Birds in the Watershed

We've had two bird counting events in the past months - the Great Backyard Bird Count, Feb 12-15 and the Christmas Bird Count, December 14 - Jan 5.  We have some reports from both counts and I'm happy to say there are lots of birds in the watershed.  

The Christmas Count team identified 27 species of birds in various parks in the watershed.  The most of a single species was American Robins at 44, followed closely by Crows at 40.  I am really happy to learn about the Crows as it wasn't that long ago that they were threatened by West Nile disease.  Also spotted were a Fish Crow, a Pileated Woodpecker, a Red-tailed Hawk and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and two turkey vultures!  The complete count is below.

Backyard Counters sent in two reports:

From Mikel and her son - a copy of their submission

M**** Backyard feeder, Montgomery Co, Maryland, US

Feb 13, 2016 10:45 AM - 12:45 PM

Protocol: Stationary

14 species (+1 other taxa)

2       Mourning Dove

1       Red-bellied Woodpecker

2       Downy Woodpecker  male & female pair

3       Blue Jay

1       Carolina Chickadee

2       Carolina Wren

14     American Robin   - Flock swooped down in backyard for 10 minutes, then moved on.  

10     European Starling 

10     Dark-eyed Junco 

1       White-throated Sparrow   - yellow patches by eyes noted; heard song earlier in the week

2       Song Sparrow  -   striped breast & central spot noted

5       Northern Cardinal 

1       House Finch  - brick-red head noted, striped breast

18     House Sparrow

1       passerine sp.  - Purple finch: clean breast and raspberry coloring noted

And from Ann:

You can add to this list my front- and side-yard bird count:

A male and female flicker;

male and female cardinals;

a male and female downy woodpecker;

a bluejay (sex unknown);

and a mob of at least 40 (I photographed them all) roosting together in a line atop the wooden framework of a new McMansion going up next to my house).

All of the birds disappeared immediately when a large black and white hawk came and perched where the robins had been, and sat there waiting for the other birds to reappear. Per my birdbook, it looked like a juvenile RedTail Hawk. Have seen several hawks lately, just sitting near the birdfeeders in my front yard, watching for smaller birds or maybe squirrels. Snow on the ground must be making it hard for them to hunt elsewhere.

If you would like to participate in these counts next year, visit their websites for more information.

We're always interested in bird sightings, so please keep the reports coming!

Happy Birding,

Sarah

Christmas Bird Count List Area:  Sector 7 MD Neighborhood Parks** Fish Crow 1 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 Song Sparrow 1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 American Goldfinch 2 Northern Mockingbird 2 Turkey Vulture 2 Cedar Waxwing 4 European Starling 4 Red-bellied Woodpecker 5 Blue Jay 7 Carolina Chickadee 7 Carolina Wren 7 Downy Woodpecker 7 White-breasted Nuthatch 7 House Sparrow 8 Mourning Dove 8 Rock Pigeon 8 House Finch 9 Tufted Titmouse 9 Dark-eyed Junco 12 Northern Cardinal 14 White-throated Sparrow 14 American Crow 40 American Robin 44

**  Parks- Sangamore, Glen Echo Heights, Wood Acres, Westland Middle School/Little Falls Library grounds, Capello, Vinton, Willard Av., Westbrook Elmentary School grounds, and trails between Capello, Vinton, and Willard Av. Parks