Birders from Fultondale, Alabama, submitted more checklists in the Great Backyard Birdcount of 2006 than any other community in the United States or Canada, according to the official results from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society.

Photo by Glynn Wilson

A rare yellow-bellied sapsucker showed up for several days not far from Fultondale in Center Point. We managed to record a couple of its sounds. Click the link to open a separate window and listen: warning call | pecking sound

The top 5 U.S. communities were Fultondale, with 505 checklists submitted, followed by Charlotte, North Carolina with 362, Mentor, Ohio with 340, Cincinnati, Ohio with 287 and Richmond, Virginia with 262.

Localities Submitting the Most Checklists

The ninth annual Great Backyard Bird Count, Feb. 17-20, set new records as participation soared across the United States and Canada, according to the official press release.

From backyards to wildlife refuges, bird watchers tallied a record-breaking 623 bird species and 7.5 million individual birds during the four-day event. Participants sent in more than 60,000 checklists, providing a wealth of information unmatched in previous years. The flood of reports yielded what would have been otherwise impossible - a comprehensive snapshot of the continent's birdlife.

"With more people watching birds, together we discovered amazing things," said Paul Green, director of Citizen Science for National Audubon Society. "In some places, observers described flocks of robins so large their combined calls were louder than jetliners, and good seed crops in northwest Canada caused several species of seedeaters to remain in sub-zero northern Canada rather than move to warmer areas further south."

American robins are typically reported in greatest number by observers in the balmy southern states, but they inundated the Northwest this year, including Washington State, where flocks of 40,000 or more were seen and totals skyrocketed to 96 percent above last year's count.

In contrast, tallies of robins were down to less than one-half of their 2005 numbers in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi for reasons that are as yet unclear.

Although most insect-loving birds travel south of the United States in winter, warm weather may also have enticed some swallow and warbler species to stay farther north than usual, living on a partly vegetarian diet.

The number of bird watchers who reported orange-crowned warblers rose by more than 50 percent compared with last year and they reported twice as many birds, some of which were eating suet and nectar from feeders.

Tree swallows, which can feed on bayberry berries during winter, have broadened their distribution from 11 states in 2001 to 20 states in 2006. Adjusted numbers were up by 134 percent compared with last year.

Complete tallies and maps are available at the Great Backyard Bird Count web site, along with photos and narratives about other birds - including species in southern states hit by hurricanes, the stunning invasion of snowy owls in the Pacific Northwest, migratory pathways of sandhill cranes, regional rarities such as a black-throated blue warbler in Connecticut, and continued drops in counts of American crows, plagued by West Nile virus.

The web site also announces winners of this year's contests for localities with the highest participation, and features some of the more than 3,000 bird photos sent in for the photo contest.

"The success of citizen-science projects such as the Great Backyard Bird Count is built upon the generosity, skill, and enthusiasm of our participants," said Janis Dickinson, director of Citizen Science for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "It was incredibly exciting to watch the number of checklists climb this year."

Next year's Great Backyard Bird Count takes place February 16–19, 2007.

Checklist Champs for 2006

With more than 60,000 checklists submitted, the 2006 Great Backyard Bird Count ranks as the second-highest ever in participation, up 15 percent compared with last year and up a whopping 40 percent from two years ago.

While Alabamians submitted 1,368 checklists, up by 565, an increase of 70 percent , from last year, the state did not make the top 10 list.

The Top 10 States?

1) New York (3,978)
2) Pennsylvania (3,173)
3) Virginia (2,863)
4) North Carolina (2,847)
5) Ohio (2,833)
6) Texas (2,754)
7) California (2,550)
8) Georgia (2,507)
9) Florida (2,263)
10) Michigan (2,071)

2006 Contest Results

Posted by Glynn Wilson at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There is no final report out yet on the Great Backyard Bird Count of 2006. We'll post a link as soon as it becomes available. Meanwhile, the photo gallery is up. Great stuff...

Photo by Glynn Wilson

This image shows a what appears to be a yellow-bellied sapsucker, sphyrapicus varius, captured on Saturday, March 4, 2006.

Great Backyard Birdcount 2006 Photo Gallery

The woodpecker in the photo was perhaps mistaken at first as a red-naped sapsucker, but that would put it way out of its range. It came just two days after we constructed the bird blind in the backyard to get ready for the spring migration.

Unfortunately, this shot was snapped after the official birdcount ended.

