Another successful Christmas bird count

After 15 previous freezing cold Christmas bird counts, December 27, 2005 offered a pleasant if slightly troubling change of pace. With temperatures hovering around 4 degrees celsius, the usual layers of thermal clothing were unnecessary, but the sheer weirdness left us all believing climate change theories.
For the past 15 years, the Golden Christmas bird count has been held on December 27, and it is generally one of the colder days of the year.

Once before, in 2000, the temperature crept up to zero degrees. But whether or not this year’s unusual climatic situation influenced the count is difficult to say.

There were some unusual sightings: One solitary sharp shinned hawk, two golden-crowned sparrows and a pair of varied thrushes. The clouds of birds Goldenites observe daily wafting between mountain ash trees are Bohemian Waxwings.

This year, over 900 were counted, by no means a Golden record for these birds whose numbers exceeded 1,900 in the minus 17 degrees cold on December 27, 2001, compared to a low of 26 waxwings in 1997.
This year, 10 field counters and four feeder watchers counted 33 species and 1,450 individual birds, about average in number of birds and towards the top end for species.

The previous high was 35 species. The low count for species was 24.

The previous high count for individual birds was over 3,400 in 2001 and the previous low of 640 birds back in 1997 (both determined by waxwings).

Counters covered a circle approximately 24 kilometers in diameter with Golden as the center. While the counting methods may lack a bit of scientific accuracy, (try counting a moving flock of 200 waxwings), the same methods are used in the same count circle every year and that allows Bird Studies Canada and the Audubon Society to chart trends.

Individual counters may view their day’s results with a bit of disappointment because they may have seen few birds, but when the species are tallied, they will recognize their contribution. And, hopefully return year after year, for a unique way to wear off some of that Christmas excess.

Ellen Zimmerman is the organizer of the annual count and an official with environmental organization Wildsight.