On December 15, 87 observers sponsored by CAS spent the day counting birds in different areas of Columbus. In a replay of last year, early rain doused many morning teams, but a drier late morning helped many teams recover and roll up good totals. 18 teams were able to gather 84 species and 18,626 individuals, another remarkable Count given the wild weather.
Count Date: December 15, 2024; 6:00 a.m. To 5:00 p.m. Temp. 38-48 ºF. Wind SW 0-3 mph Still water mostly open, moving water open. A.M. overcast, rainy; P.M. cloudy. Observers: 87 in the field in 6-19 parties, 2 at feeders part of day. Total party hours: 135 (125 on foot, 10 in cars). Total Party miles: 322 (151 on foot, 171 in cars); owling: 2 hours, 10 miles.
Results: Pied-billed Grebe – 5; Double-crested Cormorant – 33; Great Blue Heron –39 ; Great Egret – 4 (3 different teams); Mute Swan – 5; Trumpeter Swan – 2 (RB); Canada Goose – 2362; Wood Duck – 2; N.Shoveler – 21; Black Duck –22 ; Mallard –892 ; Green-winged Teal –5 (2 teams); Gadwall – 110; American Wigeon –9; Redhead – 36; Ring-necked Duck –108 ; Lesser Scaup – 2; Bufflehead – 27; Hooded Merganser –204 ; Ruddy Duck –1; Wild Turkey – 30; Anna’s Hummingbird – 1 (hosted for weeks by G&JB); American Coot – 2; Turkey Vulture – 1 (WK, SM); Black Vulture – 3 (JK,MR); Sharp-shinned Hawk –1 ; Cooper’s Hawk –14 ; Red-shouldered Hawk –10 ; Red-tailed Hawk – 24; Rough-legged Hawk – 1 (L&BD); Bald Eagle – 30; American Kestrel –5 ; Killdeer – 2; Bonaparte’s Gull – 2; Ring-billed Gull –181 ; Herring Gull – 18; Rock Dove – 757; Mourning Dove – 424; Great Horned Owl – 2; Barred Owl –3 ; E.Screech Owl – 3 (JK, PK) ; Belted Kingfisher – 29; Red-headed Woodpecker – 5; Red-bellied Woodpecker – 144; Yellow-bellied Sapsucker –15 ; Downy Woodpecker –134 ; Hairy Woodpecker – 22; N.Flicker –47 ; Pileated Woodpecker – 13; Blue Jay –359 ; American Crow –641 ; Carolina Chickadee –362 ; Tufted Titmouse – 156; White-breasted Nuthatch –111 ; Red-breasted Nuthatch – 1; Brown Creeper –17 ; Winter Wren – 3; Carolina Wren –125 ; Ruby-crowned Kinglet – 2; Golden-crowned Kinglet –18 ; Eastern Bluebird –126 ; Hermit Thrush – 10; American Robin – 3120; N.Mockingbird – 8; European Starling – 4670; Cedar Waxwing –8 ; Yellow-rumped Warbler –10 ; Northern Cardinal –689 ; Eastern Towhee –9 ; American Tree Sparrow –51 ; Field Sparrow – 1; Savannah Sparrow – 1; Fox Sparrow –5 (3 different teams); Song Sparrow –130; Swamp Sparrow –5 ; White-throated Sparrow –594 ; White-crowned Sparrow –9 ; Dark-eyed Junco –388 ; Red-winged Blackbird –43 ; Common Grackle – 37; Brown-headed Cowbird –2 ; House Finch –342 ; American Goldfinch –152 ; House Sparrow –608
Totals: 84 species, 18,626 individuals
Birds seen Count Period, but not Count Day: Peregrine, Merlin, Fish Crow, Horned Lark, Chipping Sparrow, Summer Tanager (HL,RC)
Observers: Leah Akers, Julie Aldridge, Wendy Becker, Ray Beebe, Linda Benner, Susan Braunig, Gerry & John Brevoort, Matt Bystrom, Eric Raul Castro-Dean, Andrew Christ, Rose Conrad, Maya Corridore, Ann Cramer, Brad, Lindsay and Poppy Deering, Amy Densborn, Matt DeTemple, Steve Draeger, Denise Falzone, John and Kristan Finn, Tim Fitzpatrick, Diana Fowler, Amy Girten, Michael Goldman, Jeff Grabmeier, Paul Graham, Elizabeth Hamilton, Jenny Hawkey, Bill Heck, James Holsinger, Laura Herrold Johnson, Marshall Johnson, Peter Kaestner, Blaine Keckley, Wendy King, M. K. Klenkar, Jonathan Knape, Victoria Koroleva, Kristi Krumlauf, Jennifer Kuehn, John Kuenzli, Donna Kuhn, Bruce and Helen Lindsay, Shellie & Sandie Lloyd, Cheryl Lubow, Heather Luedecke, Laura Mansfield, Karen & Frank Martens, Bernie & Susan Master, Sue Mathews, Fiona McCarthy, Dawn McCoy, Stacey & Darrell McGrath, Joe Meara, Karl Mechem, Dick Miller, Sharon Newell, Dai Newman, Rob Oller, Lori Patterson, Steve Pendleton, Cathy Pickrel, Pam Raver, Teagan Reasch, Michael Rivera, Robert Royse, Irina Shulgina, Darlene Sillick, Bruce Simpson, Leslie Sours, Andy and Nathaniel Spector, Mark Swetstad, Rob Thorn (compiler), Alan Weinberg, Carl Winstead, Doug Whitman, Tracy Wiczar, Marlene Woo-Lun.
