Christmas Bird Count Follow-Up Report
A leucistic Red-tailed Hawk spotted through a scope during CdA CBC.
Submitted by North Idaho CBC Coordinator, Doug Ward
We held the 34th edition of the Coeur d’Alene Christmas Bird Count (“CBC”) on Saturday, December 14, 2024 under gloomy, but warm skies. Given our mild winter so far, most water was ice-free and the only snow was found at the higher elevations, and not much at that. Considering these conditions, it’s not surprising the overarching theme this year was how the birds seen (or not seen) represented just how mild it’s been. While we experienced a lack of northern visitors on one hand, we had a number of birds lingering longer than they should on the other. Not even a single Bohemian Waxwing nor Redpoll were found, but we did find Tundra Swan, Wilson’s Snipe (count week), Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and White-throated Sparrow, all of which should be much further south by now.
On to what CBC summaries are all about, statistics. We had twelve (12) teams in the field comprised of 26 folks covering our count circle during the day, both in cars and on foot, clocking a total of 375 miles! Another 7 birders reported sightings from their yard and feeders.
For our efforts, we were rewarded with an above average total of 73 species (avg=68) during the count while adding another five (5) species seen count week. In addition we had a record number of individual birds with over 11,000 recorded (previous high=10,103) driven by record or near record high counts for Canada Goose, Mallard, Red-breasted Merganser (43 – crazy increase in these beautiful ducks; previous record was 12), Red-tailed Hawk (62), Pileated Woodpecker (9), Northern Flicker (83), American Crow (238), Chestnut-backed Chickadee (123 – wow, previous record was 38!), Red-breasted Nuthatch (160), and Song Sparrow (65).
While we did find all 22 species that have been seen on every count, we did have several bad misses that have been seen on all but a few counts – Red-necked Grebe, American Coot, and the Bohemian Waxwings – all very surprising. We did not add a new species to the count this year which was also disappointing, but did have a solid “maybe” and if we can confirm, will add to the tally.
Now the main event, the rare stuff (generally seen on less than 25% of previous counts):
“cw” = Count Week
Tundra Swan (Hayden Lake & Kidd Island)
Wilson’s Snipe (cw, Hayden Lake)
Lesser Black-backed Gull (City Beach, Coeur d’Alene)
Iceland Gull - “Thayer’s” (City Beach, Coeur d’Alene)
Golden Eagle (Hayden Lake)
Barred Owl (cw, Coeur d’Alene & Hayden)
Short-eared Owl (Rathdrum Prairie)
Blue Jay (Dalton)
Clark’s Nutcracker (cw, English Point)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Fernan Lake)
Pine Grosbeak (Tubbs Hill)
White-throated Sparrow (Hayden View)
All-in-all this was a very good day with some great finds and many interesting stories from the field. Thank you to everyone who participated this year, couldn’t pull this off without folks in the field. If you have any questions, or note any omissions or mistakes, please let me know.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,
Doug Ward
Be sure to check out the final data sheet here.
One of a pair of short-eared owls spotted during the CdA CBC 2024.