The
2007 LCBAS Christmas Bird Count was held on Saturday January 5, 2008.
Chaired by Dana Ward, and with the help of many folks, a good
count and good time occurred.
Until official results are
available to the Webmaster, the following results have been taken from
postings by Nancy LaFramboise and others on LCBirds:
As someone said, we dodged a bullet with the weather
yesterday. Despite the wind, the
count was very successful. There
were a lot of participants so a lot of great birds were seen. The grand total is 109 species. There were no great misses in the common
species that one would expect on the count (almost 70). Many thanks to all who
participated.
Some of the less than common birds seen were: Horned and Eared Grebes, Eurasian
Wigeon, Rough-legged Hawk, Merlin, Prairie Falcon, Virginia Rail, Killdeer,
Greater Yellowlegs, Wilson’s Snipe, 6 species of owls, Horned Lark (can
be rare in the count circle), Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Bohemian
Waxwing, Townsend’s Solitaire, Winter Wren, Orange-crowned Warbler,
Savannah, Fox, Lincoln’s, White-throated, Golden-crowned, and Harris’s
Sparrows, Yellow-headed and Brewer’s Blackbird, and Pine Siskin. Location details can be requested but refinding some of these may be quite challenging. (We are not sure if teams saw Greater
White-fronted Goose or Northern Goshawk so please add these or any other page 2
birds we missed.)
Species not usually noted at all on the count were GREAT
EGRET, PEREGRINE FALCON, LESSER-BLACK-BACKED GULL, GLAUCOUS GULL,
THAYER’S GULL, RED-THROATED LOON, and PURPLE FINCH.
Within the count circle - birds seen 3 days prior to the
count but not on the count were Northern Shrike and American Tree Sparrow. There are 3 more days to add a species
to the Count Week notes. Mew Gull,
Dunlin, Brown-headed Cowbird, Pacific Loon, or anything much more rare (Pine
Grosbeak, Common Redpoll, Red Crossbill) would be included. (Of course at this time of year you
should post any of these anyway!!)
Also found was an apparent hybrid Cinnamon X Blue-winged
Teal which is odd in so many ways.
First, a hybrid is rare.
Second both parent teals occur here in the summer and why the hybrid
remained is a great mystery.
PLEASE, someone get a photo and post it. The bird was located on Clover Island
between the hotel and restaurant on the Columbia River.
Additional posts also noted: Gray Partridge, Pacific Loon (at Sacajawea), and Barn Swallows.
The Christmas Bird Count has occurred nationally for 108 years, and locally for over 35 years, is done in over 1,900 locations around the United States and nearby countries and involves over 60,000 volunteers. The data that all these counts produce becomes part of the largest wildlife database in the world and is vital for determining the status of expanding and declining bird numbers.
Anyone that enjoys looking at birds can help.
All Christmas counts are standardized to a 7.5 mile radius circle (about 177 square miles). The LCBAS
count circle is formally called the Washington Tri-cities circle and centers on the Columbia River shorelineclosest to Rd. 68 in Pasco. This is a very large area that includes Selph Landing Road in Pasco, most ofTwo Rivers Park east of Kennewick and Badger Mountain in Richland. From these locations, we split into smaller teams led by more experienced birders. For the really hardy, we also look for owls at approximately 4:00 am. Some birding skills are nice but not required.
The Tri-Cities count is one of the best supported counts in the state, and regularly has the highest number of species seen inland. All of this is due to strong community support. Our goal is to count as many birds within the circle during the day. To do this, we need as many teams as possible. If individuals can only participate for the morning, it will still help. There is a fair amount of walking involved, so keep this in mind when making plans.
Birds seen at bird feeders within the count circle are just as important to the count, and are a way that lessmobile individuals can help.
You do not need to be a member of the Audubon society to help, but a $5.00 donation is requested ofeach participant age 19 and above to help defray the cost of maintaining the database. The information that all counts generate is reviewed and placed in a database that is available to everyone on the Internet.
At the end of count day, the LCBAS once again heheld their annual Christmas Bird Count Potluck at First Lutheran Church at the corner of Yelm and Highway 395 in Kennewick. 