According to the official research on this species, most non-birders believe that the yellow-bellied sapsucker is a fictitious bird created just for the humorous name. In fact, it is a widespread species of small woodpecker. Its habit of making shallow holes in trees to get sap is exploited by other bird species, and the sapsucker can be considered a "keystone" species, one whose existence is vital for the maintenance of a community.

Yellow-bellied sapsucker facts from Cornell.

Listen to the warning sound it makes, recorded the same day on an old jam box with a strong, built-in condenser microphone, followed by the noise it makes pecking for food on a hickory tree

Yellow-bellied sapsucker warning call.

Yellow-bellied sapsucker pecking sound.

See comments for expert identification...

Posted by Glynn Wilson at 12:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Photo by Glynn Wilson

The first sure sign of spring...

Growing up in these parts, the arrival of Robin Red Breast always meant the first sign of spring.

Guess it still does, although the cycles of migration seem volatile of late.

Global warming?

But finally, today, a beautiful day in Alabama.

Reached a high of 74.

I found an old tarp and formed a blind by attaching it with bungee cords over a swing set in the backyard.

To get a closer shot.

Remember your mom reading the Nursery Rhyme?

I do.

Tips on setting up a bird blind.

Posted by Glynn Wilson at 03:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Photo by Glynn Wilson

A cold male cardinal sitting in a redbud tree

The Great Backyard Bird Count of 2006 is over. In Birmingham, Alabama, the cold, wet weather no doubt made the event less fun for the people counting and the birds. But early results show a lot of people counted a lot of birds anyway.

As of late Monday afternoon, 30,553 checklists had been submitted with a total of 549 species observed and a grand total of 3,898,098 birds counted, according to the official birdsource Web site sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Society.

I turned in my reports online Monday night and e-mailed myself the results. Here's a summary of the species in these parts.

I reported 18 different species, mostly the usual suspects that hang around all winter. These include an average over the four days of two Cooper's hawks, five mourning doves each day, two red-headed woodpeckers, two downy woodpeckers, two northern flicker woodpeckers (the Alabama yellow-hammer), two blue jays, 40 crows, two Carolina chickadees, two house wrens, two Eastern bluebirds, two American robins, seven Northern cardinals, two Northern mockingbirds, two field sparrows, seven house finches and two house sparrows.

The only surprises were the four American goldfinches that showed up this weekend and about 75 red-winged blackbirds that filled the trees in the backyard on Monday and tried to sneak down and empty the big birdfeeder.

Posted by Glynn Wilson at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

by Glynn Wilson

One of four American gold finches spotted during the Great Backyard Bird Count of 2006

Some of the coldest, wet winter weather in the Southeast this year may hamper the Great Backyard Bird Count of 2006. I will have a report from here by Monday night or Tuesday.

So far, the most interesting sighting around here has been the presence of four gold finches. I managed to snap a few photos of one on Sunday afternoon. While I really need a larger lens to do this professionally, I will be trying to set up a blind in the yard for the Spring bird migration in the hopes of getting some better pictures with my Nikon D50 with a 200 millimeter zoom lens.

There is still time on Sunday afternoon and Monday to dress warm and get outside to see the bird's hanging out in your yard and contribute a bit of data for the science of birds in your area.

For a bit of motivation, check out this story and photos on the Great Backyard Bird Count of 2005.

Last winter, birders across North America reported more than 6.5 million birds, shattering the previous record of 4.8 million set in 2002. Participants submitted nearly 52,000 checklists, up 22 percent from 2004, and tallied 613 bird species, surpassing the previous record of 567. More than 1,000 photos were considered for the new online photo gallery, which features birds seen from around the continent during the count. At the GBBC web site, you can visit the photo gallery, explore the results, and view the top-10 lists.

Great Backyard Bird Count of 2005

Posted by Glynn Wilson at 01:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The ninth annual Great Backyard Bird Count is taking place February 17–20, with a special opportunity to “Count Birds with a Buddy,” according to the press release from the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Birders should share their passion with someone new this year, although every participant contributes to scientific knowledge by joining the only count that creates a mid-winter snapshot of how the bird populations are doing across North America.

“People can take as long as they like watching birds as part of their GBBC day,” said Dr. Paul Green, Audubon's director of Citizen Science.  “Most important is that people get outdoors and have fun counting the birds they see. Then they can be amazed at the results they produce on the GBBC web site; the animated maps are especially great.”

Continue reading "Great Backyard Bird Count Feb. 17-20" »

Posted by Glynn Wilson at 08:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)