The most wonderful time of the year
The most wonderful time of the year
2023 Christmas Bird Count preview.
If you woke up today wondering how many American Tree Sparrows were seen on last year’s Christmas Bird Counts in Illinois, here’s the answer: 18,752. These winter residents are more plentiful across the northern tier of the state, found along hedgerows, wood edges, prairies, and near wetlands. They are just one of the many intriguing species to follow as this year’s Christmas Bird Count season kicks off—around 70 counts will take place throughout the state, where volunteers comb woods, fields, and waterways for birds. It’s part scavenger hunt, part outdoor adventure.
TWiB is gearing up for the 75th edition of the legendary Lisle-Arboretum Christmas Bird Count, which takes place on Sunday. So let us take a look at sparrow numbers with the count just days away. Sparrows—oft-overlooked and underappreciated—along with woodpeckers, crows, and a handful of other species are among those whose trends have been interesting. The aforementioned American Tree Sparrow had been on the decline in recent years. These are northern breeders, from around the Arctic Ocean and Hudson Bay, that travel south to our area each year. There’d been chatter that the decline was due to a couple reasons: perhaps the winters weren’t cold enough any more to send the little birds farther south. Or perhaps we’d done such a good job clearing brush from forest preserves that the sparrows no longer had their preferred habitat.
However, after several years of concerning trends, tree sparrows rebounded nicely last year, along with Dark-eyed Juncos, another one of the more numerous Christmas Bird Count species. After a decade of mostly declines, the American Tree Sparrow almost made it back to its 2013 abundance. Junco numbers skyrocketed. Anecdotally, this year could be good for them, too, based on how many juncos are being seen and heard at TWiB headquarters.
According to All About Birds, American Tree Sparrows “breed near the northern treeline, where straggling thickets of alder, willow, birch, and spruce give way to open tundra.” These aren’t places where there are many human observers, so our counts are one of the most important ways to gauge how well tree sparrows are doing.
TWiB has been a bit of a cheerleader for Christmas Bird Counts. Aside from being a fun tradition, Christmas Bird Counts do help us better understand populations and that in turn helps birds.
As Chief Editor of Meadowlark, A Journal of Illinois Birds, I have had a front-row seat to the last two years worth of Christmas Bird Count data from Illinois and portions of Iowa. A couple things have struck me as I look at the data:
The number of people participating in the counts—almost 1,300—at first appears like a huge number. However, I think about the portions of my own count—one of the most popular—that don’t get adequately covered, meaning we know a little less about those birds and those places. Most counties are likely underbirded and hence undercounted. Sure, the hotspots get covered, but that might mean lower tallies for the everyday, neighborhood birds or those in the most remote areas.
Temperatures going into the count really make a dramatic impact. Colder Decembers mean more frozen water and ice-covered ponds, lakes, marshes, and other waterways. That means lower waterfowl numbers. It’s easy to see the impact on the data tables. If waterfowl counts are low in the north, they’re higher in the south. If they’re low in the south, they’re higher in the north. One can guess at the weather conditions just by looking at the species totals.
There’s a corollary to this in that colder weather may also make the count experience less hospitable for the birder. That means less time in the field, less poring over every bit of habitat, less looking and listening.
Weather conditions on the count tend not to have much bearing on the rest of the winter. The high during last year’s Lisle-Arboretum count was 21 degrees. There was an inch or two of snow on the ground. However, that wintry day didn’t lead to a cold or snowy winter. While water was frozen in December, it was mostly open much of the winter which is very unusual for this part of the world.
Mostly I’ve looked at all this data with gratitude. Nearly 1,300 people going out in relatively poor weather to look for birds is a pretty cool thing. There’s no award for this other than the joy of birding and the camaraderie of being with fellow enthusiasts. When people are this committed and passionate, it gives one hope for what’s possible in restoring our ecosystems to what they once were.
Piping Plover Pale Ale is back!
Imperial Oak Brewing has again made another batch of the tasty brew inspired by Chicago’s Piping Plovers. Made with the finest El Dorado hops and featuring Prickly Pear Cactus juice, the beer will be released at noon this Sunday (same day as the Christmas Bird Count!). The cactus is a nod to the plover’s habitat including that at Montrose Beach Dunes in Chicago. The release will take place at IOB’s Brookfield location, 9526 Ogden Avenue, and a percentage of proceeds benefit the Chicago Ornithological Society. There’s no need for an RSVP—just show up at noon—but if you’d like to view the Facebook events, click here or here.
The Limpkin dilemma
Some additional thoughts on the sudden and weird range expansion of the Limpkin. Until a few years ago, a Limpkin in the Midwest was literally unheard of. At the time of this writing, there was a Limpkin all the way up in Suamico, Wisconsin, north of Green Bay. That’s a frigid spot this time of year, and there isn’t a whole lot of open water around. I know of at least one Limpkin that has been rescued by wildlife volunteers in Illinois. It’s led to some questions about whether out-of-range bird species unaccustomed to our climate should be captured—or if they should be left to fend for themselves. Nature could take its course; perhaps there is a good reason why these birds stuck to the deep South for generations. Perhaps they’ll simply fly south when true winter arrives
As much as vagrant birds delight us, they also often arrive in our area stressed and in sometimes-dire condition. In a Darwinian sense, these birds typically stay within their range for a good reason: survival.
The conversations about “rescuing” Limpkins seems a very valid one. The fact is, Limpkins only should be handled by people with permits to do so, and one wonders about the legality of driving them south in personal cars (which may have already happened based on some Facebook imagery). People have good intentions, but I’m of the mind of leaving the Limpkins alone.
A call for Encouragers
Mark Catesby relied on the support of subscribers, or Encouragers, to pay for his work. Rather than waiting to complete an entire volume, he would regularly send illustrations to Encouragers for years and years. With This Week in Birding celebrating its third anniversary, you can become an Encourager, too—of this newsletter. Just click the button below to begin the process of becoming a Paid Subscriber. Subscriptions start at $50 per year and are also offered at $5 per month.
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