For 48 years citizen scientists from this area have contributed to the largest and longest wildlife study in the history of the world — the Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count. Their goal, mirrored by thousands of other sites in the Western Hemisphere, has been to identify and count all the birds they could find in a defined count circle on a single day around Christmas time. This is the 121st year this study has been conducted. That long line of uninterrupted data is an invaluable tool for scientists to monitor bird populations.
Here in the Gunnison Valley the count was held on Dec. 20.
“Like most things, the COVID pandemic threw a wrench into the way we handled the study,” said naturalist Arden Anderson, who organizes the count each year. “We couldn’t safely go out in small groups like we usually do. So instead a smaller group of the best birders covered their part of the circle by themselves.”
The birders started the day in -5 degree temperatures but it eventually warmed up to a balmy 25 degrees.
The birders tallied 50 species and a total of 4,586 individual birds, which is about average for this time of year. Species of birds that adapt well to human environments were well represented in the count. House sparrows, European starlings and Eurasian collared doves, which are all introduced species that live in urban settings, made up over half of the total birds found. Add in ravens, crows, black-billed magpies and mallards and these seven species made up 88% of all the birds tallied.
A few uncommon species showed up including American wigeon, merlin, Gunnison sagegrouse, Lewis’s woodpecker, white-crowned sparrow, gray jay and common goldeneye. The star of the day was a blue jay -- a species that occurs in Eastern Colorado and points east but almost never crosses the Rocky Mountains. This is the first time this species has been recorded in the Christmas Count and one of only a few records for the county.
A total of 15 bald eagles were counted along the open water, waiting for a fish to come to the surface. But only one golden eagle was found — fewer than normal.
Despite the chilly weather the volunteers were in high spirits. It was a varied group including a Western Colorado University professor and a student, Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff, local birders and folks who just wanted to get out for some exercise and look at their world a little closer.
The information from Gunnison is sent to the Audubon Society to join with 2500 other sites around North America to provide a recurring snapshot of bird populations over time. This data is used to identify trends in bird populations and distribution, spot species that seem to be declining and focus conservation efforts to try to address those declines.
You can see the results and data from past years on their website at http://netapp.audubon.org/cbcobservation/
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January 01, 2021 at 04:08AM
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Bird count continues despite pandemic | Gunnison Times - Gunnison Country Times
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