By Russ Shipper –
First, I want to thank everyone who participated in this, the 76th Kalamazoo Christmas Bird Count (CBC). Almost all were experienced observers and they are critical to the count. But, I hope that next year some new participants will try out attending a count.
It was 124 years ago when the first CBC was conducted; with this we are carrying on a long, long tradition of the (mostly) scientific study of birds in winter. This is one of about 70 CBCs in Michigan. The broad participation and longevity of this count are important.
The count was conducted on Saturday, December 30, 2023, as usual the first Saturday after Christmas. There were 30 participants, six of whom were feeder watchers. The conditions were basically warmish, snowless, with all water open, and light wind. While pleasant for birders, it contributed to birds being widely dispersed, so more challenging to find them. Nonetheless there were 10,188 individuals of 72 species recorded. The number of individuals was about 1,000 below average and the number of species was two above the average. And an unusual number of those species were rare or even new to the count. Please see the accompanying species list where brief comments are given on each species.
Recording two new species on a count with 75 years behind it is not to be expected. They were a little Northern Saw-whet Owl and a Common Raven. Saw-whet Owls have been sought after in some recent years and I suspect at times in the past, but this year more knowledge was brought in and it worked! With the raven there was a likely nesting pair near the edge of the count circle, just west of the Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery, and apparently one of them wandered east. What’s more it kept moving east into Kalamazoo County, making it the first documented record for the county. Ravens, like the Pileated Woodpecker and other species, are benefiting from the maturing forests following the logging of 75-100 years ago. While finding two new species on a count certainly happened in the early days, it has not happened in the last 30 or so years. Though in 2018 a Palm Warbler was seen on the day of the count and during the count week an American Bittern was found, but the birds reported during the count week are not actually included in the National Audubon database. The count week comprises the three days prior to and three days following the count day. Any species found in that period and not recorded on the day of the count are listed as count week species. The cumulative species total for the count is now 143, not including the count week species.
In addition to the new species there was a nice complement of seven species which have only been recorded ten or fewer times. In order of rarity on this count, with the number of occurrences in parentheses, the long awaited leader of this pack is the Turkey Vulture (2nd), followed by Marsh Wren (4th), Snow Goose (5th), Blue-winged Teal (6th), Gray Catbird (9th), Merlin (10th) and Sandhill Crane (10th). Of these I’ll comment on the first three. With the warming winters, it was only a matter of time before a Turkey Vulture was recorded on this count, and, as one participant mentioned, two spent last winter in Battle Creek. For the Marsh Wren it took 36 years between this and the last occurrence. With their customary winter range relatively close to the coast of the mostly southern states, it is a long way from its “winter home.” Again the warm conditions certainly played a part in it turning up here. The arctic-nesting Snow Goose is a slightly different matter. It is my opinion that with their population booming in the arctic and consequently more of them migrating, some are more likely to show up here. This despite that their typical migration route is to the west of Michigan.
Most feeder counters had a rather slow day, with generally little activity. With no snow cover and wide food availability, birds were not drawn to feeders. However, one watcher did have a remarkable four Red-headed Woodpeckers show up. It’s significant that this was a “mast year” for trees like oaks and hickories, when they produce an abundant crop, and this is the major food for redheads in winter. This was the driving force for the eight redheads that were located from four locations. That’s a lot for recent years, but compared to the 1973 count of 39, it is very modest. However, of all counts only five were in double digits and the last one of those was of 18 in 1980. Thus it is listed as a species of Special Concern by the Michigan Natural Features Inventory.
Notes on species list comments:
In the species list table, the averages are mostly derived from the counts between 1970 and 2022. During the first 24 years, the results had markedly lower numbers of individuals and species than has been recorded after approximately 1969, so if incorporated would skew the calculations. Also I still calculated the averages in the number of birds per 10 party hours, again to try and give a more realistic picture. Note, the numbers of waterfowl were grossly distorted when the “Upjohn Pond” was incorporated into the count circle from 1972-2007, thus the waterfowl averages are only from the last 15 years. The red text indicates a new or rare species, or an exceptional number of individuals.
