2004 Christmas Bird Count (12/18/04) Highlights

It was clear and sunny with temperatures starting in the 30s and ending up in the 50s. Thirty-one people participated in the count and covered seven areas. The total species count was 92 which tied 2002 for a high count. The total bird count 15,639 was slightly below the 10 year average of 16,256. We did have a high count for a number of species:

Great Blue Heron – 72 (previous high 56 in 1995)
Bufflehead – 316 (314 in 1997)
Band-tailed Pigeon – 26 (19 in 1990)
Anna’s Hummingbird – 25 (4 in 2003)
Belted Kingfisher – 17 (12 in 2002)
Pileated Woodpecker – 5 (5 in 1995)
Black-capped Chickadee - 306 (232 in 2002)
Chestnut-backed Chickadee – 91 (79 in 2002)
Bewicks’ Wren – 68 (33 in 2002)
Winter Wren – 55 (47 in 2002)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet – 166 (139 in 2001)
Song Sparrow – 229 (196 in 2003)
Red Crossbill – 14 (1 in 2002 was only other year seen)
House Sparrow – 165 (144 in 2002)

Sightings of interest compared to the last 17 years include:
2 Greater White-fronted Goose - only third year seen
Eurasian Wigeon - only third year NOT seen
1 Osprey - only third year seen
1 Peregrine Falcon - only third year seen
1 Merlin - only fourth year seen
1 Mountain Chickadee - only third year seen
1 House Wren - only third year seen
1 Cedar Waxwing - only fourth year seen
1 White-throated Sparrow - only fourth year seen

3 Killdeer seen was the lowest count.

If anyone would like to see a list of all species seen for this count and/or all counts from 1988-2004, email Hugh Jennings at: hughbirder@earthlink.net.