Pagosa Springs citizens came together to conduct the 125th Christmas Bird Count (CBC) on December 14, 2024. As the nation’s longest running community science project, the CBC has been instrumental in not only documenting winter resident birds annually in communities across the country, but also in elevating shifting trends in birds’ behavior as a result of the database that has been generated.
The clearest trend observed in this long-running dataset is a universal shift of birds wintering further north.
Locally, we only have 14 years of data, but even within that window of time, we have seen similar changes on our own regional landscape. For example, CBC participants documented 452 American robins in our 15 mile diameter circle on the 14th, far exceeding our previous metric by several 100. Robins have long been thought to be a regional migrant, moving to points south to hack out the winters in places more reasonable. There have been numerous CBC counts with zero robins recorded. However, over the last few years, we’ve seen them in increasing numbers.
Does weather play a part in this question, you may ask? It certainly does and considering that we’ve had little snowfall or resemblance of winter at our elevation, it’s an absolute factor. But, to go from a welcomed ‘harbinger of spring” in March to documented in the hundreds on a mid-winter’s day reflects a more substantial shift, yet again validating climate change’s discernible patterns. Likewise, in a similar trajectory, we’ve seen red-winged blackbirds showing up in greater #s in past years, with this year’s 325 observed across our eight zones, being an all-time high. Driving this point home even further, this year marks the first year that we’ve documented Western Meadowlarks for the CBC, traditionally only a species found in our region during the warmer months.
To back up a little, the CBC is conducted each year between the dates of December 14 and January 5, isolating a consistent timeframe using repeatable methods to count birds. The effort is aimed at creating a snapshot of what birds and numbers of those birds can be documented in our same circle each year. We’ve had a very consistent number of participants engaged in the count over the past 8 years, this year tallying 78 total contributors (69 folks in the field and 9 monitoring birds from their backyard feeders). The group logged 6,125 total birds across 79 species on count day. That’s the highest number of species we’ve ever reported for count day by 11 species. Interesting to think about.
This year we logged low numbers of birds traditionally seen at bird feeders including chickadee, nuthatch, and woodpecker species. It is locally believed that the abundant Ponderosa pine cone crop, paired with low snowfall, has allowed for these groups of birds to find food in nature more readily, reducing the need to visit feeders and thus allowing for less detection. Notably, the Lewis’s woodpecker numbers were low (21 detected) when compared to last year’s 111, but that may be in part due to a low acorn production year from Gambel oak, versus last year’s ‘mast’ year.
Some highlights this year include the first local CBC detection of a spotted sandpiper along the San Juan River, a lone snow goose intermixed with Canada geese in the NW corner of our circle, a Sandhill crane observed flying overhead on count day, bright flashes of both mountain and western bluebirds lingering due to mild winter conditions, golden-crowned kinglets flitting about in the canopy on Reservoir Hill, a lone northern pygmy owl observed near the SJ river south of town, 2 merlins detected in the SE portion of our circle, 3 woodland hawk sightings (Cooper’s and sharp-shinned), and unprecedented numbers of red crossbills likely associated with the pine cone crop aforementioned. Unsurprisingly, the American crow was the species recorded in highest numbers at 555.
Audubon Rockies and the Weminuche Audubon Society (WAS) would like to thank our local CBC participants for the 110 hours that they committed as parties to roam around our CBC circle logging birds, covering over 30 miles on foot and 426 miles by car. Fortunately, the weather was beautiful with sunny skies and a high of 50 degrees F, the highest on record for our circle on count day.
As always, the experience was a great one and serves as one of the WAS chapter’s highpoints of the year, collectively strengthening the skills and comradery of our birding community.