It's almost time for this year's Christmas Bird Count, the 109th. (I'll be taking part in the Milwaukee CBC on December 20.)
If this year's event is anything like last year's, it's bound to be a lot of fun.
According to a summary published by National Audubon Society, counts took place in 2,113 circles last year -- 1,658 in the U.S., 371 in Canada, and 84 in Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Pacific islands. A total of 50,742 field watchers participated in the event -- 40,742 in the U.S., 8,205 in Canada, and 1,692 in other regions.
You'd expect that many observers in that many circles to turn up one heck of a lot of birds, and they did -- more than 57 million birds and 2,267 species, about a quarter of all species on earth. (The majority of the species were reported in Latin America; 281 were found in Canada, 665 in the U.S.)
I'm not a statistician, but it stands to figure that with so many eyes in so many places, you might also expect a few of them to be in the right place at the right time to spot a bird that no other Christmas Bird Counter recorded anywhere -- a single bird in a single count circle -- and that happened, too, as you can see from the list that follows.
Talk about good luck: Not only did each species below have a high count of one in the United States last year, but each was recorded in just one circle.
Pink-footed Goose
Montauk, L.I., NY
Tufted Duck
Clear Lake, CA
Masked Duck
Kingsville, TX
Sooty Grouse
Corvallis, OR
Arctic Loon
Wahkiakum, WA
Greater Shearwater
Cape Cod, MA
Lesser Frigatebird
French Frigate Shoals, HI
Hawaiian Hawk
North Kona (Hawai’i), HI
White-rumped Sandpiper
Truro, MA
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
Waimea (Kaua’i), HI
Red-necked Phalarope
Cape Hatteras, NC
Sabine’s Gull
Dunkirk-Fredonia, NY
Blue-gray Noddy
French Frigate Shoals, HI
Red-billed Pigeon
Laredo, TX
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Guadalupe River Delta-McFaddin Family Ranches, TX
Common Nighthawk
Jackson Co., MS
Green-breasted Mango
Dublin, GA
Eared Quetzal
Portal, AZ
Olive-sided Flycatcher
San Diego, CA
Greater Pewee
Ramsey Canyon, AZ
Acadian Flycatcher
Matagorda Co.-Mad Island Marsh, TX
Thick-billed Kingbird
Palos Verdes Pen., CA
Red-eyed Vireo
Galveston, TX
Veery
Lakeville-Sharon, CT
Rufous-backed Robin
Havasu N.W.R., AZ
Lucy’s Warbler
Tucson Valley, AZ
Chestnut-sided Warbler
New Braunfels, TX
Grace’s Warbler
Morro Bay, CA
Worm-eating Warbler
Zellwood-Mount Dora, FL
Hooded Warbler
Harlingen, TX
Golden-crowned Warbler
Weslaco, TX
Scarlet Tanager
Venice, LA
Brambling
Anchorage, AK
Akikiki
Waimea (Kaua’i), HI
Akohekohe
Pu’u O Kaka’e (Maui), HI
What I wouldn't give to be the person who saw the quetzal, the Brambling, or any of the others. Maybe this year!
Many thanks to Brent Ortego of Texas Parks and Wildlife for his help assembling this information. --C.H.
We had a lovely Streak-backed Oriole last year that stayed for our Loveland CBC. What fun that was!
I have you linked on my blog and if you find it worthy would love a link back.
Connie
http://birdsothemorning.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Connie Kogler | November 29, 2008 at 09:36 PM