We once again had mild weather for the Christmas Bird Count. In the morning temps in the Elk Management Area and in the vicinity of Mestaa’ehehe Mountain were in the upper 20s, but at the lower elevations we started the day in the low 40s and by early afternoon we were in the low 50s.  Wind was a factor early but let up for most of us. The higher elevations had as much as two feet of snow to deal with but generally snow was not a problem.

As for our participants, we had an all-time high of 86 folks in the field recording 5,751 birds.  The Brook Forest East and West teams each logged over ten miles apiece on foot, and the Mestaa’ehehe team, with its numerous participants, went crazy covering over twenty-eight miles on foot.  We also had 58 feeder-counters record an additional 1,758 birds.

As a reminder, we have increased our number of participants in recent years and as we have done so it makes sense that having more participants would translate into seeing more birds. However, to make valid comparisons with prior years, we must calculate the number of birds seen per the number of participants. So, this year we saw 52.1 birds per participant.  In comparison, the number of birds per participants in recent years has been: 2009 – 106, 2011 – 90, 2013 – 68, 2015 – 92, 2017 – 67, 2019 – 68, and 2021 – 53. So, there’s some evidence here for a possible decline in numbers through the years, but this doesn’t include such factors as weather conditions.

So, moving on, what kind of numbers did we end up with in 2023?  For starters we missed a few species that we get with some regularity, though not every time, such as Canada Goose, American Goshawk (formerly Northern Goshawk), Bald Eagle, Northern Pygmy-Owl, and Bushtit.  That being said, we set, or tied, new high numbers for Golden Eagle (10), Belted Kingfisher (6), American Three-toed Woodpecker (7), Northern Shrike (5), Clark’s Nutcracker (126), Common Raven (241), Mountain Chickadee (1,062), Red-breasted Nuthatch (250), and Brown Creeper (46). I had been keeping an eye on the apparently numerous Clark’s Nutcrackers and Red-breasted Nuthatches throughout the fall, and indeed it was gratifying that we set new high numbers for both species. And, then, though not our highest number ever, we recorded 330 Evening Grosbeaks. That should knock your socks off!

Additionally, we had four special species that merit huge accolades.  First of all, the Brook Forest East team had four Common Grackles. These birds have only been recorded four times in our fifty-five-year history and furthermore four was the most ever. The Brook East team then went on to find a single Lewis’s Woodpecker, a new species for our count. While these shenanigans were going on the Bergen Park team was being equally as productive.  They recorded our second ever Yellow-bellied Sapsucker; the last one having been seen in 1979. They then went on to find a small flock of six Lapland Longspurs, yet another new species for our count. Kudos to the Brook East and Bergen teams for their great finds!

You may recall that we are in a friendly competition with over 2500 other CBCs across the Western Hemisphere regarding our numbers of Mountain Chickadees and Pygmy Nuthatches.  We have been Mountain Chickadee world champs for fifteen years running, and we’ve been Pygmy Nuthatch world champs a few times in that same period.  Last year’s 1,041 Mountain Chickadees and 1,881 Pygmy Nuthatches were the highest numbers recorded across the hemisphere, and with this year’s 1,062 Mountain Chickadees and 1,322 Pygmy Nuthatches we are well placed to retain our dominance.  

In getting things organized for this year, special thanks go out to those folks who stepped in at the last minute to create a birding team and make sure all our areas got covered: Megan and Kyle Schulze took over the Elk Management Area and put together a strong team, and wildlife biologist, Cam Carver, took on Idaho Springs West.  Strong additional support was provided by Bob Santagelo, Joan Strand, Rob Raker, Hannah Criswell, Felice Lyons, Susan and Bill Broderick, and Holly and Chris Marr.  Much gratitude to all!  Additional thanks go to all of our regular area leaders who got their crews through the day: JoAnn Hackos, Else Van Erp, Emma Vasicek, Chuck Aid, Ed Furlong, Timo Mitzen, David Wald, Kathy Madison, Ron Belak, Dwight Souder, Keri Bowling, and Larry White.  And a great big special thanks to our Feeder-Counter Coordinator, Barbara Jean Gard.

Finally, it was wonderful to, once again, end our day of bird counting with a glorious evening of good fellowship, great food, and LIVELY data compiling at our Tally Rally.  Truly a wonderful end to the day!  Many thanks go to Lisa and David Wald for hosting the Tally Rally; to Rachel Hutchison, JoAnn Hackos, Holly Marr, and Lisa Wald for making the chili; to Chris Marr for bringing chairs, tables, and the PA system; to Kathy Madison, Steve Garman, Maddie, and Melissa Leasia for handling KP duties and being greeters; to Holly Marr for being the Tally Rally head honcho; to all those who contributed to the potluck; and to David Wald for helping compile our field data that evening.

Bird species observed during the 2023 Evergreen-Idaho Springs Christmas Bird Count, the average number seen from 1969 to 2022, and the high count and year recorded for each species.  Bolded entries are high counts recorded in 2023.