Ponca State Park Christmas Bird Count

Tuesday, 14 December 2021

The park hosted its 18th official CBC on Tuesday, December 14, 2021. A record 22 participants in 8 teams were able to cover the count circle as never before. With such effort, 69 species were found making it the second most productive count to date. Although it was behind the record shattering 70 species found in 2020, it still greatly surpassed the previous best of 59 species recorded in 2013.

The highlights included Townsend’s Solitaire (2), Pileated Woodpecker (2), Golden Eagle, the rare light phase of the Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk, Red-headed Woodpecker, Winter Wren, both Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets and Spotted Towhee.

Compiler: Katie Leware, Ponca State Park; Reporter: Bill Huser, Loess Hills Audubon

Total Species Counted: 69

Total Birds Counted: 11522

BIRD NUMBER BIRD NUMBER BIRD NUMBER
Snow Goose 5075 Red-tailed Hawk 33 Winter Wren 1
Cackling Goose 2 Rough-legged Hawk 36 Carolina Wren 1
Canada Goose 2759 Eastern Screech-Owl 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Gadwall 9 Great Horned Owl 4 Golden-crowned Kinglet 15
American Wigeon 2 Barred Owl 3 Eastern Bluebird 79
Mallard 55 Belted Kingfisher 1 Townsend's Solitaire 2
Canvasback 1 Red-headed Woodpecker 2 American Robin 191
Ring-necked Duck 3 Red-bellied Woodpecker 32 Cedar Waxwing 40
Lesser Scaup 1 Downy Woodpecker 38 House Sparrow 342
Common Goldeneye 12 Hairy Woodpecker 11 House Finch 9
Common Merganser 7 Norther Flicker (red-shafted) 51 Purple Finch 1
Northern Bobwhite 6 Northern Flicker (yellow-shafted) 9 American Goldfinch 70
Ring-necked Pheasant 13 Pileated Woodpecker 2 Fox Sparrow 4
Wild Turkey 76 American Kestrel 13 American Tree Sparrow 566
Rock Pigeon 150 Merlin 5 Dark-eyed Junco 348
Eurasian Collard-Dove 77 Northern Shrike 2 White-crowned Sparrow 1
Mourning Dove 91 Blue Jay 124 Harris's Sparrow 8
Golden Eagle 1 American Crow 103 White-throated Sparrow 3
Northern Harrier 6 Horned Lark 9 Song Sparrow 4
Sharp-shinned Hawk 3 Black-capped Chickadee 80 Spotted Towhee 1
Cooper's Hawk 8 Red-breasted Nuthatch 2 Western Meadowlark 20
Bald Eagle (adult) 26 White-breasted Nuthatch 82 Red-winged Blackbird 16
Bald Eagle (immature) 5 Brown Creeper 5 Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
. . . . Northern Cardinal 37

Bald Eagle image copyright 2021 by Jan Null, used with permission.

 Westfield Christmas Bird Count

Thursday, 16 December 2021

Eighteen hearty birders drove, walked, or watched bird feeders on Thursday, December 16, 2021, the sixth Westfield Christmas Bird Count! Skies were cloudy, the wind blew from 10 to 15 mph, and temperatures ranged from 18 degrees to about 41 degrees by afternoon when the sunshine appeared.

Two of those 18 birders, drove 3 hours in the morning and watched their bird feeders in the afternoon for 2 hours. Two other participants watched their feeders in the morning and afternoon for 1 hour each.

Forty-two species were identified this year, the same low count as in 2018. Our highest count was in 2020 with 57 bird species!

5933 total birds were counted, our third highest total. We had 7211 in 2017 and 6841 in 2018.

A Golden Eagle, an unusual species for our area, was seen flying over Broken Kettle Grasslands. Details and documentation have already been written. Other birds of significance were Northern Shrike, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, and Common Goldeneye.

Lunch was served at 12:30 PM. Some birders had other afternoon commitments, while others continued birding until sunset.

It was a grand day!

Compiled and reported by Dotty Zales

Total Species Counted: 42

Total Birds Counted: 5933

BIRD NUMBER BIRD NUMBER BIRD NUMBER
Snow Goose 173 Northern Harrier 3 American Crow 32
Ross's Goose 3 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 Black-capped Chickadee 35
Greater White-fronted Goose 28 Bald Eagle 10 Cedar Waxwing 22
Cackling Goose 57 Red-tailed Hawk 24 White-breasted Nuthatch 44
Canada Goose 4656 Rough-legged Hawk 13 European Starling 210
Mallard 20 Eastern Screech-Owl 2 Eastern Bluebird 6
Ring-necked Duck 3 Great Horned Owl 1 American Robin 7
Lesser Scaup 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 23 House Sparrow 125
Common Goldeneye 1 Downy Woodpecker 13 House Finch 1
Wild Turkey 49 Hairy Woodpecker 4 American Goldfinch 21
Ring-necked Pheasant 7 Northern Flicker 10 American Tree Sparrow 48
Rock Pigeon 54 American Kestrel 3 Dark-eyed Junco 182
Mourning Dove 5 Northern Shrike 1 Song Sparrow 2
Golden Eagle 1 Blue Jay 25 Northern Cardinal 6

All above images copyright 2021 by Jan Null, used with permission.

