2021 Christmas Bird Count

Gary Siegrist

This year’s Jackson Audubon Christmas Bird Count started out on an ominous note with early morning freezing rain. The rain made it impossible to go owling, reflected in low numbers for the different owl species. Wind speed for the count was light and variable. Overcast skies continued all day and temperatures hovered in the low thirties. These conditions did not stop the 33 participants from locating 64 bird species and a total of 7715 individuals.

We also had 4 (Rose-breasted Grossbeak, White-wing Crossbill, Eastern Towhee, and Brown-headed Cowbird) count week species.

Miles in the field (17.35) and miles by a vehicle (431) was about average which is remarkable knowing the weather conditions. What a hardy bunch of birders we have for the count.

This year brought many good finds especially since we had open water to view the many waterfowl (11) species. All three swan species, Mute (9), Trumpeter (2), and Tundra (4) were located on area lakes. Northern Shoveler (4) have only been seen on three other CBCs. Other good birds included Common Redpoll (2), Field Sparrow (1), Merlin (1), Hermit Thrush (1), Gray Catbird (1), and Swamp Sparrow (1).

High counts this year included Belted Kingfisher (5), Pileated Woodpecker (8), Red-breasted Nuthatch (10), Brown Creeper (10), and Caroline Wren (11). The ten Brown Creepers is the highest number ever recorded for the species.

Species that had the highest number of individuals were Sandhill Cranes (1717), Canada Goose (1519), and European Starling (698). Low numbers for House Sparrow (220) and American Kestrel (1) may just be a weather-related phenomenon.

Disappointing, no Ruffed Grouse or Ring-necked Pheasant again were counted on this CBC. This is a troublesome trend as both species were a constant count species until the last few years.

With another successful Christmas Bird Count behind us, remember to mark your 2022 calendar for 54th consecutive count. This year’s CBC is scheduled for December 17th, 2022. Thank you all for volunteering for the JAS CBC. If you have questions or would like more information concerning this year’s CBC, please email me at gwsiegrist@gmail.com.