By Keith Bruno and Jean Zirnhelt
More than 70 community members participated in Audubon’s 121st Christmas Bird Count conducted in Pagosa Springs on December 19. Within the 15 mile diameter circle, centered on Trujillo Rd at the Transfer Station, we walked, skied or snowshoed 52 miles, drove 282 miles and counted birds on feeders at home.
Weminuche Audubon Society and Audubon Rockies have come together to organize the count in Pagosa Springs for the last 10 years. Some of the original 49 volunteers have participated in every local count, and this year we welcomed several new people. What is normally a social event, which pairs volunteers new to birding with more experienced birders, had to be altered this year due to COVID-19 restrictions. Carpooling outside related family members was discouraged, and the count zones were divided into smaller areas which could be surveyed by couples or one or two people. Several people participated by counting birds at home and sending in the findings.
This year we tallied 67 species on count day totaling 4,746 birds observed. This is 5 more species and over 1500 more birds than we detected during the last count. Some of the exciting viewings of the day included a prairie falcon in the Meadows district, a few ferruginous hawks south and east of Pagosa Springs, some handsome hooded mergansers on the lakes, unique shorebirds and rails along the San Juan Riverwalk, and a northern pygmy owl in the Lower Blanco area.
To boot, other unique species were observed during the count week (includes three days before and after the count day). Of these species, two unlikely suspects geographically were detected; a white-winged dove and a yellow-bellied sapsucker, both confirmed on eBird. Data generated by this long-term citizen science project shows trends in bird populations, and is an important part of climate science research.
This year we missed our wrap-up chili dinner with the opportunity to share each other’s company and compile our findings. We have to settle for a virtual get together, which will be held via Zoom this Wednesday, January 20 at 6:30pm. The link to join the meeting is posted on the Events listing of our website, www.weminucheaudubon.org.
Findings from our count are being entered into the National Audubon Society database, and a copy of the report will be posted on our website.
The Christmas Bird Count is only one of the fun bird surveys that chapter members participate in. Next up is the worldwide Great Backyard Bird Count in February. This spring we anticipate joining the expansion into our area of a Durango area survey of American dipper nesting success. The Weminuche chapter has its own Bird Monitoring Project survey of birds in the National Forest conducted from late May through early July.
We welcome participation in any of our events from all interested parties. Information may be found on our website or by emailing us at weminuche.audubon@gmail.com.