Jackson Audubon Society

Jackson Audubon Society

MICHIGAN AUDUBON

HAEHNLE SANCTUARY

Welcome Page

About Jackson Audubon

Events Calendar

Birding Around Jackson

Christmas Counts

Membership and Donations

PROGRAMS

September 13— Bill Rapal— Author of the Kirtland Warbler book

October11— Tom Hodgson — Wildflowers of the Seasons

November 8— Michigan Bat Association— Bats of the World- This is the year of the bat.

January 10— Doug Leffler— Birds, Birds, and why I got into birding.

February 8— Utah Wilderness and Land Conservation at Visa Grande Villa

March 14— Lori Sargent (DNR)— Frogs and the Michigan Survey

April 11— Gary Siegrist and Lathe Claflin – Delaware: Red Knots & Horseshoe Crabs

*All programs held at Ella Sharp Museum of Art and History at 6:30 p.m, unless otherwise noted.
*Please note: Meeting time change— social 6:30 p.m., meeting/program 7:00 p.m.

JACKSON AUDUBON SOCIETY CHRISTMAS COUNTS PAGE

Christmas Bird Count (CBC)

The Jackson Audubon Society conducts an annual Christmas Bird Count each December, as part or the National Audubon count. Our count area is the Waterloo State Recreation Area, centered on the corner of Mt. Hope and Seymour Rd

COUNT AREA MAP

DATA RETRIEVAL FROM NATIONAL AUDUBON CHRISTMAS COUNT DATABASE

2012 CHRISTMAS COUNT SUMMARY.

On December 15 , a record 39 eager birders ventured into the field for the 44th annual Waterloo Recreation Area Christmas Bird Count sponsored by Jackson Audubon. The Waterloo CBC count circle is located in the northeastern corner of Jackson County and extends into northwestern Washtenaw County and slightly into southeastern Ingham County.

The 71 species observed were just one below the record of 72 species counted in 2001. Many observers commented that the number of individual birds seemed low on this year’s count. The totals, however, revealed that we had a record number of individuals with 12,319 birds tallied for the day. The old record was 10,509 individual birds counted in 2007. An overview of the species totals will reveal that Canada Goose, Wild Turkey, Sandhill Crane, and Ring-billed Gull each recorded record high numbers, which contributed to the high number of individuals. Other species like Blue Jay, American Robin, European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, American Tree Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco were below average in numbers, which most likely attributed to the perception that overall numbers were low.

With the mild weather that was experienced in November and early December, it was no surprise that waterfowl featured many of the main highlights for the count. Almost all water was open, with just some shallow ponds and marshes frozen. One new species was added to the count list – a lone Cackling Goose was spotted at Haehnle Sanctuary with a flock of its larger Canada Geese cousins.

Most of the species counted in higher than average numbers were water related; geese, swans, ducks, cranes and gulls. Arriving at an accurate number for these species can be problematic since they can travel great distances and may be viewed by more than one group during the day. The total for Sandhill Cranes was adjusted because it is assumed that some of the birds seen in neighboring sections came from the roost sights at Haehnle Sanctuary and the Portage Lake marsh where they were counted. In addition to the Cackling Goose, waterfowl highlights were 3 Trumpeter Swans, 3 Gadwall (2nd time on count), 5 American Wigeon (2nd time on count), 17 Northern Shoveler (3rd time & 3rd year in a row), 5 Common Goldeneye, and 113 American Coots.

One Ruffed Grouse was seen for the first Waterloo CBC record since 2001. A single Turkey Vulture gave us only the second record for the count. The first was in 2003. Other raptor highlights included 1 Northern Harrier, 2 Bald Eagles, and 1 Red-shouldered Hawk.

Those who braved the cold pre-dawn hours in search of owls found them difficult to coax into responding, but did manage to hear 4 Eastern Screech-Owls, 8 Great Horned Owls, and 3 Barred Owls. At dusk a single Short-eared Owl was observed along Hawkins Road. Although the fields along Hawkins Road have been traditional late fall/early winter location for Short-eared Owls, this was only the 4th time this owl has been recorded on the CBC.

