119th Christmas Bird Count
The 118th CBC was held from December 14th 2018 thru January 5th 2019. Information and results of that count are shown below.
Sioux City CBC
Saturday, December 15, 2018. Contact Jerry Probst at: probsthoney@aol.com or 712-490-8256 for information. Plan to eat lunch and assess progress at noon at Culver’s on Singing Hills. At 5:00pm we meet at Jerry's house to eat the mandatory chili and other goodies and compile the results. Jerry’s address is: 3817 Park Place in South Sioux City, NE.
The Sioux City CBC was held as scheduled. It was a beautiful day with clear skies and temps ranging from 18 to 42 with little wind. 23 birders found 63 species and counted a total of 12,152 birds. Highlights included Great Blue Heron, Belted Kingfisher and Red-headed Woodpecker. The compilation at Jerry’s house was preceded with chili and soup and other delicious goodies.
A listing of the species counted can be seen below.
Compiler: Jerry Probst
Snow Goose- 2
Ross’s Goose- 4
Greater White-fronted Goose- 34
Cackling Goose- 110
Canada Goose- 8,218
Northern Shoveler- 4
Gadwall- 1
Mallard- 255
Green-winged Teal- 3
Redhead- 4
Ring-necked Duck- 2
Common Goldeneye- 66
Hooded Merganser- 2
Common Merganser- 6
Ring-necked Pheasant- 5
Wild Turkey- 84
Great Blue Heron- 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk- 1
Cooper’s Hawk- 1
Bald Eagle- 11
Red-tailed Hawk- 93
Rough-legged Hawk- 10
Rock Pigeon- 915
Eurasian Collared-Dove- 37
Mourning Dove- 22
Eastern Screech Owl- 2
Great Horned Owl- 3
Barred Owl- 5
Belted Kingfisher- 1
Red-headed Woodpecker- 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker- 37
Downy Woodpecker- 44
Hairy Woodpecker- 3
Northern Flicker- 14
American Kestrel- 5
Merlin- 3
Northern Shrike- 1
Blue Jay- 50
American Crow- 43
Horned Lark- 9
Black-capped Chickadee- 66
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 4
White-breasted Nuthatch- 57
Brown Creeper- 1
Eastern Bluebird- 16
American Robin- 1
European Starling- 607
Cedar Waxwing- 37
American Tree Sparrow- 166
Dark-eyed Junco- 279
White-crowned Sparrow-2
Harris’s Sparrow- 1
White-throated Sparrow- 1
Song Sparrow- 2
Northern Cardinal- 62
Western Meadowlark- 60
Red-winged Blackbird- 450
Rusty Blackbird- 1
House Finch- 17
Purple Finch- 3
Pine Siskin- 16
American Goldfinch- 22
House Sparrow- 169
Total Birds Counted: 12,152
Total Species Counted: 63
Westfield CBC
Thursday, December 20, 2018. Plan to arrive at Zales mailbox at 15384 North Ridge Road at 8:00 am and we will divide into groups and “bird” until 1:00 pm when we will serve a hearty and hot lunch at our home and tabulate our group counts. Those wanting to bird afterwards may do so. Contact Dotty Zales at 712-540-0952 or zales66@hotmail.com for more information.
The Westfield CBC was held as scheduled. Temperatures were in the lower 30’s with cloudy skies and windy conditions. 10 birders recorded 42 species and counted 6841 birds. Highlights included Belted Kingfisher, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Merlin, Eastern Screech Owl, Eastern Bluebird, and a male Purple Finch which came to the Zale’s feeder to join us for lunch! The delicious lunch of Chili, Chicken Noodle Soup, and numerous other treats, desserts, and beverages really hit the spot after a cold morning in the field!
A listing of the species seen and counted can be found below.
Compilers Bill and Dotty Zales
Snow Goose- 15
Cackling Goose- 2500
Canada Goose- 3,643
Mallard- 30
Common Goldeneye- 1
Common Merganser- 13
Ring-necked Pheasant- 3
Wild Turkey- 42
Bald Eagle- 11
Northern Harrier- 6
Sharp-shinned Hawk- 1
Cooper’s Hawk- 1
Red-tailed Hawk- 21
Rough-legged Hawk- 7
American kestrel- 4
Merlin- 1
Rock Pigeon- 33
Eurasian Collared-dove- 68
Mourning Dove- 7
Eastern Screech Owl- 1
Great Horned Owl- 1
Barred Owl- 1
Belted Kingfisher- 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker- 16
Downy Woodpecker- 15
Hairy Woodpecker- 4
Northern Flicker- 1
Blue Jay- 21
American Crow- 19
Horned Lark- 1
Black-capped Chickadee- 10
White-breasted Nuthatch- 21
Eastern Bluebird- 4
European Starling- 122
American Tree Sparrow- 21
Dark-eyed Junco- 39
Northern Cardinal- 11
Red-winged Blackbird- 1
Common Grackle- 2
Purple Finch- 1
American Goldfinch- 6
House Sparrow- 115
Total Species Counted: 42
Total Birds Counted: 6,841
Ponca State Park CBC
Friday, December 14, 2018. Those interested in participating should meet at the Park’s Resource Center at 7:30 that morning or call Bill Huser at 712-574-3107 for more information.
