Christmas Bird Count Tragedy

Onik Arian was taking advantage of a break in the storm to go out on the Crescent City [California] jetty and spot a few birds Sunday.

That's when a wave swept the local emergency room physician off the concrete breakwater into the rocks below, where he died of blunt force head trauma.

An avid bird-watcher for many years, Arian was taking part in the National Audubon Society's annual holiday bird count early Sunday.

Click here to read the rest of the story from the The Daily Triplicate. This is the first I’ve ever heard of someone dying while participating in a Christmas Bird Count (but that's probably not something Audubon would choose to publicize). I wonder if there have been other mortalities in the past? The manner in which Dr. Arian died is particularly tragic.

Media Coverage of the Niles Christmas Bird Count

The 46th annual Niles Christmas Bird Count was held yesterday. The following article appeared on page B1 of the South Bend (Indiana) Tribune on Sunday, December 21, 2008:

Counting birds for Niles annual census

Area birders count species and numbers in flocks.

By SHERRY VAN ARSDALL
Tribune Staff Writer

NILES — Alison Village likes the competitive edge of counting birds.

"I like seeing if I can see something (birds) before someone else," Alison, 16, said.

She took part in the 46th annual Niles Area Christmas Bird Count Saturday with her partner, Mary Jo Canaday, of Berrien Springs.

The area for the bird count has been divided into eight territories which encompasses a circle with a 15-mile diameter that includes Niles, Buchanan and Berrien Springs.

The pair watched a bald eagle soar along the St. Joseph River four different times while taking count of birds along the river.

"That's been a treat," Alison, of Berrien Springs, said.

They saw a Lapland Longspur (a sparrow-like bird) at the Berrien County Landfill in Buchanan and that's been a first sighting of the species in this area since 1989, according to Wendy Jones, coordinator of the bird count.

"They are only seen in the winter around here," said Jones, a naturalist and education manager at Fernwood Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve.

There were about 450 seagulls[sic] and 2,000 to 3,000 starlings at the landfill, as well as a red-tailed hawk.

"Hawks like to eat off that kind of stuff," said Canaday. "It was a very aromatic experience."

Alison and Canaday started their count at 5:30 a.m. and finished about 4 p.m.

They'd find a place that looked like a good habitat for birds, an open field or a deeply wooded area, Canaday said.

"In order to see the birds, we used a CD with distress calls and the birds would come in to stave off the predator," she said.

It amuses Canaday to watch the reaction of birds to the CD.

"I appreciate the variety of birds and I enjoy their behavior," Canaday said. "I work long hours so it's very relaxing to be in nature. I appreciate the stillness and it keeps me going."

Dick and Pat Schinkel, of Berrien Springs, saw a robin in a berry tree in the parking lot of McDonald's in Buchanan and a tundra swan on the St. Joseph River.

"They migrate through here but normally don't stop here," Dick Schinkel said. "We've been doing the count for 30 years and know the area of our territory."

The data collected by the field counters at lunch time was 54 species, said Jones. She also had feeder counters (people that count bird feeders at their homes) that mail in their data.

And bird counters have been referred to as citizen scientists for several years, Jones said.

"We're not trained scientists, but we can gather data that professional scientists can never get due to time and money," she said.

A history of bird counting

The bird count celebrates its 109th year with more than 42,000 birders taking part in the annual census.

The 2007 Niles Area Christmas Bird Count included 11,521 individual birds, a record high, and 72 species.

Data from each count provide valuable information to ornithologists, scientists that [sic] study birds.

The National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count was established in 1900 by Frank Chapman, an ornithologist with the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

He began publishing “Bird Lore,” which became a unifying national form for the Audubon movement.

Chapman felt it was better to count birds than shoot them, which was a sport on Christmas Day, to see how many birds could be shot.

The first bird count extended throughout the U.S. from Mexico to Canada.

