Christmas Bird Count: A Local Birding Tradition

By Jim Lukens, Idaho Department of Fish and Game. Christmas is a time of traditions - and for bird watchers - a favorite is the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Now in its 110th year, the count is the longest running bird census in the Western Hemisphere with 60,000 volunteers taking part in more than 2,000 surveys. The count helps scientists study the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America - even right here in east-central Idaho, where counts are conducted in Salmon and the Pahsimeroi Valley. On December 19, 19 birders fanned out by car and on foot to survey a 7-mile radius circle centered on the Salmon River Bridge in Salmon. By day's end, they had tallied 51 species and 4,090 birds, including an impressive 441 bohemian waxwings, a record high count of 91 tree sparrows, and rare count-day birds, such as tundra swan, Barrow's goldeneye, merlin and winter wren. The count also reflected increasing population trends for wintering bald eagles and the Eurasian collared dove, a non-native dove released in the Bahamas in the mid-1970s, which is rapidly expanding its range across the United States. This year's total of 51 species was about average for the past 10 years of the Salmon Count. However, over its 37-year history, 111 different bird species have been recorded - including extremely rare sightings of harlequin duck, gyrfalcon and great gray owl. It is this prospect of bird discovery that makes the Christmas Bird Count such great sport for birders of all skill levels. Christmas Bird Counts also were conducted in the Nampa and Boise areas on December 19 and 20, respectively. The preliminary count in Nampa was 90 species that included Anna's hummingbird, marsh wren, green heron, great egret, and yellow-headed blackbird. The count for Boise was about 75 species, including bohemian waxwing, Virginia rail, cackling goose, lesser gold-finch, glaucus and mew gulls, and a merlin. Peregrine falcons were sighted in both counts, Cyndi Coulter of Fish and Game's Boise office reported. Results from counts in Garden Valley and Bruneau are not yet available. For more information about the count, go to the National Audubon Society website at www.audubon.org and click on the Christmas Bird Count button. For information on volunteering for next year's count, call the Salmon Region Fish and Game office at 208-756-2271. Jim Lukens is the regional supervisor for the Salmon Region.