This year marked the 25th anniversary of the Saylorville CBC and I thought I would provide a brief summary of the long-term results. The count has always been held on the first Sunday of the count period, which by date has ranged from 14 to 22 December. This count averages 25 field birders, 86 party-hours of effort, and 23,700 individuals of 78 species. Species totals have ranged from a low of 66 in 1996 (oddly, this was a mild year with lots of open water) to a high of 98 in 2012. Overall, 142 species have been recorded on this count, and 31 species have been recorded every year.
This year was exceptional as we set or tied 25-year high counts for 18 species: Canada Goose (9056), Canvasback (45), Greater Scaup (12), Lesser Scaup (227), American White Pelican (11), Bald Eagle (95), Merlin (4 - tie), Glaucous Gull (2 - tie), N. Saw-whet Owl (3), Red-bellied Woodpecker (184), Hairy Woodpecker (53 - tie), White-breasted Nuthatch (178), Carolina Wren (3 - tie), Winter Wren (3 - tie), Eastern Bluebird (147), Fox Sparrow (8), House Finch (169), and Pine Siskin (53). Conversely, the only notable 25-year low count was for Ring-necked Pheasant (7), which isn't too surprising. Happy holidays! Steve ********** Stephen J. Dinsmore Department of Natural Resource Ecology & Management Iowa State University 339 Science II Ames, IA 50011 Phone: 515-294-1348 E-mail: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Web: http://www.public.iastate.edu/~cootjr/ --- Please contribute your sightings to our list; it is only as good as members make it! --- Birding channel recommendation for FRS/GMRS radio use: Primary selection; channel 5/0 , alternate selection; channel 6/0 --- This mailing list is sponsored by the Iowa Ornithologists' Union. Membership available on-line at http://www.iowabirds.org/iou/PayDues.aspx. ----- You are currently subscribed to ia-bird as: [email protected]
