The 116th CBC in Indiana

In stark contrast to last season’s brutal weather during the count period, the 116^th CBC was amazingly mild.  The fall-like conditions resulted in record numbers of lingering species taking advantage of the warm temperatures.  Even some neotropical migrants stuck around long enough to become Christmas Bird Count firsts for Indiana. New additions to the state’s CBC list included Black-and-white Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Green-tailed Towhee, and Orchard Oriole!

Besides these remarkable finds, other rarities included a Pacific Loon (the seventh CBC record), a Long-tailed Duck, six American White Pelicans (the fourth CBC record), five Great Egrets (record high), three Osprey, a Black-legged Kittiwake, four Orange-crowned Warblers (record high), three Palm Warblers, two Pine Warblers, and an “Oregon” Dark-eyed Junco.  Additional species establishing new record highs included Red-tailed Hawk, Killdeer, Ring-billed Gull, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Brown Creeper, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Species with lower than normal counts included Tundra Swan, Short-eared Owl, Northern Shrike, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Lapland Longspur.

Western Gibson County was the only count to top the century mark this season with an impressive 104 species.  Other circles with high species counts included Lake Monroe (97), Goose Pond (94), and Terre Haute (86).  Forty-eight counts reported data in Indiana this season, which included 867 field observers and 96 feeder watchers.  A total of 1966 party hours, 212 hours of feeder observation, and 121 hours of nocturnal birding resulted in the discovery of 153 total species.

Geese continued to be plentiful.  Goose Pond (4743) and Gibson (1503) were major contributors to the season’s 7482 Greater White-fronted Geese.  Gibson also provided nearly half (28,575) of this year’s 61,307 Snow Geese.  Posey County (13,861) and Knox County (13,180) also had impressive Snow Goose totals.  Four circles had Ross’s Geese - Goose Pond (6), Gibson (4), Posey County (1), and Warrick County (1).  The season’s eighteen Cackling Geese were scattered across seven circles.

For the second year in a row, the Mute Swan total was surprisingly low (366).  Elkhart County contributed almost half (153) of the Mute Swan total and more than half (26) of this year’s meager Tundra Swan count (51).  Trumpeter Swans were also scarce, with the three from Lafayette and two from Dunes West the only reports.

Duck highlights included 12 Blue-winged Teal from Lake Monroe (8), NE La Porte (2), and Southern Lake County (2), and a record Redhead total (242), with the bulk coming from the Dunes count (112).  Muncie had an impressive twenty-five Canvasbacks, while Muscatatuck had a fine count of Ring-necked Ducks (775).  Common Goldeneye total (145) was the lowest in 13 years - likely the result of just being late to arrive.  The Indiana Dunes Count contributed the bulk of the season’s scoters, including six White-winged Scoters, three Black Scoters, and three Surf Scoters.  The lone scoter away from Lake Michigan this year was Willow Slough’s single Surf Scoter.  Knox County had the only Long-tailed Duck.

Wild Turkeys continue to thrive in Indiana.  This year’s record total (1478) included five counts with over 100 turkeys.  The season’s seven Red-throated Loons were all from Lake Michigan, including six from the Dunes and a single from Dunes West.  Eagle Creek had a long-staying Pacific Loon.   Sullivan County had an impressive Horned Grebe count (145), while Gibson had 56 of this year’s 69 Double-crested Cormorants.

The six American White Pelicans from Posey County represented the state’s forth CBC record, and the first time multiple birds have been found.  It was a very good year for Great Egrets; the record five birds were provided by Elkhart (1), Hamilton County (1), Indianapolis (1), Gibson (1), and Goose Pond (count week).  Both vulture species had record high counts. The record 855 Black Vultures more than doubled the previous high (last year’s 415) thanks to big counts from Ohio River (302) and Hanover-Madison (298).  The new high count of 1148 Turkey Vultures included five circles with over one hundred birds.

Gene Stratton-Porter’s three Osprey established a new single count high.  This season’s six Golden Eagles came from Big Oaks (3), Lake Monroe (2), and McCormick’s Creek (1).  Lake Monroe had 42 of this year’s 294 Bald Eagles.  A record 1496 Red-tailed Hawks included 118 from Topeka and 79 from nearby Elkhart.  It was another good season for Merlin (17).  Of the 13 circles reporting this feisty falcon only Goose Pond (5) had more than one.  It was a typical year for Peregrine Falcons with singles found on five counts.

The lone Virginia Rail came from a new source - Sullivan County.  This year’s 18,338 Sandhill Cranes nearly doubled last season’s record count.  Many circles enjoyed large Sandhill tallies, including Indy (4836), Spring Mill (2794), Goose Pond (1952), and Pigeon River (1711).  Though still “uncountable” in Indiana, Whooping Cranes are always notable. This year’s 29 whoopers came from Goose Pond (23) and Gibson (6).