New Buffalo Christmas Bird Count: 29-Year History

The center of the oddly-named New Buffalo (Michigan) Christmas Bird Count (located at ) is actually much closer to the village of Three Oaks than it is to New Buffalo. But by virtue of the fact that the count center is located so far to the east of downtown New Buffalo, which sits on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, the count circle encompasses some of my old boy-hood haunts around the village of Galien. I’ll be covering some of those areas during the New Buffalo CBC this coming weekend. With that thought in mind, I was driven to prepare this historical sketch of the first 29 years of the count.

During the 29-year history of the New Buffalo CBC, some 272,504 individuals of 142 species have been tallied.

Frequency of Occurrence/Yearly Regularity
Twenty-five species (18 percent) were recorded in each of the 29 years, forty-one (29 percent) in 25 or more years, sixty-six (46 percent) in 15 or more years (i.e., on more than half of all counts), forty-three (30 percent) in fewer than 10 years, and seventeen (12 percent) in just one year.

The Top Ten Species: The following species are ranked in decreasing order of abundance based on a combination of three criteria: (a) total number recorded; (b) mean count when detected, and (c) median count when detected. The values for each of these criteria are presented as percentages relative to the highest-ranking species in each category (European Starling;i.e., the median count for Northern Cardinal was 27.3 percent that of the starling). Ranks (overall and for individual critera) are in curly brackets. Each of the species listed below ranked in the top 10 in at least one of the three abundance criteria:

European Starling {1}: (a) 100{1} [n=35,778] – (b) 100{1} [Mean=1,234] – (c) 100{1} [Median=951]

Herring Gull {2.7): (a) 76.8{2) – (b) 76.7{2} – (c) 49.7{4}

House Sparrow {2.7}: (a) 75.6{3} – (b) 75.5{3} – (c) 74.0{2}

Dark-eyed Junco {3.7}: (a) 56.4{4} – (b) 56.6{4} – (c) 58.4{3}

Ring-billed Gull {5}: (a) 45.9{5} – (b) 52.2{5} – (c) 43.7{5}

American Tree Sparrow {6.7}: (a) 32.9{6} – (b) 32.9{7} – (c) 34.9{7}

American Crow {7}: (a) 29.4{7} – (b) 29.4{8} – (c) 37.2{6}

Mourning Dove {9}: (a) 25.5{8} – (b) 25.5{10} – (c) 26.1{9}

Northern Cardinal {10}: (a) 21.1{10} – (b) 21.1{12} – (c) 27.3{8}

House Finch {10}: (a) 20.5{11} – (b) 27.1{9} – (c) 25.8{10}

The 10 species enumerated above accounted for 65 percent of individuals recorded on the New Buffalo CBC. Three of the 10 most abundant species (European Starling, House Finch, House Sparrow) are introduced; collectively, these three species alone account for 26 percent of the total individuals.

29-year Summary:

The status of each species recorded during the 45-year history of the Niles CBC is summarized using the following conventions: Species Name—Number of years recorded (remarks, where appropriate): Median count (High count in Year(s)). Example: Great Blue Heron—26: 4 (15 in ‘98). Names of species recorded fewer than 10 times are italicized. Names of species recorded on more than half of the counts are boldfaced. Names of species ranked in the top 10 in terms of abundance are boldfaced and underlined. For species recorded 10 or more times, high counts that exceed the median by a factor of 10 or more are underlined. Asterisks (*) denote high counts that occurred in three or more years. Years are denoted as follows: ’70 is 1970, ’05 is 2005, etc.

Snow Goose—3: 1 (1*), Canada Goose—22: 165.5 (615 in ’01) {includes “Blue” form—1: 1 (in ‘87)}, Mute Swan [I]—5 (first in ’86): 2 (16 in ’04), Tundra Swan—2: 24 (46 in ’94), swan sp.—1: 6 (in ’98), Wood Duck—7: 1 (3 in ’00), Gadwall—8: 3.5 (18 in ’01), American Wigeon—5: 1 (2 in ’93 & ’94), American Black Duck—23: 8 (46 in ’86), Mallard—29: 168 (738 in ’06), Northern Shoveler—4: 1 (12 in ’97), Northern Pintail—3: 2 (3 in ’03), Green-winged Teal—3: 1 (7 in ’96).

