One other thing of note about that count was the number of crows. 27 seems
low, but back then I suspect the species was pretty significantly
persecuted.

On Jan 19, 2017 8:26 PM, "rob thorn" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

As the current compiler for Columbus, I was struck by several features of
this old count.  These were great observers, so the totals are probably
what a good team could have expected to get if they had the run of the
entire circle.  Many have already noted about the Red-headed Woodpeckers,
so I won't belabor .
that difference other than to put it in the context of land changes.  My
observations include:

-Large #s of 'hedgerow birds':  Bobwhites, Red-headed Woodpeckers, Mourning
Doves, Tree Sparrows, Juncos, Cardinals.  Much of Columbus' periphery then
was made up of small farms, with large hedgerows of trees & bushes
separating fields, not unlike some of the Amish areas today.  That's been
totally changed, first by farm amalgamation, then by suburbanization.

-Small #s of feeder birds: Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker,
Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-br.Nuthatch, Goldfinch.   Some
of these are forest birds that were restricted by the heavy deforestation
of the period; today they're all boosted strongly by feeders in urban &
suburban areas here.

-Missing species - No waterfowl, White-throated Sparrows, or House
Sparrows.   Without knowing their route, it's hard to say what these misses
mean; perhaps they didn't wish to count the imported Sparrows.  The lack of
waterfowl probably means they had little or no open water, not to mention
that extensive hunting probably made ducks wary back then.

-High Bluebirds & Kinglets - For a single team to see 13 Bluebirds or
Kinglets would be fairly extraordinary today.  I don't know what habitats
they visited to secure them, but it's good to see that Bluebirds were
fairly abundant winter residents back then, even on cold days.

Rob Thorn

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