Thirty-three dedicated birders sloshed through the torrential rain and ending in dense fog Saturday, Dec. 14 for the 52nd annual Athol Circle Christmas Bird Count.
An additional eight members called in feeder lists and even added a new species on the last day of count week — a pine warbler. Jocelyn Songer took its photo Dec. 17 in Orange.
According to Dave Small of the Athol Bird and Nature Club, the 65 species observed in the count week was respectable considering the weather on count day.
Small notes it is interesting to mark the many changes observed over a half century of looking at our winter birds — the addition of ravens and red-bellied woodpeckers and the absence of evening grosbeaks. Changes in the area’s avifauna can be expected and “we will leave it to scientists to analyze our data and the data from hundreds of other counts conducted across America and around the world, to make the broader predictions.”
Several members of Athol Bird and Nature Club have participated in the very first counts as teenagers.
“Looking around the room at the Tally held at the Millers River Environmental Center (MREC) it was noted that one of the youngest participants was looking to make his 25th appearance next year,” Small wrote in a press release. “Be great to attract more young people to the joy of birding. If you know of any folks, of any age, who might enjoy learning more about birds or other areas of natural history please get in touch with us. We have many folks who would be happy to be mentors and share their knowledge and enthusiasm for nature.”
There were 6,822 individual birds of 60 species reported. Five additional species were observed during the count week three days prior and three days after the actual count.
Here are the results:
Canada Goose 13, American Black Duck 15, Mallard 199, Bufflehead 1, Common Goldeneye 3, Hooded Merganser 21, Common Merganser 12, Ringed-Neck Pheasant 1, Ruffed Grouse 1, Wild Turkey 276, Common Loon CW, Great-blue Heron 1, Bald Eagle 1, Sharp-Shinned Hawk CW, Coopers Hawk 4, Northern Goshawk 1, Red-shouldered Hawk 1, Red-Tailed Hawk 6, Ring-Billed Gull 7, Rock (Dove) Pigeon 207, Mourning Dove 292, Great Horned Owl 2, Barred Owl 3, Belted Kingfisher 1, Red-bellied woodpecker 38, Yellow-bellied sapsucker CW, Downy Woodpecker 75, Hairy Woodpecker 27, Northern Flicker CW, Pileated Woodpecker 3, Northern Shrike 1, Blue Jay 419, American Crow 61, Common Raven 5, Black-capped Chickadee 814, Tufted Titmouse 409, Red-Breasted Nuthatch 23, White-Breasted Nuthatch 156, Brown Creeper 10, Carolina Wren 23, Winter Wren 2, Golden-crowned Kinglet 55, Eastern Bluebird 54, American Robin 31, Gray Catbird 3, Northern Mockingbird 3, Starling 915, Cedar Waxwing 682, Pine Warbler CW, Rufous-sided Towhee 1, American Tree Sparrow 28, Chipping Sparrow 2, Field Sparrow 1, Song Sparrow 40, Swamp Sparrow 1, White-Throated Sparrow 91, Dark-eyed Junco 841, Snow Bunting 10, Northern Cardinal 146, Red-winged Blackbird 12, Rusty Blackbird 1, Brown-Headed Cowbird 1, House Finch 86, American Goldfinch 164, House Sparrow 520.
The program “Sea Lamprey: Hero of our Rivers and Vampire of the Sea” will be held Jan. 8.
Enjoy an evening focused on the intriguing and bizarre-looking sea lamprey. With a life history that includes years in our freshwater rivers and epic migrations to and from the sea, lamprey are one of the most unusual residents of the Millers River.
Join Kim Noyes for an illustrated introduction to one of our local migratory fish. Friend or foe depending on where you live, lamprey provide amazing ecological benefits to New England freshwater streams.
Noyes is the education coordinator at Northfield Mountain Recreation and Environmental Center and the Turners Falls Fishway. This program is co-sponsored with the Athol Bird and Nature Club and takes place 7-8 p.m. at the Millers River Environmental Center, 100 Main St., Athol.