Canvasback—5: 6 (8 in ’96), Redhead—11: 2 (24 in ’99), Ring-necked Duck—5: 2 (4 in ’01), Greater Scaup—20: 8.5 (272 in ’93), Lesser Scaup—17: 9 (133 in ’99), scaup sp.—16: 5 (3,000 in ’98), King Eider—1: 1 (in ’98), Harlequin Duck—1: 1 (in ’93), Surf Scoter—7: 2 (36 in ’98), White-winged Scoter—14: 2.5 (60 in ’69), Black Scoter—8: 4 (23 in ’98), Long-tailed Duck—10: 2 (21 in ’73), Bufflehead—28: 76 (253 in ’94), Common Goldeneye—29: 95 (663 in ’93), Barrow’s Goldeneye—1: 1 (in ’97), Hooded Merganser—15: 2 (8 in ’98), Common Merganser—22: 15.5 (59 in ’95), Red-breasted Merganser—26: 18.5 (1,190 in ’07), Ruddy Duck—2: 1 (in ’75 & ’87), duck sp—4: 30 (500 in ’04).

Ring-necked Pheasant [I]—26: 5.5 (101 in ’73), Ruffed Grouse—4 (last in ’87): 2 (9 in ’71), Wild Turkey—6 (first in ’00): 1 (15 in ’02), Northern Bobwhite—5 (last in ’74): 19 (61 in ’73).

Red-throated Loon—6: 3 (15 in ’06), Common Loon—14: 3 (25 in ’94), loon sp.—3: 1 (1*), Pied-billed Grebe—11: 1 (15 in ’71), Horned Grebe—12: 2.5 (12 in ’06), Eared Grebe—1: 1 (in ’02), Aechmophorus sp.—1: 1 (in ’06), Double-crested Cormorant—2: 1 (1 in ’90 & ’92), Great Blue Heron—16: 2 (8 in ’87).

Turkey Vulture—2: 1 (1 in ’89 & ’92), Bald Eagle—3: 1 (1*), Northern Harrier—24: 4 (23 in ’94), Sharp-shinned Hawk—21: 2 (4*), Cooper’s Hawk—29: 3 (9*), Northern Goshawk—4: 1 (1*), Accipiter sp—7: 1 (3 in ’95), Red-shouldered Hawk—17: 2 (6 in ’98), Red-tailed Hawk—29: 26 (47 in ’94), Rough-legged Hawk—29: 7 (29 in ’94), Buteo sp.—6: 1 (1*), hawk sp.—3: 1 (2 in ’94), American Kestrel—29: 16 (37 in ’91), Merlin—3: 1 (1*).

Virginia Rail—1: 1 (in ’75), American Coot—12: 3.5 (220 in ’71), Killdeer—9: 2 (12 in 87), Pectoral Sandpiper—1: 1 (in ’87), Purple Sandpiper—3: 1 (1*), Wilson’s Snipe—3: 1 (2 in ’72), Dunlin—1: 2 (in ’74), Red Phalarope—1: 3 (in ’87).

Bonaparte’s Gull—9: 3 (29 in ’03), Ring-billed Gull—28: 415.5 (2,739 in ’03), California Gull—1: 1 (in ’04), Herring Gull—29: 473 (6,185 in ’04), Thayer’s Gull—8: 1 (5 in ’04), Iceland Gull—4: 1 (1*), Lesser Black-backed Gull—10: 1 (3 in ’99 & ’04), Glaucous Gull—12: 1 (5 in ’04), Great Black-backed Gull—9: 1 (4 in ’01), Black-legged Kittiwake—3: 1 (1*), gull sp—18: 63 (2,225 in ’04), jaeger sp—1: 1 (in ’00).

