By Jim Frisinger
Our 10 bird counters tallied 35 species and 185 birds during the two-hour Great Backyard Bird Count Feb. 19 at the Sheri Capehart Nature Preserve. A Western meadowlark was ID’d for the first time in the 15 years we have been counting.
Record numbers of turkey vultures, white-winged doves and red-winged blackbirds were also counted. Sadly, no yellow-rumped warblers were spotted this year for the first time.
Below is our species list we submitted as part of the worldwide citizen count.
| Northern Shoveler | 5 |
| Gadwall | 5 |
| Mallard | 12 |
| Ring-necked Duck | 3 |
| Canada Goose | 8 |
| Bufflehead | 1 |
| Pied-billed Grebe | 3 |
| White-winged Dove | 12 |
| Mourning Dove | 4 |
| Ring-billed Gull | 2 |
| Double-crested Cormorant | 3 |
| Great Blue Heron | 2 |
| Turkey Vulture | 7 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 1 |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker | 2 |
| Downy Woodpecker | 1 |
| Eastern Phoebe | 1 |
| Blue Jay | 5 |
| American Crow | 2 |
| Carolina Chickadee | 5 |
| Tufted Titmouse | 2 |
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet | 2 |
| Golden-crowned Kinglet | 3 |
| Carolina Wren | 1 |
| Bewick’s Wren | 2 |
| Northern Mockingbird | 1 |
| Eastern Bluebird | 1 |
| American Robin | 1 |
| American Goldfinch | 1 |
| Dark-eyed Junco | 5 |
| White-throated Sparrow | 1 |
| Song Sparrow | 1 |
| Western Meadowlark | 1 |
| Red-winged Blackbird | 70 |
| Northern Cardinal | 10 |
Photos Top Row: Carolina wren (Annabelle Corboy), turkey vulture (Jim Frisinger), Ruby-crowned kinglet (Annabelle Corboy)Photos Bottom Row: Cyndi Golden points to a bird on Boulder Hill. (photo by Michael Golden), After a job well done: Annabelle Corboy, Amy, Hannah and Greg Snyder and Lynn Healy (Photo by Laura Capik), Tallying up the the bird count at the end of the morning, from left, Kathy Draves, Jim Frisinger and Laura Capik (photo by Michael Golden)