A few other count highlights were 2 Northern Shrikes, 60 Horned Larks, 1 Winter Wren, 2 Hermit Thrushes, 1 Swamp Sparrow, 2 Red-winged Blackbird, 36 Rusty Blackbirds (1st record since 1999), and 1 Common Grackle. Although several species of winter finches and crossbills have been reported in surrounding areas this fall, our only representatives of these irruptive birds were 2 Purple Finches and 20 Pine Siskins. In addition to the 71 species tallied on count day, three other species were recorded in the CBC circle during count week which includes the three days before and after count day - Bonaparte's Gull, Red-headed Wood- pecker and Fox Sparrow.

A complete species list can be found online at:
//http://donsbirding.blogspot.com/2012/12/waterloo-rec-area-cbc-totals.htm/

Report from Count Compiler:: Don Henise

2012 CHRISTMAS COUNT DETAILS

Count Name:	Waterloo State Recreation Area	Count Code:	MIWA	Count Date:	12/15/2012
# of Party Hours:	75.50	Species reported on count date:	71
Organizations & Sponsors:	Jackson Audubon

Weather


Temperature	Minimum:	33.0 Fahrenheit	Maximum:	40.0 Fahrenheit
Wind Direction	Southeast
Wind Velocity	Minimum:	0.00 Miles/hour	Maximum:	12.00 Miles/hour
Snow Depth	Minimum:	0.00 Inches	Maximum:	0.00 Inches
Still Water	Partly Frozen
Moving Water	Open

AM and PM Conditions
Cloud Cover	AM:	Cloudy	PM:	Cloudy
AM Rain	Light,None
AM Snow	None
PM Rain	Light,None
PM Snow	None

Start & End Times

Start time	End time
05:00 AM	05:30 PM

Effort

Observers
In Field	Total Number:	39
	Minimum Number of Parties (daylight):	11
	Maximum Number of Parties (daylight):	11
At Feeders	Total Number:	6

Party Hours and Distance (excludes viewing at feeders and nocturnal birding)
By	Hours	Distance	Units
Foot	19.50	20.80	Miles
Car	56.00	534.50	Miles
Air
All-Terrain Vehicle
Bicycle
Dog Sled
Golfcart
Horseback
Motorized Boat
Non-Motorized Boat
Skis/Xc-Skis
Snowmachine
Snowshoe
Wheelchair

Other Time and Distance
	Hours	Distance	Units
At Feeders	3.50
Nocturnal Birding	8.50	83.00	Miles