Rock Pigeon [I]—25 (first tallied on CBCs in ’73): 167 (298 in ’92), Mourning Dove—29: 248 (1,506 in ’74), Eastern Screech-Owl—28: 4.5 (23 in ’89), Great Horned Owl—26: 2 (12 in ’71), Snowy Owl—4: 1 (1*), Barred Owl—25: 2 (6 in ’96), Long-eared Owl—4: 1 (3 in ’71), Short-eared owl—12: 1 (3 in ’87), Northern Saw-whet Owl—2: 1 (1 in ’89 & ’91), owl sp.—3: 1 (2 in ’97).

Belted Kingfisher—20: 2 (10 in ’71), Red-headed Woodpecker—26: 7 (120 in ’71), Red-bellied Woodpecker—29: 46 (84 in ’94), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker—11: 1 (3 in ’71), Downy Woodpecker—29: 81 (129 in ’97), Hairy Woodpecker—29: 16 (29 in ’71), Northern Flicker—29: 14 (52 in ’69), Pileated Woodpecker—17: 3 (6 in ‘107), Eastern Phoebe—1: 1 (in ’74).

Northern Shrike—2: 1 (4 in ’95), Blue Jay—29: 206 (480 in ’71), American Crow—29: 354 (863 in ’97), Horned Lark—28: 48.5 (676 in ’75), Black-capped Chickadee—29: 161 (372 in ’93), Tufted Titmouse—29: 115 (212 in ’97), Red-breasted Nuthatch—28: 14 (52 in ’95), White-breasted Nuthatch—29: 90 (169 in ’94), Brown Creeper—29: 5 (20 in ’87).

Carolina Wren—26: 4.5 (14 in 03), Winter Wren—17: 2 (10 in ’71), Golden-crowned Kinglet—22: 2 (15 in ’73), Ruby-crowned Kinglet—4: 1 (1*), Eastern Bluebird—26: 26.5 (82 in ’05), Hermit Thrush—5: 1 (1*), American Robin—24: 4.5 (765 in ’98), Gray Catbird—1: 1 (in ’69), Northern Mockingbird—7: 1 (2 in ’70), Brown Thrasher—2: 1 (1 in ’69 & ’71).

European Starling [I]—29: 951 (3,697 in ’73), American Pipit—1: 1 (in ’04), Bohemian Waxwing—1: 14 (in ’95), Cedar Waxwing—23: 35 (207 in ’98), Yellow-rumped Warbler—15: 2 (20 in ’69), Common Yellowthroat—2: 1 (1 in ’75 & 87).

Eastern Towhee—6: 1 (3 in ’88), American Tree Sparrow—29: 332 (1,600 in ’71), Chipping Sparrow—1: 1 (in ’80), Field Sparrow—9: 6 (12 in ’71), Fox Sparrow—5: 2 (12 in ’88), Song Sparrow—29: 34 (91 in ’73), Swamp Sparrow—18: 2.5 (17 in ’75), White-throated Sparrow—17: 3 (12 in ’88), White-crowned Sparrow—27: 8 (53 in ’94), sparrow sp—5: 11 (21 in 01), Dark-eyed Junco—29: 555 (1,902 in ’75) {includes “Oregon” Junco—2: 1.5 (2 in ’71) and “Slate-colored” Junco—29: 555 (1,902 in ’75)}, Lapland Longspur—16: 16.5 (4,141 in ’73), Snow Bunting—26: 69.5 (902 in ’07).

Northern Cardinal—29: 260 (418 in ’00), Red-winged Blackbird—22: 6 (235 in ’01), Eastern Meadowlark—9: 3 (20 in ’70), Rusty Blackbird—2: 2 (3 in ’74), Common Grackle—11: 3 (26 in ’07), Brown-headed Cowbird—15: 5 (224 in ’01), blackbird sp.—2: 1.5 (2 in ‘o4), Baltimore Oriole—1: 1 (in ‘03).

