Another Successful Christmas Bird Count

Had an enjoyable Christmas Bird Count experience; our section (Lee Metcalf NWR) of the Stevensville, MT count circle found 55 species...did not detect a single House Sparrow or Starling! Temperatures were near/at 32 F all day with periods of sunshine, very nice compared to -20 F on North Dakota CBC's some years back. The wind was calm morning long with a definite uptick by early afternoon.

The group was composed of four people, perfect for the Ford Explorer used. The windows were frozen closed for the better part of an hour, however it didn't negatively effect the outcome. As the first person to arrive, I ticked off a hooting Great Horned Owl in the dark without any special effort. Thanks to the mild overnight temps, open water habitat allowed us to quickly add target species Northern Shoveler, Lesser Scaup, Ruddy Duck, Virginia Rail (with assist from smartphone app) and assorted waterbirds within 30 minutes of start. By 9:30 we had reached 36 species, many that no other count circle group will tick off. This touches on strategy, that's right this birding event requires thoughtful planning.

I've previously posted (http://goo.gl/9DZBSc) behaviors for CBC birding success. Like identification much of these behaviors become second nature/intuitive with experience. So it came as no surprise that the Prairie Falcon and Rough-legged Hawk (few around this winter) were atop powerpoles on the route returning to the office for a decided twenty minute lunch break. After which we went into forested habitat for woodpecker, finch and nuthatch species. Did not find much for quite a while when we heard a call note, yep that's how feeding flocks are found. Craning our necks to the upper branches of Ponderosa Pine, there were the Pygmy Nuthatch (25...making their piano wire vocalizations, my interpretation) with a host of other small songbirds-great fun!!

Leaving the forested habitat, we were above 50 species for the day, but had missed Pileated and Hairy Woodpecker. We revisited wetland habitat targeting Snipe. There was a good amount of shallow water areas to look over. One of our group spied a small bird out on a mudflat...very strange! Hurriedly set up the spotting scope and surmised it was a Rusty Blackbird, yowza! Yep, closer looks and photos (header photo above) determined it was really this species. Probably a Refuge CBC first.

Backtracked to previous search area and voila...snipe flushed. By now it was late afternoon and a "mission accomplished" mentality set in. Surpassed our target of 50 species on a winter day in Montana...not bad :-) Hope you had a chance to participate in this fun birding, if not there's still time.

Christmas Bird Count...25 Behaviors for Success

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Just finished another Christmas Bird Count (CBC); our "team" established another record species total for our piece of the Circle. Nope, the total is nowhere close to what south Texas or California CBC's get. Doesn't matter, as the greatest conservationist President said: "Do what you can with what you have where you are" (Theodore Roosevelt Autobiography, Chapter IX, page 336). The longer I go at this birding thing (or wildlife-watching in general), the greater pleasure I get from doing it close to home. But, no matter how close to home, you should be prepared not to double-back for something forgotten, misplaced, unstudied, etc. Here are 25 actions to embrace for present and future success:

1. Keep celebration of key finds short-lived
2. Resist assumption of identities; remain mindful
3. Use your ears
4. Look up frequently
5. Get everybody on the bird
6. Find the feeding flock...work it thoroughly
7. Don’t be embarrassed with initial misidentifications; it happens
8. Insist on securing documentation (audio, written, photographic)
9. Record notes/sightings/numbers to the best of your ability
10. Have a smartphone or tablet with loaded “apps”
11. Birds may not respond vocally to playback, but can approach stealthily
12. Know your habitat, know the expected bird species...do your homework
13. Dress warm in layers, snack often
14. Have a zoom point and shoot at hand for documentation
15. Know how to digiscope
16. Cover everything (habitat) once not too fast or slow, then go back for misses
17. Not all human development is “bad”, think plantings and water features outside of feeders
18. Have multiple spotting scopes available for waterbodies; the more the better
19. Be aware of weather forecasts...especially predicted, dramatic changes in wind, temperature...plan accordingly
20. Have vehicle thoroughly prepped
21. Peruse Count Area during Count Week
22. Remain optimistic and intuit strategy
23. Working hard is the basis for serendipity and the unexpected
24. Keep looking when other team members are distracted, eating, or whatever
25. Give your all though you will never find everything; try to relax and have fun

Oh, find something great!!!

Owling at Lee Metcalf NWR

Two species found on the Refuge by USFS Biologist Dave Lockman at dusk on the December 31 Christmas Bird Count were Great Horned Owl and Short-eared Owl. Viewing location for both was from the Refuge south Kiosk along Wildfowl Lane. True to Dave's description both birds did not appear until nearly dark today. The Great Horned Owl was magical as it swooped in just west of the kiosk and perched in a tree bordering Francois Slough (Burnt Fork Creek) and let loose with a "hoo-hooooo-ho-ho". The Short-eared Owl was a little more difficult; look northeast across the grassland and look for the distinct mothlike flight of this owl. It's possible the Short-ears could hang out here for a while; there are abundant Northern Harriers (counted 11 today) in this location, indication of large prey base of voles. Happy hunting :-)

Stevensville Christmas Bird Count

Had a good time doing the 2010 "Stevi" CBC. Did Lee Metcalf NWR with the help of Sherry Ritter. Temps started out in single digits and much of the open water on the refuge was frozen...not typical. 


Lee Metcalf NWR...looking northeast...Sapphire Mountains in background



Found 33 species by mid-day. Morning highlight was immature northern goshawk that whooshed by us only to perch in a nearby tree...opportunity for digiscoping. Go here to see cropped image: http://flic.kr/p/96SoJg 



The afternoon objective: finding waterfowl species here-to-fore unseen, e.g. gadwall. Started out well...scads of ring-necked duck, then discovered 2 Virginia rail skulking along outlet channel. Then a marsh wren vocalized followed by 2 others. Noted a pied-billed grebe (unexpected) in open water channel...whoa 2 more American coot...3 trumpeter swan and the coup de grace, a ruddy duck. Finished the day with 45 species, about 5 species less than normal. Great day to be outside connecting with nature.