My first Christmas Bird Count. For those of you who have never done one, I
highly recommend it, regardless of your level of expertise. It is not your
typical slow meander through a single habitat, but an all-out push to see as many
birds as possible in a 15 mile radius circle, both in number of species and
sheer numbers. "Every starling counts," as one birder told me.
You might miss a lot - a Christmas Bird Count doesn't take the time to be
sure that every birder sees every bird - but you will learn a lot, too. Every
pair of eyes is useful. I was scanning across a lake while everybody else was
counting Pied-billed Grebes and found a Great Blue Heron perched in a tree. At
first glance, it looked like a dead branch, it was hidden so well.
I went on the East Fork CBC (leader, Joe Bens) which includes the entire East
Fork Lake, the State Park and Wildlife areas and the surrounding communities
of Clermont County (DeLorme pg 75, D7 and 82, A3) We met at a fast-food
restaurant in the middle of the circle, split into groups for the morning, checked
back in at lunch, and went out again. I quit about 2pm, but the groups were
going on till dusk, then meeting for a chili dinner and the final tally.
My trip list, without numbers: (I missed some things)
Canada Goose
Mallard
American Black Duck
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
Bonaparte's Gull
Mourning Dove
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
American Goldfinch
I had 35 total species, including 5 species of woodpeckers, which I consider
to be Very Good. (The group leader saw a yellow-bellied sapsucker and heard a
hairy woodpecker, so I missed out on a 7-woodpecker-day. Oh well.) I saw a
bird fly away that was identified as a sharp-shinned hawk, but I didn't see
enough to make a positive ID myself. Since sharpies are one of my nemesis birds
and this would be a Lifer for me, my own personal rules forbid me from
counting this one. I also missed the Cooper's hawk somehow, but I did see a "Great
Blue Eagle." During a brief pause, I was scanning around and saw a large bird
with a wide wingspan taking off from a low perch. The way the light hit it,
I first saw dark wings and a large light patch. I yelled "BALD EAGLE," which
got everyone's attention, until the bird straightened out and it was obvious
that it was a great blue heron, not an eagle. Our "recording secretary" teased
me about my "Great Blue Eagle" the rest of the day. (And, I think it will be
a while before I live that one down!)
So, just remember, it doesn't matter how good you are, it doesn't mtter what
birds you miss or even what birds you invent, get out and do a CBC in your
area.
~Kathi
Kathi Hutton
Felicity, Clermont Co.
Delorme pg 82, B3
Lat. 38.828, Lon. -84.063
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