The 110th season for the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count has come to an end. In California, thousands of birders joined in an effort to survey birds at 130 Christmas Bird Count circles across the state. The one-day bird counts provide valuable data about the number of bird species occurring within a set geographic area. Counts range from small groups in hard-to-get to places like Tejon Ranch and Santa Cruz Island, to urban landscapes such as Los Angeles, to large, higly-organized counts such as Santa Barbara, with more than 100 participants. Within hours of completion of surveys, birders began sharing their results on their local listservs and on eBird, giving us an opportunity to read some of the interesting stories and birding events witnessed across the state. (Dan Cooper, Karen Velas and

Thea Wang, Santa Clarita Valley CBC. Photo by Lisa Fimiani.)

Always one of the highest species counts in the country, Santa Barbara CBC came in this year at 216 species. Most unusual were Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Grace's Warbler, Red Knot (2nd CBC record only), and Eastern Phoebe. Of note were high numbers this year of Cackling Goose and Common Merganser. Also in Santa Barbara County, but in the interior, at the Cachuma CBC 145 species were tallied by 37 observers, including 3 new species for this 11-year-old count: Dunlin and Brant (first records for the county interior), and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

At the Los Angeles CBC, birders used many means of transportation to reach hard-to-bird spots. For instance, one birder took his sail boat up from Marina del Rey to Santa Monica, to count good numbers of Royal and Forster's Terns, loons, and close-up views of all 3 cormorants. Another scanned Stone Canyon Reservoir in Bel Air, waiting for a glimpse of Common Merganser (the only spot to find it). After a half-hour, a lone male rounded a corner and then disappeared back into a cove. Two volunteers hiked up into Griffith Park above Los Feliz at dusk and came up with Common Poorwill and a calling Western Screech-owl, both very rare for the count.

While many counts continue in an annual tradition for decades, each year some new counts emerge and some remote circles may not get covered. This year, Lake Elsinore CBC was reestablished by a local resident after an absence since 1944. About a dozen people gathered to count over 12,000 birds of 119 species (preliminary number) and got some good press: http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_N_birds03.47948ed.html.

At the third annual Santa Cruz Island CBC, 16 intrepid birders braved rough seas and tallied a count-high of 84 species. Highlights included more than 10,000 Black-vented Shearwaters, Bald Eagle, Band-tailed Pigeons, Loggerhead Shrike, and Burrowing Owl. At the Tejon Ranch CBC, just started last year, 101 species were recorded. Of interest were California Condor, Western Tanager, 43 Golden Eagles, and 443 Lark Sparrows.

Diversity of birds decreases at the more interior, cooler parts of California, but birders often find different species than can be observed in the coastal locations. The Merced NWR CBC, despite “miserable” weather, reported good numbers of 110 species, including over 20,000 Snow and Ross's Geese, 5,000 Sandhill Cranes, and 500 Black-bellied Plovers. At the San Luis refuge, over 3,300 Green-winged Teal were seen, along with a California Thrasher, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, 6 Wood Ducks (a first for the count), and 9 Common Goldeneyes (another first). At the Carrizo Plain CBC, 30 participants counted 66 species; birds of interest included Rough-legged Hawk, Ferriginous Hawks, Prairie and one Peregrine Falcon, Mountain Plovers, Burrowing, Long-eared Owls, Sage Thrasher, Plainopeplas, Sage and Vesper Sparrows.

In the southern end of California, the Rancho Santa Fe CBC in San Diego County had a good year with 190 species. Three species new for this CBC were Zone-tailed Hawk, Orchard Oriole, and Nutmeg Mannikin (an increasing invasive species). At the other end of the state, the Arcata CBC reported a preliminary total of 183 species. Ocean scoping afforded looks at some pelagic species including Red Phalarope, Short-tailed Shearwater, Pomarine Jaeger, and Ancient Murrelet. Other highlights included Northern Pygmy-Owl, 1 Osprey (rare in winter), American Golden-Plover (a latest date for Humboldt County), Snowy Plover, Cassin's Vireo, and American Redstart.

Results of all Christmas Bird Counts for every year recorded throughout the U.S. can be found at: http://www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/index.html

-- Andrea Jones

*Photo of Long-eared Owl at Carrizo Plain CBC by Roger Zachary. Photo of Santa Cruz Island CBC participants by Greg Smith.