Total Party	75.50	555.30	Miles

Checklist

Species	Number	Number/Party Hrs.	Flags	Editorial Codes
Cackling Goose	1	0.0132	US,	NC
Canada Goose	2596	34.3841	HC,
Mute Swan	86	1.1391	HC,
Trumpeter Swan	3	0.0397
Gadwall	3	0.0397	US,
American Wigeon	5	0.0662	US,
American Black Duck	26	0.3444
Mallard	684	9.0596	HC,
Northern Shoveler	17	0.2252	US, HC,
Bufflehead	74	0.9801	HC,
Common Goldeneye	5	0.0662
Hooded Merganser	45	0.5960	HC,
Ring-necked Pheasant	3	0.0397	LC
Ruffed Grouse	1	0.0132
Wild Turkey	248	3.2848	HC,
Great Blue Heron (Blue form)	11	0.1457	HC,
Turkey Vulture	1	0.0132	US,
Bald Eagle Adults: Immatures: Unknowns:	2	0.0265
Northern Harrier	1	0.0132
Sharp-shinned Hawk	2	0.0265
Cooper's Hawk	7	0.0927
Red-shouldered Hawk	1	0.0132
Red-tailed Hawk	41	0.5430
American Kestrel	11	0.1457
American Coot	113	1.4967	HC,
Sandhill Crane	2980	39.4702	HC,
Bonaparte's Gull	cw	0.0000
Ring-billed Gull	525	6.9536	HC,
Herring Gull	14	0.1854
gull sp.	4	0.0530
Rock Pigeon	75	0.9934
Mourning Dove	932	12.3444
Eastern Screech-Owl	4	0.0530
Great Horned Owl	8	0.1060
Barred Owl	3	0.0397	HC,
Short-eared Owl	1	0.0132	US,
Belted Kingfisher	5	0.0662
Red-headed Woodpecker	cw	0.0000
Red-bellied Woodpecker	72	0.9536
Downy Woodpecker	99	1.3113
Hairy Woodpecker	18	0.2384
Northern (Yellow-shafted) Flicker	18	0.2384
Pileated Woodpecker	5	0.0662
Northern Shrike	2	0.0265
Blue Jay	216	2.8609
American Crow	334	4.4238
Horned Lark	60	0.7947
Black-capped Chickadee	299	3.9603
Tufted Titmouse	101	1.3377
Red-breasted Nuthatch	13	0.1722	HC,
White-breasted Nuthatch	107	1.4172
Brown Creeper	4	0.0530
Carolina Wren	5	0.0662	HC,
Winter Wren	1	0.0132
Golden-crowned Kinglet	3	0.0397
Eastern Bluebird	140	1.8543
Hermit Thrush	2	0.0265
American Robin	14	0.1854	LC
European Starling	523	6.9272
Cedar Waxwing	175	2.3179
American Tree Sparrow	274	3.6291
Song Sparrow	10	0.1325
Swamp Sparrow	1	0.0132
White-throated Sparrow	1	0.0132
Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco	201	2.6623
Northern Cardinal	167	2.2119
Red-winged Blackbird	2	0.0265
Rusty Blackbird	36	0.4768
Common Grackle	1	0.0132
Purple Finch	2	0.0265
House Finch	116	1.5364
Pine Siskin	20	0.2649
American Goldfinch	280	3.7086
House Sparrow	457	6.0530
Total Individuals	12317
Total Species Reported	71

cw = Reported count week US = Flagged as an unusual species HC = Flagged as an unusually high count LC = Flagged as an unusually low count

Species Requiring Rare Bird Reports to be Submitted to Regional Editor

Species

Cackling Goose [Branta hutchinsii]

Gadwall [Anas strepera]

American Wigeon [Anas americana]

Northern Shoveler [Anas clypeata]

Turkey Vulture [Cathartes aura]

Short-eared Owl [Asio flammeus]

Compiler(s)

First Name	Last Name	Email	Is Primary Compiler
Don	Henise	don_henise@ntm.org	Yes
Robyn	Henise	robyn_henise@ntm.org	No

Participants(s)

First Name	Last Name
Aaron	Balogh
Myrna	Berlet
Paul	Brencher
Shannon	Carvey
Kathy	Claflin
Lathem	Claflin
Tim	Cullen
Birgit	Dane
Roy	Dane
Justin	Hamilton
Bob	Harkness
Don	Henise
Robyn	Henise
Tom	Hodgson
Ron	Hoffman
Steve	Jerant
Allen	King
Jordan	King
Mikey	Kress
Peggy	Liggit
Darin	McNeil
Marilyn	Mead
Ron	Mead
Becky	Mehall
Bob	Ochs
Gregg	Perez
Joyce	Peterson
Cody	Porter
Ellen	Rathbone
Pat	Reynolds
Helena	Robinovitz
Don	Siegrist
Gary	Siegrist
Nancy	Siegrist
William	Sonnett
Connie	Spotts
Carol	Strahler
Diane	Valen
Libby	Warner
Brenda	Wineman

JAS Waterloo Area Christmas Bird Count Circle Map

The area covers a six mine radius centered on the intersection of Mount Hope Road and Seymour Road in Jackson County Michigan (42.3167 degrees North x -84.2167 degrees West) . The count area area also encompasses part of western Washtenaw County.

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