13th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count
February 12, 2010
Article in: Bird Conservation
The 13th annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is starting today! Are you taking part?
The GBBC is a four day event that captures a “snapshot” of where the birds are across North America. By counting for fifteen minutes (or more) and tallying species by highest number of individuals seen at one time, anyone can become a Citizen Scientist. Any level of birder can participate!
What’s in your backyard? (Red-tailed Hawk)
Last year, according to Audubon, “participants turned in more than 93,600 checklists online, creating the continent’s largest instantaneous snapshot of bird populations”.
The Birdfreaks are counting in three separate cities this year: Rockford, Illinois (parents, Susie and her girls), Genoa, Illinois (Eddie and Stacia), and Findlay, Ohio (Jennie and Dakota).
We’ll be posting our results next week. Good birding to you!
Snow or shine: it’s the easiest count of the year! (Pine Siskin)
Rock Cut Christmas Bird Count #2 Recap
January 20, 2010
Article in: Bird Conservation
This is the recap of the 2nd Annual Rock Cut Christmas Bird Count (CBC) of which the Birdfreak Team coordinates and compiles. The event took place on January 3rd, 2010 and was frigid but sunny. This post was delayed due to Birdfreak having his wisdom teeth removed which apparently took a bit of his wisdom with 
Considering the cold temperatures and a sizable decline in counters (11 instead of 19 last year) it is no surprise that we had less birds and species. However, Birdfreak’s fiancee, Stacia, participated in her first CBC which definitely added to the fun of the event. And three of our counters were in Ohio!
- Total Species: 44 (47 last year)
- Total Individuals: 3,637 (almost 12,000 last year)
Water conditions (mostly frozen) played a huge role in the decline of birds as well: Canada Geese were down over 6,300!!
But we still had some wonderful highlights including 11 brand new species:
- Common Goldeneye
- Lapland Longspur
- Peregrine Falcon
- Owl Sp.
- Purple Finch
- Rough-legged Hawk
- Snow Bunting
- Ring-necked Pheasant
- Red-headed Woodpecker
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Pileated Woodpecker
We counted all SEVEN species of woodpeckers in our area (outside a major rarity)! We found three Pileated Woodpeckers at Rock Cut State Park (the count’s namesake) which is becoming a really reliable place to find this awesome bird.
It was too cold for photography so hopefully next year we’ll have warmer temperatures, more counters, and more birds.
2009 Kishwaukee Christmas Bird Count
January 2, 2010
Article in: Bird Conservation
Road and walking conditions were equally bad for this year’s Kishwaukee Christmas Bird Count (CBC). The count circle covers the southern part of Winnebago County which is not part of the more northwestern circle that is the Rockford CBC.
Each year we try to do as many area bird counts as possible to assist in collecting data on the bird populations in our local haunts. Our area mostly included driving but we did get out a bit and walk.
The main highlights were a Rough-legged Hawk, Horned Larks, 1 Lapland Longspur, and a huge flock of American Crows (311).
This is just a small part of the larger flock.
We also had a really cool non-bird sighting of a Red Fox. He was less than 100 feet from us but by the time I got the camera ready (just a little point-and-shoot) he had scurried pretty far away.
2009 Rockford Christmas Bird Count Recap
December 23, 2009
Article in: Bird Conservation
2009 was the fifth consecutive year I’ve counted for the Rockford Christmas Bird Count. Birds were low in numbers but some of the highlights were pretty impressive. We still have two counts left to go this season including the second year of the Rock Cut Christmas Bird Count which we created last year.
The biggest highlight just because they are always so cool was the five Bald Eagles we spotted. The one pictured was the most impressive as it glided in along the river and posed before taking off again.
Another big highlight was a couple Northern Harriers. The photo didn’t turn out as well but this beauty floated gracefully and low over a field.
Walking was fairly slow going with the uneven and icy snow but we managed (like every year) to hike our booties off. There were numerous trees with snow damage, specifically at Sugar River Forest Preserve, a place we enjoy camping. Many of the pine trees had downed limbs from the heavy snow.
Lunch time was spent at a hunting lodge where the wonderfully friendly hunting club is always willing to open up to us birders and let us watch their feeders. These feeders are a constant explosion of Black-capped Chickadees, White and Red-breasted Nuthatches, Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers and more. We estimated around 35 chickadees competing for feeder space.
Black-capped Chickadee
We will update the count total after we get the numbers but our contribution was certainly adequate on a chilly, windy, low bird day.
Gearing Up For Christmas Bird Count Season
December 9, 2009
Article in: Bird Conservation
December marks the beginning of Christmas Bird Count season and even though we are already pressed for time it is tradition to try and do as many counts as possible.
So, we’re signed up for 3 counts including the second year of the Rock Cut Christmas Bird Count which we started last year and coordinate.
