Homer Christmas Bird Count Finale

For the 2014 Christmas Bird Count over 20 intrepid birders and one KBBI Reporter (Quinton Chandler) observed 67 species on Count Day and a total of 9,483 birds. During count week (the three days before and the three days following Count Day) an additional 8 species were observed.

Temperatures weren’t too bad – 30s, and with only a light wind, however, skies were overcast making it difficult for some of us (yes, me included) to see the birds in detail. While it started getting light at around 9:00 am, it wasn’t until 10:00 am that the birds in my count area (Area #5) started moving around. The first birds “heard” were Golden-crowned Kinglets. My group (Jack Wiles, Nancy Lord, and myself) was surprised that more birds weren’t spotted. And despite being in an area with lots of spruce trees the numbers of Pine Grosbeaks and Boreal and Black-capped Chickadees observed were much less than expected. We were fortunate enough to have part of Kachemak Bay in our count area. This allowed us to observe 24 different species in the varied habitats of our count area, including a large raft of 500+ Black Scoters. Despite not seeing large numbers of birds, we did have an enjoyable day because it is always a “GREAT DAY TO BIRD”.

The American Coot continued to hang out at Beluga Slough allowing counters to find and record this species new to our Christmas Bird Count list of species (species observed over 39 years of participation in the Christmas Bird Count in Homer). Other highlights included a Horned Puffin (definitely a late migrant), Rusty Blackbirds, a single Townsend’s Solitaire, and a single Cedar Waxwing amongst the more numerous Bohemian Waxwings. Near the end of the count period my group found a flock of about 50 Bohemiam Waxwings and seven American Robins feeding on the fruit of a crab apple tree – a last minute feeding rush before heading to their roosting locations. Even a few lingering Varied Thrush were spotted.

During Count Week a Trumpeter Swan was observed at Mud Bay. While we do have Trumpeter Swans that breed on Beluga Lake in the summer, we don’t generally have occasion to see swans during the winter. Anyone wanting their fix of swans during the winter generally head to the Kenai River and Kenai Lake at Copper’s Landing. I’ve seen as many as 26 swans here during the winter (January). Whether they can be seen there or not depends in large part on the availability of open water. With our mild winters, I suspect there will be a number of swans around.

There was a high number of White-winged Crossbills and Pine Siskins observed. This is most likely due to the fact that our spruce trees have produced a bumper crop of cones. Some trees are simply loaded down with cones.

Count Day Species

American Wigeon 135

Greater Scaup 319

scaup sp. 7

Mallard 1055

Northern Pintail 1

Harlequin Duck 39

Surf Scoter 68

White‐winged Scoter 14

Black Scoter 847

Long‐tailed Duck 74

Bufflehead 28

Common Goldeneye 73

Barrow’s Goldeneye 8

goldeneye sp. 2

Common Merganser 5

Red‐breasted Merganser 1

merganser sp. 1

Red‐throated Loon 2

Pacific Loon 6

Common Loon 29

Yellow‐billed Loon 1

loon sp. 2

Horned Grebe 33

Red‐necked Grebe 11

Pelagic Cormorant 50

cormorant sp. 4

Bald Eagle – Mature 79; Immature 13

Northern Goshawk 1

American Coot 1

Rock Sandpiper 300

Mew Gull 64

Herring Gull 1

Glaucous‐winged Gull 184

Glaucous‐winged Gull X Herring Gull (hybrid) 1

Marbled Murrelet 1

murrelet sp. 2

Horned Puffin 1

Common Murre 7

Rock Pigeon 6

Great Horned Owl 1

Northern Saw‐whet Owl 1

Downy Woodpecker 6

Hairy Woodpecker 2

Northern Shrike 3

Gray Jay 31

Steller’s Jay 25

Black‐billed Magpie 96

Northwestern Crow 331

Common Raven 82

Black‐capped Chickadee 129

Boreal Chickadee 52

Red‐breasted Nuthatch 53

American Dipper 1

Pacific Wren 1

Golden‐crowned Kinglet 10

Ruby‐crowned Kinglet 1

Townsend’s Solitaire 1

Ring‐necked Pheasant 4

American Robin 104

Varied Thrush 6

Bohemian Waxwing 305

Cedar Waxwing 1

American Tree Sparrow 1

Song Sparrow 5

White‐crowned Sparrow 16

Golden‐crowned Sparrow 1

Dark‐eyed (Slate‐colored) Junco 4

Snow Bunting 90

Rusty Blackbird 15

Gray‐crowned Rosy‐Finch 102

Pine Grosbeak 153

White‐winged Crossbill 2070

Common Redpoll 63

Pine Siskin 2019

small finch sp. 210

Total Species (count day) = 67

Total Numbers = 9,483

 

Count Week 

Northern Shoveler

Trumpeter Swan 

Pigeon Guillemot

Eurasian Wigeon

Northern Pintail X Mallard (hybrid)

Steller’s Eider

American Pipit

Sharp‐shinned Hawk

Green‐winged Teal

Total Additional Species (count week) = 8

Hybrid Birds are not included in the count number

Bold ‐ new species for Homer Christmas Bird Count