Pine Grosbeak—2: 4.5 (6 in ’87), Purple Finch—26: 16 (56 in ’69), House Finch [I]—22 (first in '86): 245.5 (879 in ’95), Red Crossbill—1: 22 (in ’72), crossbill sp.—1: 12 (in ’07), Common Redpoll—16: 8.5 (400 in ’69), Hoary Redpoll—1: 1 (in ’07), Pine Siskin—23: 15 (90 in ’90), American Goldfinch—29: 188 (552 in ’86), Evening Grosbeak—13: 5 (64 in ’72), House Sparrow [I]—29: 704 (2,709 in ’74).

Niles Christmas Bird Count: 45-Year Summary

During the 45-year history (1961-1978 and 1981-2007) of the Niles (Michigan) Christmas Bird Count (CBC), 275,735 individuals of 132 species have been recorded. I live in the count circle, and plan to participate in the count for the first time next weekend. That has prompted me to prepare this brief summary of the 45-year history of the count.

Frequency of Occurrence/Yearly Regularity:

Seventeen species (13 percent) were recorded in each of the 45 years, twenty-six (20 percent) in 40 or more years, 67 (51 percent) in 23 or more years (i.e., on more than half of all counts), fifty-three (40 percent) in fewer than 10 years, and twenty-one (16 percent) in just one year.

Superabundant Species:

The fifteen most abundant species (underlined and boldfaced in the list below) accounted for 83 percent of the individuals recorded on the Niles CBC. Four of the 15 most abundant species (European Starling, House Sparrow, House Finch, Rock Pigeon) are introduced; collectively, these four species alone account for 30 percent of total individuals.

45-Year Summary:

The status of each species recorded during the 45-year history of the Niles CBC is summarized using the following conventions: Species Name—Number of years recorded (remarks, where appropriate): Median count (High count in Year(s)). Example: Nothern Harrier—16: 1 (3 in ’90). Names of species recorded fewer than 10 times are italicized. Names of species recorded on more than half of the counts are boldfaced. Names of species ranked in the top 15 in terms of abundance are boldfaced and underlined. For species recorded 10 or more times, high counts that exceed the median by a factor of 10 or more are underlined. Asterisks (*) denote high counts that occurred in three or more years. Years are denoted as follows: ’70 is 1970, ’05 is 2005, etc. Introduced species are denoted [I].

Snow Goose—6: 1 (5 in ‘70) {includes “Blue” form—4: 1 (2 in ’70) and “White” form—1: 3 (in ’70)}, Canada Goose—37: 434 (2,297 in ‘07), Cackling Goose—1: 5 (in ’07), Mute Swan [I]—15 (first in ’78): 1 (16 in ‘05), Tundra Swan—3: 1 (1*), Wood Duck—23: 2.5 (21 in ‘75), Gadwall—10: 3.5 (12 in ‘95), American Wigeon—1: 1 (in ’97), American Black Duck—33: 17 (86 in ‘61), Mallard—45: 278 (690 in ‘87), Blue-winged Teal—2: 1 (1*), Northern Pintail—4: 1 (2 in ‘97), Green-winged Teal—3: 3 (6 in ‘65).

Canvasback—9: 1 (16 in ‘74), Redhead—8: 1.5 (3 in ‘06), Ring-necked Duck—6: 1 (44 in ‘99), Greater Scaup—1: 1 (in ’05), Lesser Scaup—3: 3 (6 in ‘74), unidentified scaup—1: 2 (in ’94), White-winged Scoter—1: 2 (in ’98), Long-tailed Duck—1: 1 (in ’76), Bufflehead—32: 2 (13 in ‘07), Common Goldeneye—37: 44 (431 in ‘76), Barrow’s Goldeneye—1: 1 (in ’77), Hooded Merganser—26: 3 (60 in ‘91), Common Merganser—31: 9 (60 in ‘61), Red-breasted Merganser—5: 1 (3 in ’67 & ‘97), Ruddy Duck—4: 1 (4 in ‘06), unidentified duck—5: 2 (8 in ’99).

