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Going birding: Local Audubon Society uses technology to count fowl for 49th annual count

Courtesy photo by Mike and Laura Jackson The numbers for the American goldfinch seemed to be lower this year with only 45 counted, compared to the usual 100 or so.

For the 49th year in a row, volunteers with the Juniata Valley Audubon Society scanned fields, forests, feeders and skies just before Christmas to count the fowl. The weather wasn’t as foul as the prior year, so more birds were active and showed themselves, said Laura Jackson, JVAS president.

Counters found 16 different species for a total count of 4,338 individual birds.

“Definitely better than last year,” Jackson said.

The Culp Christmas Bird Count in Blair County on Dec. 16 lured 31 volunteers — 12 feeder watchers and 19 field observers — to a circled area that stretches 71/2 miles around the Culp community on Kettle Road near Fort Roberdeau Historic Site.

Many have done it for years and used a new tool this year, Jackson said.

“Volunteers from the early days would have been surprised to see that, in addition to binoculars, another valuable tool in use this year was the smart phone,” she said in a press release.

Counters could keep track of their movements on their phones and could discern the count circle boundary, thanks to a Google Map designed by JVAS Vice President Mark Bonta and JVAS intern Matt Pettinato, a junior at Penn State Altoona, Jackson said. Counters also could communicate with one another through WhatsApp, a messaging application they downloaded to their phones.

Another application, called eBird.org, allowed birders to determine exact distances traveled and enabled them to input sightings in a database used by scientists to understand long-term trends in bird populations.

“For those without smart phones, pen and paper worked well,” Jackson noted. “Although the Christmas Bird Count is a lot of fun, it is also citizen science.”

She noted that the first such count was held on Christmas Day in 1900 when Frank Chapman, a New York City bird expert, suggested that “people count birds instead of hunting them on Christmas.”

“The resulting annual event has generated a wealth of data that allow scientists all over the world to see how climate change, pollution, and habitat loss are reducing our bird populations,” according to Jackson.

Locally, Susan Braun and Debra Grim were “truly early birds” when they began counting at 4:45 a.m. to listen for owls, Jackson said. They and other volunteers counted five eastern screech owls and three great-horned owls.

“The unfortunate death of hundreds of ash trees has benefitted a variety of woodpeckers,” she said.

More than the usual yellow-bellied sapsuckers were counted — seven compared with just one or two in previous years. And, some other woodpeckers were even more numerous: 36 red-bellied woodpeckers, 40 downy woodpeckers, 13 hairy woodpeckers and 12 pileated.

But Jackson said she was surprised that only four northern flickers were found, and the redheaded woodpecker remains the most elusive.

“Birders label birds that are always missed as ‘nemesis birds,'” she said. “Such is the case with the redheaded woodpecker. Seen in Sinking Valley around Fort Roberdeau in the summer, this uncommon woodpecker has never been seen on the Christmas Bird Count in Blair County.”

Jackson encouraged area residents to contact the JVAS if they see any.

As usual, the most common birds found were “farm birds:” European starlings (1,350), American crows (332), rock pigeons (253), mourning doves (125), and house sparrows (320). The fields in Sinking Valley also attracted 257 horned larks, according to Jackson.

Birds associated with winter, such as the American tree sparrow (10), dark-eyed junco (414), winter wren (four), white-crowned sparrow (17), golden-crowned kinglet (16) and purple finch (12) were found throughout the count circle, she said.

Jackson also reported these findings: one northern harrier hawk, three bald eagles, one killdeer, one red-breasted nuthatch, two brown creepers, one yellow-rumped warbler, one swamp sparrow, two eastern towhees and one ring-billed gull “by itself on the ice in the middle of Canoe Lake.”

“While not rare birds, finding these species on a Christmas Bird Count is always exciting,” she said.

Jackson said that counting on foot is “really the best way to document birds.” The four members of John Carter’s team reported that they saw and heard about 80 percent more birds by walking a section of road rather than slowly driving the same section.

“By walking we were able to pick up species that wouldn’t be as easy to get by car,” including golden-crowned kinglet, green winged teal and wood ducks, Carter said in the press release.

Added birder Mark Nale: “Walking allowed us to escape the traffic and other people noises. All of the birds that we saw while driving were few and far between. As a side benefit, we get that healthy exercise too.”

He said it is easy to give up a busy Saturday before Christmas to bird to trek through fields and woods.

“A day of birding is filled with many special moments,” Nale said. “We tallied a new species at almost every stop. I enjoyed showing the others (on my team) places that they have never been before, such as the big spring feeding the Sabbath Rest Wetlands.”

Those who chose to watch feeders have it easier — spending most of their time indoors. But it could be tedious, as one volunteer, Eric Skrivsketch, chose to watch a feeder all day because some birds make multiple appearances while others make cameos.

Skrivsketch said he is surprised with the numbers of birds bathing themselves in the creek behind his house in such cold weather.

“On the day of the bird count it was crows,” he said. “After the bird count, we saw about 10 robins taking baths in much colder weather. What would prompt a bird to decide that getting soaking wet in 20 degree Fahrenheit weather is a good idea?”

Jackson said she hopes to have even more birders in this year’s count, the 50th anniversary. Volunteers may sign up now by emailing jacksonlaura73@gmail.com or calling (814) 652-9268. Volunteers will be contacted in November, she said.

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