Being prepared for multiple CBCs is crucial especially in our climate where the weather can be just about anything and the bird habitat to cover is huge. We’ve come up with a few suggested items that can help enhance your counting experience. All of these can be found in our OpenSky store.
- Grabber Hand Warmers – these have been so appreciated when the temperature dips below freezing and the wind chill is unmentionable.
- Two-Way Radios – great for splitting groups up to cover large, heavily wooded areas or even to coordinate multiple vehicle movements
- Rite in the Rain Notebook – great for keeping field notes during a drizzle or blizzard (and keeping field notes is especially important on a bird count)
- Kaufman Field Guide to Birds – Kaufman’s guide is great for count day because it is small and light weight yet fully functional for bird identification.
- Delorme Topographic Atlas – we’ve mentioned this before but these large atlases make finding out-of-the-way roads and habitat nuggets a breeze
- Optics – don’t forget your bins at home and if you’ve got a spotting scope make sure it comes along!
- Digital camera – capturing a photo of that unusual bird is a sure way of getting it accepted on count day
- iPod with BirdJam software – being able to call in birds or match an unfamiliar sound is vital to a successful count
These are just some of the items you should consider when going out on a Christmas Bird Count. After the count, treat yourself to a much deserved glass (or bottle) of Burning Hawk Wine to complete the day.
Midwest Crane Count 2009
April 21, 2009
Article in: Bird Conservation
Saturday April 18th was the Midwest Crane Count 2009, an event sponsored by the International Crane Foundation. We were in our same spots as the last two years: part of our group at the Natural Land Institute‘s Nygren Wetlands and the part of us at a privately owned marsh.
Our objective was to count Sandhill Cranes [or rarely, Whooping Cranes]: those heard, seen, and especially those that are paired up. We determined this mostly by listening for their distinct unison calls or if lucky enough, by finding a nest or seeing a pair dancing.
In total we heard 32 Sandhills including seven pairs doing their unison call and one pair dancing. One crane flew out of the marsh roughly 40 feet from our hidden location. Perhaps the best part of the whole count is not so much seeing and hearing cranes, but sitting amongst the birds in the marsh well before dawn and listening to the birds wake up for the day.
It’s hard to beat multiple Sora’s calling only a few feet away!!
Check out last year’s crane count and 2007′s count.
Illinois Spring Bird Count Database
April 18, 2009
Article in: Bird Conservation
Each year in the state of Illinois we participate in the Spring Bird Count. This statewide event occurs on the second Saturday of May Saturday between May 4th and May 10th. Unfortunately, we will not be participating this year (or at least much more limited) because Jennie (Veery) is graduating from Northern Illinois University on the same day. Nonetheless, our county has a descent number of counters and we usually find a ton of birds.
This data provides a great tool for tracking bird populations and since Illinois is a tall state, the diversity of birds is incredible during this time. Some birds just arriving in the northern part, others on territory in the south, etc.
The Illinois Natural History Survey has a database for past spring bird counts from 1975 to 2005. The database can be analyzed by individual species from any given time period and either statewide or by particular county. While this is intriguing to browse, the results are not in a user-friendly format and does not generate and chart or graph (just a table of data).
For example, we ran a query on how many Baltimore Orioles have been sighted on the spring count from 1975 to 2005 in our county, Winnebago, and obtained the following data table (click the image to enlarge):
A quick look at this table shows that Baltimore Oriole numbers have increased overall yet every few years, their numbers are drastically lower. Without actually analyzing any other factors, this provides a stepping point for more research on this and any other bird species.
We’ll try to post the results of this year’s Spring Count and you can view our recap of last year’s as well.
Kishwaukee and Rockford Christmas Bird Counts
December 31, 2008
Article in: Bird Conservation
Over the past few weeks we participated in two area Christmas Bird Counts, one being the long-running Rockford CBC and the other a newer count along a favorite river corridor, the Kishwaukee. Both were enjoyable but not as birdy as we had hoped.
The Rockford count would have been perfect for digiscoping except snow depth was over a foot deep and we didn’t feel like dragging the scope over several miles of trudging. Thus, we missed a gorgeous juv. Bald Eagle and two exciting sightings of Eastern Coyotes.
Birding in the fog is difficult!
The Kishwaukee count happened to be held on what turned out to be the foggiest day we’ve ever seen (and birded in). Visibility was zero and outbursts of rain (and no hiking trails in our area) forced us to bird from the car for most of the time. We were able to find a good number of birds but it was a strain on the eyes to stare through the fog.
Our best finds were a cluster of five White-crowned Sparrows, a gang of nine Northern Cardinals, and a ghostly sighting of a raptor that went unidentified as it disappeared into the fog.
Somehow we were able to find a Red-tailed Hawk in this parking lot
It is likely that count numbers this season will be a bit “interesting” to say the least.