Ring-necked Pheasant [I]—33: 7 (98 in ‘70), Ruffed Grouse—23 (last in ’93): 3 (10 in ’71 & ‘73), Wild Turkey [I]—9 (first in ’94): 11 (121 in ‘05), Northern Bobwhite [I]—9 (last in ’78): 15 (71 in ‘73).

Common Loon—6: 1 (2 in ’91), Pied-billed Grebe—26: 1.5 (24 in ’75), Horned Grebe—4: 2 (3 in ’74), Eared Grebe—1: 1 (in ’83), unidentified grebe—1: 2 (in ’04), Double-crested Cormorant—1: 1 (in ’03), Great Blue Heron—26: 4 (15 in ‘98).

Turkey Vulture—1: 2 (in ’63), Bald Eagle—6: 1 (3 in ’00), Nothern Harrier—16: 1 (3 in ’90), Sharp-shinned Hawk—33: 2 (7 in ’89), Cooper’s Hawk—39: 3 (10 in ’05), Northern Goshawk—2: 1(in ’88 & ’07), unidentified Accipiter—7: 1 (4 in ’95), Red-shouldered Hawk—25: 1 (5 in ‘04), Red-tailed Hawk—45: 15 (53 in ’95), Rough-legged Hawk—33: 2 (12 in ’94), unidentified Buteo—8: 2.5 (5 in ’95), unidentified hawk—2: 1 (in ’98 & ’07), American Kestrel—45: 7 (24 in ’92), Merlin—1: 1 (in ’82), unidentified falcon—1: 1 (in ’98).

American Coot—22: 10.5 (177 in ’99), Sandhill Crane—1: 4 (in ’05), Killdeer—11: 1 (10 in ’98), Wilson’s Snipe—13: 2 (9 in ’76), American Woodcock—6: 1 (2 in ’73 & ’75), Ring-billed Gull—32: 37.5 (2,253 in ’07), Herring Gull—42: 9.5 (1,446 in ’05), unidentified gull—12: 61 (271 in ’94).

Rock Pigeon [I] (first tallied on CBCs in ’73)—33: 111 (276 in ’95), Mourning Dove—44: 291.5 (1,188 in ’74), Barn Owl—4: 1 (3 in ’76), Eastern Screech-Owl—41: 9 (181 in ’73), Great Horned Owl—40: 4 (41 in ’81), Snowy Owl—1: 1(in ’76), Barred Owl—26: 2 (4 in ’75 & ’92), Long-eared Owl—7: 1 (1*), Northern Saw-whet Owl—3: 1 (2 in ’73), Short-eared Owl—3: 1 (1*), unidentified owl—1: 1 (in ’93).

Belted Kingfisher—40: 4 (12 in ’78 & ’84), Red-headed Woodpecker—38: 2 (34 in ’71), Red-bellied Woodpecker—44: 28.5 (105 in ’04), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker—26: 1.5 (8 in ’69), Downy Woodpecker—45: 62 (119 in ’95), Hairy Woodpecker—45: 9 (22 in ’63), Northern Flicker—43: 15 (56 in ’02), Pileated Woodpecker—12: 2 (7 in ’07), Eastern Phoebe—1: 1 (in ’87).

Northern Shrike—5: 1 (1*), Blue Jay—45: 183 (409 in ’84), American Crow—45: 239 (781 in ’99), Horned Lark—38: 34.5 (388 in ’75), Black-capped Chickadee—45: 131 (478 in ’87), Tufted Titmouse—45: 90 (186 in ’89), Red-breasted Nuthatch—36: 6 (39 in ’99 & 07), White-breasted Nuthatch—45: 85 (181 in ’89), Brown Creeper—44: 6 (25 in ’86).

