My First Christmas Bird Count!

It's my first day of a long break from working!  Whoo hoo!  I didn't have any plans until later in the day, so I thought I'd try to join in on a Christmas Bird Count last-minute.  Two emails later, I was signed up to participate on the Millis Christmas Bird Count!

This year is the 115th annual Christmas Bird Count, which began in 1900.  It all started when Frank Chapman wanted an alternative to a Christmas recreational hunt, where teams of people went out and competed to see who could kill the largest number of birds and animals.   That hunting tradition has gone by the wayside (thank goodness), and the Christmas Bird Count, at least with birders, has grown into a very popular replacement.  People hunt with binoculars, cameras, pen and paper, or smart phones in a designated 15 mile radius.

My Millis team of four came up with a healthy 30 species, starting around 8AM and finishing around 1:30PM. We also count the number of individuals within each species, so the results provide good citizen science data.

We only had sunshine for a couple of hours.  It averaged 30 degrees.

1. American Crow
2. American Goldfinch
3. American Robin
4. American Tree Sparrow
5. Black-Capped Chickadee
6. Blue Jay
7. Canada Goose
8. Carolina Wren
9. Coopers Hawk
10. Dark-Eyed Junco
11. Downy Woodpecker
12. Eastern Bluebird
13. European Starling
14. Golden-Crowned Kinglet
15. Hairy Woodpecker
16. Herring Gull
17. House Finch
18. House Sparrow
19. Mallard
20. Mourning Dove
21. Mute Swan
22. Northern Cardinal 
23. Northern Flicker
24. Northern Mockingbird
25. Red-Bellied Woodpecker
26. Red-Tailed Hawk
27. Rock Pigeon
28. Song Sparrow
29. Tufted Titmouse
30. White Breasted Nuthatch

Here are some of the birds I was able to photograph from the count:

Eastern Bluebird 

(We saw them in several locations.)

 Dark-Eyed Junco (our most abundant species)

House Finch (making the most of the sun while it was out)

Golden Crowned Kinglet (best bird of the day)

again 

(Mostly in the open...darn that twig) - See his golden crown?)

On my way home, and not part of the count, I stopped at Hopkinton State Park to check out the water.  Besides 8 mallards, there was one diving duck.  I think it is a female Common Goldeneye.

 Common Goldeneye (female)