A few pictures from Westfield CBC. It was a difficult day for photography.

  • Northern Shrike

  • American Robin

  • Cedar Waxwings

  • Eastern Bluebird

  • Beautiful Westfield Sunset

  • Beautiful Westfield Scenery

Sioux City Christmas Bird Count

saturday, 18 December 2021

Loess Hills Audubon Society hosted the National Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count on December 18th 2021. Sioux City has participated in this activity since 1909, a 112 year history! In our 2021 edition we had 22 participants in 12 teams and 3 feeder watchers. We had cool breezy conditions (31 degree high) which helped us to find 58 species. Our highlight birds were Winter and Carolina Wrens, Hermit Thrush, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Common Redpoll, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. The best non bird was a moose. The count officially closed on Tuesday December 21.

Compiled and reported by: Jerry Probst

Total Species Counted: 58

Total Birds Counted: 6798

BIRD NUMBER BIRD NUMBER BIRD NUMBER
Snow Goose 4 Eastern Screech-Owl 1 European Starling 1964
Ross's Goose 1 Great Horned Owl 1 Eastern Bluebird 20
Cackling Goose 20 Belted Kingfisher 1 Hermit Thrush 1
Canada Goose 1161 Red-bellied Woodpecker 36 American Robin 175
Gadwall 1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 House Sparrow 335
American Wigeon 1 Downy Woodpecker 87 House Finch 181
Mallard 727 Hairy Woodpecker 13 Common Redpoll 1
Green-winged Teal 3 Northern Flicker 18 Pine Siskin 6
Bufflehead 1 American Kestrel 4 American Goldfinch 112
Common Goldeneye 44 Merlin 1 American Tree Sparrow 486
Hooded Merganser 1 Blue Jay 45 Dark-eyed Junco 44
Common Merganser 7 American Crow 44 White-crowned Sparrow 1
Wild Turkey 256 Black-capped Chickadee 133 Harris's Sparrow 4
Ring-necked Pheasant 3 Golden-crowned Kinglet 1 White-throated Sparrow 6
Rock Pigeon 405 Cedar Waxwing 78 Red-winged Blackbird 128
Eurasian Collared-Dove 27 Red-breasted Nuthatch 3 Rusty Blackbird 4
Cooper's Hawk 2 White-breasted Nuthatch 54 Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Bald Eagle 13 Brown Creeper 4 Northern Cardinal 77
Red-tailed Hawk 38 Winter Wren 1 . .
Rough-legged Hawk 9 Carolina Wren 2 . .

All above images copyright 2021 by the respective photographers as listed below.

Rhonda Hogan

  • Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at a private residence in Sioux City (with a House Sparrow)

Rex Rundquist

  • Brown Creeper at Bacon Creek

  • Three Merlin images all from Bacon Creek

  • Common Mergansers in the Missouri River from the Chataqua Bike Trail

  • Red-tailed Hawk from the Chataqua Bike Trail

Randall D. Williams

  • White-breasted Nuthatch from Stone Park

  • Bald Eagle from the Big Sioux River near Stone Park

  • Red-winged Blackbirds near Stone Park

Marla Kerr

  • Red-breasted Nuthatch

Jan Null

  • Northern Cardinal

Below video copyright 2021 by Jan Null, used with permission.

Yankton Christmas Bird Count

sunday, 19 December 2021

The Yankton Christmas Bird Count took place on Sunday, December 19, 2021. Thirty-two people, from teenagers to seniors, from Yankton, Vermillion, Armour, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota; South Sioux City and Wayne, Nebraska; and Sioux City, Iowa enjoyed a cool but sunny day to be out counting birds. A total of 112,056 birds of 78 different species of birds which is not quite as good as the 82 species seen last year which had tied the all-time species number high of 82 set in 2012.

Highlights of the day: Golden Eagle, Bobwhite Quail, Glaucous Gull, and Western Grebe.

Record high counts: Snow goose-100,000; Ross’s Goose-200; Hooded Merganser-12; Rock Pigeon-1,020; American White Pelican-3 (injured wings); Rough-legged Hawk-20; and Yellow-rumped Warbler-14

Species missed this year that are frequently seen include: Northern Shoveler, Blue-winged Teal, Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, Ruddy Duck, Great Blue Heron, Brown-headed Cowbird, Lapland Longspur, and Snow Bunting.