Carolina Wren—25: 4 (15 in ’05), Winter Wren—20: 2 (6 in ’74), Golden-crowned Kinglet—35: 5 (22 in ’02), Ruby-crowned Kinglet—3: 2 (2 in ’74 & ’87), Eastern Bluebird—35: 14 (103 in ’06), Townsend’s Solitaire—1: 1 (in ’07), Swainson’s Thrush—1: 1 (in ’78), Hermit Thrush—16: 1 (4 in ’02), American Robin—38: 8 (305 in ’98), Gray Catbird—2: 1 (1 in ’74 & ’06), Northern Mockingbird—11: 3 (9 in ’76), Brown Thrasher—4: 1 (1*).

European Starling [I]—45: 561 (4,700 in ’69), Bohemian Waxwing—1: 1 (in 74), Cedar Waxwing—39: 59 (775 in ’90), Yellow Warbler—1: 1 (in ’93), Yellow-rumped Warbler—28: 4 (13 in ’78), Palm Warbler—1: 1 (in ’78), unidentified warbler—1: 1 (in ’94).

Eastern Towhee—15: 1 (4 in ’71), American Tree Sparrow—45: 190 (890 in ’71), Field Sparrow—24: 8 (62 in ’00), Vesper Sparrow—2: 1 (1 in ’87 & ‘88), Savannah Sparrow—1: 1 (in ’71), Fox Sparrow—10: 1 (3 in ’89), Song Sparrow—45: 26 (100 in ’63), Lincoln’s Sparrow—2: 4 (7 in ’63), Swamp Sparrow—31: 2 (16 in ’71), White-throated Sparrow—27: 3 (17 in ’05), White-crowned Sparrow—30: 3 (31 in ’84), unidentified sparrow—10: 5.5 (140 in ’95), Dark-eyed Junco—45: 590 (1,145 in ’75) {includes “Oregon” Junco—5: 2 (11 in ’64), “Pink-sided” Junco—1: 1 (in ’07), and “Slate-colored Junco”—39: 513 (1,745 in ’75) }, Lapland Longspur—8: 2 (5 in ’71), Snow Bunting—22: 51.5 (360 in ’73).

Northern Cardinal—45: 244 (507 in ’89), Red-winged Blackbird—17: 2 (107 in ’83), Eastern Meadowlark—14: 2 (22 in ’69), Rusty Blackbird—2: 2 (3 in ’87), Brewer’s Blackbird—1: 2 (in ’90), Common Grackle—27: 4 (300 in ’06), Brown-headed Cowbird—23: 4 (131 in ’73), unidentified blackbird—1: 1 (in ’04).

Pine Grosbeak—2: 7.5 (10 in ’85), Purple Finch—41: 12 (61 in ’87), House Finch [I]—24 (first in ’84): 274.5 (815 in ’91), Red Crossbill—3: 5 (8 in ’75), unidentified crossbill—1: 3 (in ’82), Common Redpoll—19: 12 (730 in ’69), Hoary Redpoll—1: 1 (in ’93), Pine Siskin—25: 14 (236 in ’87), American Goldfinch—45: 199 (532 in ’88), Evening Grosbeak—14: 10.5 (167 in ’69), House Sparrow [I]—45: 650 (2,000 in ’66).

Christmas Bird Counts of Berrien County: 1961-2007

With the Christmas Season looming on the horizon (yes, it’s true) I thought it would be fun, and hopefully instructional, to provide a quick overview of Christmas Bird Counts (CBCs) in Berrien County. So here goes . . .

Caption: European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), the most abundant species recorded on Berrien County CBCs. Image is from the Introduced Species Summary Project at Columbia University.