| Snow Goose (white) | 2 | New high. Only the 5th occurrence. First in 1964, last in 2020. |
| Canada Goose | 1189 | Well above 15 year average |
| Mute Swan | 59 | More than double the average. |
| Trumpeter Swan | 28 | 4th highest tally, but less than half of last year’s record number. |
| Tundra Swan | 66 | 2nd highest tally after 132 in 2001. Mostly migrating flyovers. |
| swan (species) | 1 | |
| Wood Duck | 4 | Four is a good count. |
| Gadwall | 188 | More than 4 times the average. |
| American Black Duck | 3 | Still present, but at concerning numbers. |
| Mallard | 328 | About 65% above average. |
| Blue-winged Teal | 1 | This female returning for the 6th year. |
| Northern Shoveler | 2 | Sixth occurrence in past 15 years. |
| Northern Pintail | 1 | In all but 3 of last 15 years. High of 19. |
| Ring-necked Duck | 8 | Second highest in recent years. Usually just 1-3. |
| Bufflehead | 35 | Nicely above average. |
| Common Goldeneye | 17 | Down about 60% from average. |
| Hooded Merganser | 42 | Very high count, 2nd highest even with Upjohn Pond. |
| Wild Turkey | 30 | Below average and way below last year record 180. |
| Great Blue Heron | 12 | Slightly above average. |
| Turkey Vulture | 2 | 2nd report, 1st in 1949, with a count week report in 2021. |
| Bald Eagle | 4 | All but one record since 1993, 3rd highest tally. |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | Typically in very low numbers. Occurrence becoming erratic. |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 3 | Usually with more detections. |
| accipiter (species) | 2 | |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 1 | Present in 21 years, this the 4th year in a row. |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 18 | Lowest since 1991, but trend is up. |
| Sandhill Crane | 21 | Tenth record. Mild winter helped to reach a new high. |
| Ring-billed Gull | 67 | Well above average. |
| Herring Gull | CW | Disappointing miss. Reported for 52 counts. |
| Rock Pigeon | 167 | About 300% below average. Numbers erratic. |
| Mourning Dove | 116 | Almost 400% below average. High of 843 in i988. |
| Eastern Screech-Owl | 1 | 17 in 1974 and 1980. Effort very variable. |
| Great Horned Owl | 6 | Near average, 16 in 1977. Effort very variable. |
| Barred Owl | Disappointing miss. | |
| Northern Saw-whet Owl | 1 | Welcomed new species. See text. |
| Belted Kingfisher | 13 | Good number. Assisted by abundant open water. |
| Red-headed Woodpecker | 8 | Only missed once from 1953-1984, 28 times in next 37 years. |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker | 99 | About 40% above average. Present on 73 counts. |
| Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | CW | Erratic occurrence. |
| Downy Woodpecker | 112 | Slightly above average, present on 76 counts. |
| Hairy Woodpecker | 34 | Slightly below average, present on 76 counts. |
| Northern Flicker | 47 | Almost double the average. Overall increasing. |
| Pileated Woodpecker | 13 | Well below last year’s high, but still strongly increasing. |
| American Kestrel | 2 | Present on 70 counts, missed in earliest years and twice recently. |
| Merlin | 2 | 10th report. First time for 2 individuals. All since 1987. |
| Peregrine Falcon | 2 | A pair continuing since 2013, but missed in 2017. |
| Blue Jay | 310 | A bit below average. Highest count 620 in 1989. |
| American Crow | 3500 | The roost continues, in various locations. |
| Common Raven | 1 | Welcomed new species. See text. |
| Black-capped Chickadee | 380 | About 20% under the average. High of 560 in 1989. |
| Tufted Titmouse | 149 | Near average, highest count 160 in 1993. |
| Red-breasted Nuthatch | 8 | Wide fluctuations in numbers, this a bit above average. |
| White-breasted Nuthatch | 169 | Average, the highest count of 203 in 2018. |
| Brown Creeper | 28 | Fifth highest tally, high of 63 in 1979. |
| Carolina Wren | 36 | New high, 1st report in 1974. Annual since 1996. |
| Winter Wren | 4 | Double the average. High of 8 in 1974 and 2019. |
| Marsh Wren | 1 | Fourth record, the last in 1987 had 2 individuals. |
| Golden-crowned Kinglet | 19 | A bit above the average, present for 68 counts. |
| Eastern Bluebird | 75 | About 50% above average. Most higher counts in last 20 years. |
| Hermit Thrush | 1 | When present usually 1-3 individuals. |
| American Robin | 298 | About 3 times the average. Present on 68 counts. |
| Gray Catbird | 1 | Nine reports over all years, with a high of 3 in 2020. |
| European Starling | 890 | About 40% below average. In general decline. |
| Cedar Waxwing | 80 | Way below average. Detection varies. |
| Yellow-rumped Warbler | 3 | Well under the average, occurrence variable. |
| American Tree Sparrow | 133 | Another low count. In long-term decline. |
| Fox Sparrow | 1 | Twelfth report, typically 1-2 individuals. |
| Song Sparrow | 22 | About half the average. In long-term decline. |
| Swamp Sparrow | 3 | Exactly the average. Recorded on 50 counts. |
| White-throated Sparrow | 10 | Almost at the average. Found in 52 years.. |
| sparrow (species) | 2 | |
| Dark-eyed Junco | 364 | Always found, but in long-term decline. Less than half the average. |
| Northern Cardinal | 223 | Again half the average. Mostly stable population. |
| Common Grackle | 1 | Last seen 20 years ago. |
| Purple Finch | 2 | Population peaked in about the 1980s. After 1993, only 1-4 birds. |
| House Finch | 117 | Lowest since 1987, arrived in 1984, peaked in 1990s. |
| Pine Siskin | Disappointing miss. | |
| American Goldfinch | 173 | About 2.5 times below average. |
| House Sparrow | 416 | About 2.5 times below average. In decline. |
| passerine (species) | 10 |
| Total Individuals | 10188 | Average 11439, greatest number 17889 in 1999. |
| Total Species | 72 | A little over average of 70. High of 83 in 1975. |
| # Party Hours | 99.25 | Average 83.1. Greatest 120 in 1999. |
| # Party Miles | 383.45 | Average 470. Most 605 in 1994. |
| # Observers | 25 | Average 37. Most 54 in 2000 & 2006. |
| # Parties | 16 | Average 16. Greatest number 22 in 2022. |
| # Feeder Watchers | 6 | Average 5, 14 in 2020. Many fewer in early years. |
| # Feeder Hours | 17 | Average 13. Greatest number 40.5 in 1995. |
| Owling Hours | 2.5 | Incomplete data. |
| Owling Miles | 8 | Incomplete data. |