Compiled and reported by Roger Dietrich

Total Species Counted: 78

Total Birds Counted: 112,056

BIRD NUMBER BIRD NUMBER BIRD NUMBER
Snow Goose 100,000 Killdeer 3 Black-billed Magpie 1
Ross's Goose 200 Ring-billed Gull 250 American Crow 472
Greater White-fronted Goose 4 Herring Gull 20 Horned Lark 4
Cackling Goose 40 Glaucous Gull 1 Black-capped Chickadee 76
Canada Goose 1265 Iceland/Thayer's Gull 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch 5
Wood Duck 1 American White Pelican 3 White-breasted Nuthatch 41
Gadwall 65 Golden Eagle 1 Brown Creeper 5
American Wigeon 4 Northern Harrier 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet 5
Mallard 1100 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 Eastern Bluebird 16
Northern Pintail 1 Cooper's Hawk 2 American Robin 642
Green-winged Teal 4 Bald Eagle 73 European Starling 1486
Canvasback 16 Red-tailed Hawk 41 Cedar Waxwing 20
Long-tailed Duck 1 Rough-legged Hawk 20 House Sparrow 333
Bufflehead 6 Eastern Screech-Owl 5 House Finch 72
Common Goldeneye 400 Great Horned Owl 2 Purple Finch 12
Hooded Merganser 12 Long-eared Owl 2 Pine Siskin 2
Common Merganser 1500 Northern Saw-whet Owl 2 American Goldfinch 41
Red-breasted Merganser 2 Belted Kingfisher 3 Fox Sparrow 2
Northern Bobwhite 12 Red-bellied Woodpecker 26 American Tree Sparrow 185
Wild Turkey 132 Downy Woodpecker 26 Dark-eyed Junco 535
Ring-necked Pheasant 6 Hairy Woodpecker 6 Spotted Towhee 2
Western Grebe 1 Northern Flicker 27 Western Meadowlark 1
Rock Pigeon 1020 American Kestrel 5 Red-winged Blackbird 1229
Eurasian Collared-Dove 105 Merlin 2 Rusty Blackbird 1
Mourning Dove 19 Northern Shrike 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 14
American Coot 360 Blue Jay 34 Northern Cardinal 18

Ida Grove Christmas Bird Count

sunday, 2 january 2022

The Ida Grove Christmas Bird Count took place on Sunday, January 2, 2022. Ten people in the field and one at their home participated in the count this year. Notable observations include: Northern Bobwhite, Gray Partridge, Northern Shrike, Winter Wren, Gray Catbird, and Rusty Blackbird. One Snowy Owl was seen during Count Week and later found deceased.

Compiled and Reported by: Don Poggensee

Total Species Counted: 56

Total Birds Counted: 4722

BIRD NUMBER BIRD NUMBER BIRD NUMBER
Snow Goose 1 Rock Pigeon 169 White-breasted Nuthatch 17
Cackling Goose 14 Eurasian Collared-Dove 24 Brown Creeper 1
Canada Goose 1560 Mourning Dove 1 Winter Wren 1
Trumpeter Swan 16 Eastern Screech-Owl 2 American Robin 23
Mallard 92 Great Horned Owl 1 Gray Catbird 1
Northern Pintail 1 Barred Owl 1 European Starling 581
Redhead 2 Long-eared Owl 1 Cedar Waxwing 1
Lesser Scaup 2 Northern Saw-whet Owl 3 American Tree Sparrow 91
Common Goldeneye 2 Red-bellied Woodpecker 8 Dark-eyed Junco 249
Common Merganser 2 Downy Woodpecker 12 Harris's Sparrow 1
Northern Bobwhite 50 Hairy Woodpecker 2 Northern Cardinal 22
Ring-necked Pheasant 216 Northern Flicker 9 Rusty Blackbird 11
Gray Partridge 3 American Kestrel 1 House Finch 50
Wild Turkey 1 Northern Shrike 1 Purple Finch 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Blue Jay 159 Common Redpoll 1
Cooper's Hawk 1 American Crow 161 Pine Siskin 1
Bald Eagle 25 Horned Lark 91 American Goldfinch 52
Red-tailed Hawk 54 Black-capped Chickadee 5 House Sparrow 851
Rough-legged Hawk 13 Red-breasted Nuthatch 2 . .

All above images copyright 2022 by Jan Null, used with permission.

Ida Grove CBC January 2,2022

  • Common Redpoll

  • Northern Saw-whet Owl

  • Observing the Northern Saw-whet Owl

Below video copyright 2022 by Jan Null, used with permission.