The Cedar Creek Bog Christmas Bird Count was held on Sunday, December 15, 2013 centered at the Cedar Creek Bog Ecosystem Science Reserve, just south of the Anoka/Isanti county line on a cold, cold day. Claudia Egelhoff had it right, "Our team struggled for every bird."
We ended with 41 species, which, while below the last two years, is probably about average for the last six years. For the second years we had some good waterfowl, attracted to the easy pickings of a collection of domestic ducks. The five wild duck species that had joined their kept friends included first record Blue-winged Teal and Northern Shoveller, and second records of Pintail and Gadwell. This year a bumper crop of Hazelnuts induced at least 21 Red-headed Woodpeckers to attempt to over-winter. On a cold day like this, most were staying in or near their roost holes, so we may have missed a few. Last year none overwintered. We had record high count of Robins, which were mostly in just one flock, and tied the record for most Pileated Woodpeckers. We had our second highest count of Flickers and Cedar Waxwings, also mostly in one flock. The Robins and Waxwings high counts reflected a good supply of berries. Woodpecker numbers were high, as were Blue Jays. Crow numbers were quite low. No owls were found, although there was a count period Barred Owl. Misses included the most abundant bird over the years of the count: the Common Redpoll, which is indicative of the lack of reports around the state. The second most common bird missed was the Ruffed Grouse, found previously in 76% of counts, again indicative of reports that their numbers are low around the state. Thanks to the volunteers who braved the cold to enjoy the birds. Steve Weston On Quigley Lake in Eagan, MN [email protected] ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