Description: The Count Day was deja vu from last year, with steady rain early, dropping off by midday. Totals were eerily similar to last year, although the species composition differed. Again, ducks were a big feature of this Count, with an especially strong showing by dabbling ducks. Northern Shovelers, American Wigeons, and Green-winged Teal were seen by multiple teams. Diving Ducks also had a good Count, with Scaup, Ring-necks, Redheads, Buffleheads, and Ruddies present. Swans had a good showing with 5 Mutes and 2 Trumpeters; we seem to have attracted a wintering pair of the latter around the Griggs reservoir – Quarry Trails area.
For many birders, Columbus this December will be remembered as the Year of the Anna’s Hummingbird. First spotted at the feeders of Gerry and John Brevoort early in the month, the Brevoorts coaxed this western vagrant to remain deep into January, keeping their feeders stocked and their yard inviting. They deserve plaudits for keeping such a rare visitor comfortable for most of the winter, and the Count is lucky to have such devoted birders.
Fish-hunters seemed higher than last year. Hooded Mergansers and Pied-billed Grebes had decent numbers, and 33 Double-cr. Cormorants was a good showing. The 48 Great Blue Herons was just above our 30-year average, and up from the 37 last year. One of the big surprises of the Count was Great Egrets, with 3 different teams finding them. They’ve been steadily increasing in number during summer and fall, and it was probably inevitable that some would try to overwinter here.
Raptors had a mixed year, probably due to the rain. Our Bald Eagles rebounded from last year’s 8 to a eye-popping 30. The rain clearly didn’t affect these big bruisers, and 9 teams saw at least 1. Accipiters and buteos dipped a bit in the rain, with 50 individuals (vs. 64 last year and 65 the prior year). A pleasant surprise was a Rough-legged Hawk found at Three-Creeks’ Smith Farms area by Lindsay and Brad Deering. This species is not an easy find for us anymore, with few large fields in our count area. Falcons were down, with no Peregrines or Merlins, and only 5 Kestrels. The early rain should’ve spelled trouble for owling, but we were able to get decent numbers of our 3 common species. Screech Owls were found calling at both Three-Creeks and Beechwold. Probably the big surprise here were vultures – both were found, with a Turkey Vulture near Antrim Lake (WK,SM) and a trio of Black Vultures at Three-Creeks (JK,MR).
Fruit-eaters were off a bit this year, with numbers mostly below the past few years. Starlings and Robins saw the major drops, but we also had low numbers of mockingbirds and waxwings. Oddly, Bluebirds and Hermit Thrushes had good numbers, with 125 of the former and 10 of the latter. Why they should prosper while Robins and Starlings dropped is a mystery.
Field birds were rather poor, as has been the pattern on recent Counts. We were able to find 2 Killdeer, the Rough-legged hawk, 6 kestrels, 1 Field Sparrow, 9 White-crowned Sparrows, and a Savannah Sparrow. Harriers and Meadowlarks, however, continue to elude us around Columbus, as do Horned Larks and Snow Buntings. Blackbirds also seemed to spend the winter off further south, with low numbers of Redwings, Cowbirds, and Grackles, and no Rusty Blackbirds at all.
Insect-eating birds also showed poor numbers, possibly victims of the weird weather. Kinglets were mixed: 18 Golden-crowns was low, but 2 Ruby-crowns were a blessing (MT, RR). Yellow-rumped Warblers were unusually scarce this winter, and we had only 10 on the Count, one of our lowest totals in decades. Brown Creepers also seemed to have a down year, with only 17 birds, down from 33 last year.
Winter irruptors did not make much of an impact on this year’s Count. Pine Siskins, Red Crossbills, and Purple Finches were not found, and appear to be having a non-irruptive season. The same should have been true for Red-breasted Nuthatches, but 1 was located in Beechwold. Tree Sparrows – another cyclical winter bird– had a slow year, with only 51 birds (compared to last year’s 78).
So, all told, this year’s wet CBC did about as well as last year’s wet CBC, and a little better than our long-term average for species number. Partly, this is due to our urban environs, with no hunting, plenty of fruiting trees and bushes, and numerous feeders. But much of the credit is due to the tenacity of our teams, who have learned how to bird ugly-weather days. Hopefully, next year won’t keep testing this new-found skill.