Great Backyard Bird Count provides wealth of information

Bird watchers involved in the 12th annual Great Backyard Bird Count in February in North America submitted more than 93,600 checklists during the four-day event and identified 619 species.

"Each year the (backyard count) provides the most detailed real-time snapshot of bird distribution across North America," said Rob Fergus, senior scientist with the National Audubon Society. "We can see how birds are responding to changing weather patterns, available food sources and other factors from around the continent."

Participants count birds for as little or as long as they wish during the four-day period. They tally the highest number of birds of each species seen together at any one time. To report their counts, they fill out an online checklist at the Great Backyard Bird Count Web site.

This past February here in Utah, volunteers identified 160 species and counted 63,550 birds. In 2008, they identified 163 species and counted 126,808 birds. In 2007, 129 species were identified and 34,082 birds were counted.

The most prevalent bird counted in Utah was the European starling.

Numbers, of course, vary depending on such things and the number of volunteers and weather conditions.

Across the continent in 2008, participants reported more than 9.8 million birds of 635 species. They submitted more than 85,000 checklists.

One of the big stories coming this year on a national level was the massive invasion of pine siskins and white-winged crossbills over much of the eastern United States. These feisty little birds moved southward because of seed crop failures in their usual wintering grounds in Canada and the boreal forests.

Participants reported 279,469 pine siskins on 18,528 checklists, compared to the previous high of 38,977 birds on 4,069 checklists in 2005. White-winged crossbills were not as common, but their invasion was still impressive with 4,824 birds on 589 checklists representing a new record over the previous high of 2,854 birds on 135 checklists in 2007.

The count continues to show declines in some common birds, especially grassland and shrubland species. Loggerhead Shrike numbers are down, and although numbers of northern bobwhites and eastern meadowlarks were both up slightly from last year, they are still being reported in fewer numbers during the Great Backyard Bird Count than they were in 2004. These trends are only preliminary views of what may be going on with these populations, and they must continue to be monitored to get a true long-term view of how these birds are faring.

Species reported for the first time during the count included two oceanic species — pink-footed shearwater and Xantus' murrelet, both in California. Other first-timers included Baird's sandpiper, black-billed cuckoo and blackpoll warbler. Two rare Mexican species appeared on checklists from Arizona for the first time: the first sinaloa wren ever found north of the border, and a blue mockingbird.

For a more detailed summary of this year's results, visit the Geat Backyard Bird Count Web site at www.birdcount.org. The site compares 2009 results with past years.