The Ponca State Park CBC was held as scheduled on December 14, 2018. Ponca State Park had a very successful Christmas Bird Count this year. We had 12 people divided into 5 teams participate. We added four new species to the cumulative Christmas bird count list for Ponca State Park; Pied-billed Grebe, Trumpeter Swans, Snowy Owl, and Yellow-headed Blackbird. The total bird count for our group was 3268 individuals and 53 species. The most numerous bird was Red-winged Blackbirds at 1500 individuals. Other species that were high in numbers included Canada Goose, Mallards, and America Tree Sparrows. This year there were noticeable fewer Screech Owls(1) and more Great Horned Owls(5). Many of the locations where we had recorded Screech Owls in the past had Great Horned Owls present. In the future we hope to locate more habitat to record Screech Owls and continue to find new species in our circle. The birders enjoyed a delicious lunch of Soup and other goodies at the Park’s Resource Center at noon.
A listing of the species seen and counted can be found below.
Compilers Maria Korver and Bill Huser
Snow Goose- 14
Cackling Goose- 50
Canada Goose- 95
Trumpeter Swan- 4
American Wigeon- 1
Mallard- 301
Common Goldeneye- 47
Common Merganser- 25
Ring-necked Pheasant- 30
Wild Turkey- 34
Pied-billed Grebe- 2
Northern Harrier- 6
Cooper’s Hawk- 2
Bald Eagle- 9
Red-tailed Hawk- 22
Rough-legged Hawk- 19
Rock Pigeon- 64
Eurasian Collared-Dove- 19
Mourning Dove- 3
Eastern Screech-owl- 1
Great Horned Owl- 5
Snowy Owl- 1
Barred Owl- 4
Red-bellied Woodpecker- 19
Downy Woodpecker- 13
Hairy Woodpecker- 4
Northern Flicker- 9 (8 Yellow-shafted-1 Red-shafted)
American Kestrel- 3
Northern Shrike- 1
Blue Jay- 39
American Crow- 17
Horned Lark- 8
Black-capped Chickadee- 37
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 4
White-breasted Nuthatch- 25
Eastern Bluebird- 53
American Robin- 58
European Starling- 245
Cedar Waxwing- 15
American Tree Sparrow- 156
Fox Sparrow- 1
Dark-eyed Junco- 94
White-crowned Sparrow- 11
Harris’s Sparrow- 2
Song Sparrow- 3
Northern Cardinal- 6
Red-winged Blackbird- 1,500
Western Meadowlark- 72
Yellow-headed Blackbird- 1
House Finch- 8
Pine Siskin- 4
American Goldfinch- 16
House Sparrow- 86
Total Birds Counted: 3,268
Total Species Counted: 53
Ida County CBC
Saturday, January 5, 2019. Our Christmas Bird Count is set for January 5, starting at 7:30 a.m. at the Education Center in Moorehead Park. Dinner at 12 p.m. until 1:30 or so, if you are running late getting back from your areas. Wrap-up and adding up the numbers starts at 3:30 or so. Hope to see all of you and our thanks in advance. Contact Don Poggensee at donpog@netllc.net or 712-369-3454.
The Ida County CBC was held as scheduled on 1-05-2019. We had a great day for our count with a total of 40 species found and 1,872 birds counted. With great weather at 58 degrees, sunny, and calm conditions, the birds seemed to be scattered in the open fields. Highlights included Great Blue Heron, Wilson’s Snipe, Long-eared Owl, Short-eared Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Belted Kingfisher, Merlin, Brown Creeper, Purple Finch and Common Redpoll. A special thanks to the 15 counters, Danielle for her great help, & with the food, as well as Synda. My thanks to all of you for a great day. Eleven people got to see our Saw-whet Owl, found after three tries to locate one. Four of the eleven people had never seen a Saw-whet Owl before, and now could add it to their life list. As a note, last year we had a total of 54 species and 7,752 total birds. With great weather, usually the birds are indeed scattered and hard to locate and our results today show that in our totals. The counters enjoyed a lunch of chili, brownies and other goodies around noon.
A listing of the species seen and counted can be found below.