The history of the CBC in Berrien County spans a 47-year period, 1961-2007. Over those 47 years, 157 counts were conducted at 4 locations: Berrien Springs (47 counts: 1961-2007), Coloma (36: 1972-2007), New Buffalo (29: 1969-1975 & 1986-2007), and Niles (45: 1961-1978 & 1981-2007). That effort resulted in 10,588 encounters (i.e., an encounter entails the detection of one species, regardless of the number of individuals, on one CBC) with 1,539,691 individuals of a nominal 183 species; on average, that equates to 9,807 inviduals of 67 species/count/year. One hundred fifty-nine species were recorded at Berrien Springs, 139 at New Buffalo, and 131 each at Coloma and Niles.

Evenness of Distribution: One hundred and twelve species (61 percent) were recorded at all four CBC sites, 17 (9 percent) at three, 17 at two, and 36 (20 percent) at just one.

Yearly Regularity: Thirty-three species (18 percent) were recorded in each of the 47 years, 27 (15 percent) in just one year; the median regularity was 22 years, or 47 percent.

Frequency of Occurrence: Fourteen species (8 percent) were recorded on all 157 counts, 27 (15 percent) on just one count; the median frequency was 32 counts, or 20 percent.

The Big Twelve: The following species are ranked in decreasing order of abundance based on a combination of three criteria: (a) total number recorded; (b) mean count when detected, and (c) median count when detected. The values for each of these criteria are presented as percentages relative to the highest-ranking species in each category (European Starling;i.e., the median count for Northern Cardinal was 9.2 percent that of the starling). Ranks (overall and for individual critera) are in curly brackets. Each of the species listed below ranked in the top 10 in at least one of the three abundance criteria:

European Starling {1} — (a) 100{1} [n=372,201] — (b) 100{1} [Mean=2,373.9] — (c) 100{1} [Median=1,213]

House Sparrow {2}: (a) 47.2{2} — (b) 47.2{2} — (c) 75.0{2}

Dark-eyed Junco {3}: (a) 32.2{3} — (b) 32.2{3} - (c) 53.5{3}

American Tree Sparrow {4}: (a) 16.5{6} — (b) 16.5{7} — (c) 28.2{4}

Canada Goose {6}: (a) 16.0{8} — (b) 20.4{5} — (c) 24.8{5}

Ring-billed Gull {7}: (a) 21.2{4} — (b) 23.4{4} — (c) 15.1{13}

Mallard {7.7}: (a) 16.3{7} — (b) 16.3{8} — (c) 24.0{8}

Herring Gull {8.7}: (a) 16.8{5} — (b) 17.2{6} — (c) 13.5{15}

Mourning Dove {8.7}: (a) 14.3{9} — (b) 14.4{10} — (c) 24.2{7}

House Finch {10.3}: (a) 8.5{13} — (b) 13.8{12} — (c) 24.4{6}

Rock Pigeon {10.3}: (a) 12.7{11} — (b) 15.6{9} — (c) 15.5{11}

American Crow {10}: (a) 13.8{10} — (b) 13.8{11} — (c) 20.1{9}

Northern Cardinal {11.7}: (a) 9.2{12} — (b) 9.2{13} — (c) 17.4{10}

Notable High Counts: Of the 94 species detected 30 or more times, 10 had high counts that exceeded the median by a factor of 50 or more. Information provided for each species includes the high count (the site and year of the high count); and the factor by which the high count exceeded the median:

Common Merganser 1,224 (Berrien Springs, 1972); 84x

Red-breasted Merganser: 1,524 (Berrien Springs, 2003); 254x

Ring-necked Pheasant: 429 (Berrien Springs, 1973); 54x

American Coot: 2,175 (Coloma, 1994); 272x

American Robin: 1,366 (Berrien Springs, 2004); 137x

Red-winged Blackbird: 235 (New Buffalo 2001); 59x

Common Grackle: 3,120 (Berrien Springs, 1984); 1,040x

Brown-headed Cowbird: 818 (Berrien Springs, 1982); 136x

Lapland Longspur: 4,141 (New Buffalo, 1973); 1,035x

Common Redpoll: 1,300 (Berrien Springs, 1969); 52x

Acknowledgment: This overview was compiled with the aid of the CBC database.