Goose Pond (290), Muscatatuck (193), and Knox County (182) were big contributors to the record Killdeer total (1500).  The season’s three Least Sandpipers were provided by Ohio River (2) and Gibson (1).  Goose Pond (15) and Patoka Lake (9) had nice Wilson’s Snipe counts.  An impressive ten American Woodcocks were found by Goose Pond (4), Gibson (4), Indy (1), and Adams County (1).

It was an unusually good day for gulls on the Dunes count. In addition to a single Black-legged Kittiwake, Dunes counters tallied seven Thayer’s Gulls, three Lesser Black-backed Gulls, three Glaucous Gulls, and ten Great Black-backed Gulls.  Whitewater also had their share of gull highlights with 982 Bonaparte’s Gulls, and two Franklin’s Gulls - Indiana’s 4th and 5th CBC records.  A record Ring-billed Gull total (27,628) included big counts from Topeka (5128), Gibson (5081), and Sullivan County (3460).  Tippecanoe had 599 Herring gulls - a large count away from Lake Michigan.  

The Eurasian Collared-Dove total (132) was another new high and included nice tallies from Knox County (54), Willow Slough (26), and Terre Haute (24).  Three Barn Owls included a pair from Oakland City and a count week bird for Lafayette.  The Short-eared Owl total (31) was the lowest in nine seasons.  Lake Monroe and Willow Slough (count week) found the only two Northern Saw-whet Owls this year.  For the first time in 13 years, Long-eared Owl went unrecorded.

Despite the mild weather, Eastern Phoebes were surprisingly scarce with the only reports coming from Ohio River (2) and Lake Monroe.  Shrikes were also hard to come by this season; Cass County had the only Northern Shrike, and Loggerhead Shrike was unrecorded for the first time in five seasons.

The ten Red-breasted Nuthatches recorded this season was the lowest total in 47 years.  Only two counts were able to find more than one - Goose Pond (6) and Elkhart (2).  At the other extreme, Brown Creepers were recorded in record numbers (420). Among the impressive creeper totals were Hamilton County’s 46, 44 from Elkhart, 43 from Lafayette, and Cass County’s 38.  Winter Wrens were also widespread with impressive totals from Cass County (7), Evansville (7), Goose Pond (5), and Gibson (5).  The 69 Ruby-crowned Kinglets this season was also a record count, and included nice totals from Goose pond (12), Evansville (7), and Gibson (6).

Other passerines of note included Ohio River’s remarkable 1287 American Robins, single Gray Catbirds for Eagle Creek, Elkhart, Gene Stratton-Porter, and Posey County, and Brown Thrashers from Posey County (2), Elkhart (1), Evansville (1), Gibson (1) and Warrick County (1).  The season’s total of 578 Lapland Longspurs was the lowest in 11 years.

One of the most remarkable finds of the season was a Black-and-white Warbler visiting an Elkhart County feeder - a CBC first for Indiana.  This year’s four Orange-crowned Warblers was the first time more than one has been found; counts contributing to the new high were Evansville (2), Goose Pond (1), and Gibson (1).  Single Common Yellowthroats were discovered by Elkhart County, Lake Monroe, Ohio River, and Topeka.  Incredibly, Eagle Creek had a photographed Magnolia Warbler, a CBC first, as well as the state’s first winter record.  Other noteworthy warblers included single Palm Warblers for Cass County and Gibson, and a pair of Pine Warblers from Patoka Lake.  In all, seven species of warblers were recorded.

Eight circles contributed to the season’s 11 Chipping Sparrows.  Double-digit Fox Sparrow totals were provided by Patoka Lake (14) and Eagle Creek (11).  Terre Haute had an “Oregon form” Dark-eyed Junco, while Topeka had a good White-crowned Sparrow count (159).  The Gibson count had the lone Vesper Sparrow and a big Savannah Sparrow day (87).

Gibson also provided yet another CBC first for Indiana - a long-staying Green-tailed Towhee.  Two counts had Brewers Blackbirds, Knox County (15) and Goose Pond (4).  Goose Pond’s impressive 291,981 Common Grackles were nearly three-fourths of the state’s total (411,219).

Despite some tough competition, “bird of the year” honors go to Cass County’s Orchard Oriole, a photographed adult male.  This phenomenal find was not just a CBC first, but also the state’s latest record by almost three months!

It is easy to sum up the season’s “winter finch” highlights - there weren’t any!  The lone Common Redpoll was a count week bird from Lafayette.  Purple Finches and Pine Siskins were recorded in low numbers, while both crossbills went unrecorded.

NOTE:  To view my website of bird photographs please visit www.jkcassady.com