Compiler: Don Poggensee
Canada Goose- 162
Mallard- 27
Ring-necked Pheasant- 88
Wild Turkey- 11
Great Blue Heron- 1
Cooper’s Hawk- 3
Bald Eagle- 7
Red-tailed Hawk- 22
Rough-legged Hawk- 3
Wilson’s Snipe- 1
Rock Pigeon- 219
Eurasian Collared-dove- 22
Mourning Dove- 4
Barred Owl- 1
Long-eared Owl- 1
Short-eared Owl- 1
Northern Saw-whet Owl- 1
Belted Kingfisher- 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker- 7
Downy Woodpecker- 9
Hairy Woodpecker- 1
Northern Flicker- 4
Merlin- 1
Blue Jay- 75
American Crow- 66
Horned Lark- 12
Black-capped Chickadee- 12
White-breasted Nuthatch- 4
Brown Creeper- 1
European Starling- 408
Cedar Waxwing- 25
American Tree Sparrow- 158
Dark-eyed Junco- 124
Northern Cardinal- 24
Red-winged Blackbird- 1
House Finch- 13
Purple Finch- 1
Common Redpoll- 1
American Goldfinch- 21
House Sparrow- 329
Total Species Counted: 40
Total Birds Counted: 1,872
Yankton CBC
Sunday, December 16, 2018. Contact Roger Dietrich at 605-660-6247 for information.
The Yankton CBC was held as scheduled. Thirty people participated in the 2018 Christmas Bird Count in Yankton on a beautiful day, Sunday, December 16, 2018. Twenty-one people worked as field observers while nine counted birds at their feeders. People who worked the count came from Vermillion, Armour, Sioux Falls, Pickstown, and Yankton, South Dakota; Sioux City, Iowa; and South Sioux City and Wayne, Nebraska. The group found a total of 79 species of birds. The highest species count was 82 in 2012 followed by 80 in 2013.
Highlights of the day were Barrow’s Goldeneye recorded for the first time since the count started in 1916. Northern Saw-whet Owls recorded for the second time, Long-eared Owls and Ross’s Goose for the third time, Fox Sparrow for the fourth time, Greater Scaup for the fifth time; and Prairie Falcon for the sixth time. Highest count ever of the following species: common Goldeneye, Eastern Screech-Owl, White-throated Sparrow, and Common Grackle.
A listing of the species counted can be seen below.
Compiler Roger Dietrich
Great Blue Heron- 3
Canada Goose- 731
Cackling Goose- 2
Greater White-fronted Goose- 1
Ross’s Goose- 2
Snow Goose- 74
Wood Duck- 8
Mallard-469
Gadwall- 31
Northern Pintail- 8
Redhead- 6
Ring-necked Duck- 11
Greater Scaup- 1
Lesser Scaup- 14
Long-tailed Duck- 1
Common Goldeneye- 1,333
Barrow’s Goldeneye- 1
Bufflehead- 1
Hooded Merganser- 1
Common Merganser- 26
Red-breasted Merganser- 1
Ruddy Duck- 1
Northern Harrier- 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk- 4
Cooper's Hawk-1
Red-tailed Hawk- 54
Rough-legged Hawk- 7
Bald Eagle- 26
Prairie Falcon- 1
Merlin- 1
American Kestrel- 1
Ring-necked Pheasant- 5
Wild Turkey- 40
American Coot- 68
Ring-billed Gull- 5
Herring Gull- 2
Mourning Dove- 38
Eurasian-collared Dove- 189
Rock Pigeon- 362
Long-eared Owl- 2
Great Horned Owl- 5
Eastern Screech-Owl- 13
Northern Saw-whet Owl-2
Belted Kingfisher- 4
Red-headed Woodpecker- 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker- 19
Downy Woodpecker- 37
Hairy Woodpecker- 12
Northern Flicker- 25 (Yellow Shafted)
Northern Shrike- 2
Blue Jay- 62
American Crow- 33
Horned Lark- 14
Black-capped Chickadee- 36
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 9
White-breasted Nuthatch- 43
Brown Creeper- 11
Winter Wren- 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet- 6
Eastern Bluebird- 28
American Robin- 769
European Starling- 2,869
Cedar Waxwing- 133
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 3
Northern Cardinal- 32
American Tree Sparrow- 180
Harris’s Sparrow- 14
White-throated Sparrow- 12
Fox Sparrow-1
Song Sparrow-1
Dark-Eyed Junco (Slate-colored)- 213
Western Meadowlark- 68
Red-winged Blackbird- 1
Common Grackle- 27
Purple Finch- 6
House Finch- 125
Pine Siskin- 10
American Goldfinch- 81
House Sparrow- 235
CW - American White Pelican
CW - Snow Bunting