Yellow-billed Magpies were observed in 24 of California’s 58 counties during a recent volunteer survey sponsored by Audubon California to help support the conservation of this dynamic species. The survey – held June 3-6, 2011 – was the third annual effort to rally birders all around the state to venture outside in search of the Yellow-billed Magpie. “In a lot of ways this survey is a great celebration of this California bird,” said Andrea Jones, Audubon California’s director of Important Bird Areas. “Even though the rain made the birds hard to find, we had more people out in the field than ever before, and even added two additional counties over last year.” (photo by Brian Sullivan)

Check out the full results on our website.

About 260 volunteers submitted checklists to the survey this year, more than double the number of the first survey in 2009. Given that many people worked in teams, about 500 people in total participated.

Popular among birders and compelling for conservationists, the Yellow-billed Magpie lives only in California’s Central Valley and Coastal Ranges, and may be may experiencing a comeback after major declines due to habitat loss, West Nile Virus and pesticide use. Voters in an online poll named the Yellow-billed Magpie Audubon California’s Bird of the Year for 2009. (

Volunteers in the June survey counted 3,200 birds across 24 counties (up from 18 counties in 2009), with the most birds counted in Sacramento, Yolo, and San Luis Obispo counties.

The highest count of birds from a single checklist was 73 observed in east Oakdale in Stanislaus County and many fl ocks of 40+ in Merced, Yolo, Sacramento, and Solano counties. The northernmost Yellow-billed Magpies were observed in Shasta, Shasta County, east of I-5. The southernmost birds were also observed again at Lake Cachuma and Solvang, in Santa Barbara County.

“In order to help the Yellow-billed Magpie survive, we need to know where the bird is and in what numbers,” said Jones. “The survey also helps us raise awareness about the bird and spread the word about how to help it prosper.”

Audubon California’s Yellow-billed Magpie survey is notable for its simplicity and for how easy it is to participate. People were asked to look for the bird anytime during the survey period and then go online to eBird (www.ebird.org/california) to register their findings. Participants don’t need to be bird experts and they don’t need to look for birds during the entire survey period.

Data from the survey will be shared with researchers at UC Davis and elsewhere, who are monitoring the Yellow-billed Magpie and identifying ways to help grow the population. Using eBird for data collection ensures that information about the bird is fed directly to bird researchers and conservationists around the world.