challenged this year by the weather.
There was a minimum temperature of 26 and a high of 37, partly frozen still water, and strong snow flurries in the early afternoon resulting in one and a half inches of snow at the higher elevations and slippery road conditions throughout the count circle. The east wind was moderate with stronger gusts.
Despite all, counters ended up with 126 species, significantly less than the previous 10-year average of 141 species.
The total number of birds seen was 24,112, again less than the 10-year average of 49,335 birds.
The 10-year average figure is skewed somewhat by the fact that in the years of 2004, 2005 and 2006 there was an unusual high count for many water birds on Clear Lake due to the abundance of food, primarily threadfin shad and silversides.
Also in 2004, there was a boat with two observers on Clear Lake which significantly added to the numbers.
To put this in perspective, in the year 2004 there was a total of 135,312 individual birds counted, more than five and a half times the total number counted this year.
The weather did not discourage the participants, however, with 53 birders in the field and three feeder watchers, significantly higher than the 10-year average of 41 in the field and 3.5 at feeders.
The Redbud Audubon Society was delighted to have 17 first-time observers in the Clear Lake Count. The majority of the participants were Lake County residents, but the group was pleased to have birders join them from Santa Rosa, St. Helena, Napa and Woodland.
The only unusual species seen were nine violet-green swallows, which is just the third time this species has appeared on the count.
The ruddy duck for the second year in a row wins the prize for the most individuals seen at 8,170, a slight increase over a five-year average of 8,068 but dramatically lower than last year’s total of 14,838.
A record high count of 44 was set for the snowy egret, beating out the previous high of 40 in 2005. This can be attributed in part to the fact that there were three kayakers in the Anderson Marsh area for the first time and accessing habitat unseen from land.
Unfortunately, there is an increase in the introduced, invasive Eurasian Collared Dove that this year for the first time equaled the number of the native mourning doves with a count of 94 each.
The Eurasian Collared Dove first appeared on the Christmas Bird Count with six individuals in 2008 and reached 26 last year, and it is expected that there will be dramatic increases of the collared dove in the future while mourning dove numbers will likely decrease.
Anna’s hummingbird showed up in good numbers with a total of 66 only to be outdone by the 67 counted in 1998. Twenty-one of these hummers turned up at a feeder in the Riviera and another 20 were found feeding on the flowers of the common or English Ivy.
The red-breasted nuthatch experienced another high count with a total of 33 individuals but less than the incredible 71 counted in the year 1984.
Its more typical high is in the single digits, but this year is an “irruptive” year for this species as presumably a lack of food on the bird’s normal wintering ground is moving them further south in search of food.
The only species that was seen by all participating groups was the Western Scrub Jay. The big misses were barn owl which has been counted yearly except for a period from l984 through 1988 and Cooper’s Hawk which has been absent only once before in 2001.
The other continued miss is the yellow-billed magpie, which might be permanently absent from the count in the future. It has made the Christmas Bird Count most years since 1989 with the number diminishing since the West Nile Virus epidemic.
The species had a high count of 25 in the 1995 Christmas Bird Count and another high of 17 in 1999. These highs diminished to three in 2008, one in 2009, two in 2010, none last year and again missing this year. Sadly, the High Valley population appears to be extirpated.
The California Thrasher made an historic low count with only one bird seen this year as opposed to a 10-year average of eight birds.
Only one Lincoln's Sparrow appeared as well less than its 10-year average of 5.5 birds. Song sparrow had a low number of 17 which is less than half of it’s 10-year average of 38.
For more information about the Redbud Audubon Society, go to www.redbudaudubon.org .
Darlene Hecomovich is the Christmas Bird Count compiler for the Redbud Audubon Society in Lake County, Calif.