Wrangell’s birders tallied up 45 different species last month during their annual holiday count.
Venturing out on December 17, 30 volunteers had planned to take part in the Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count, the 117th one held in the conservation organization’s history. Wrangell has been a long-time participant, with the 2016 count being the island’s 75th.
“We actually had more people participate than some larger places, like Juneau,” commented Bonnie Demerjian, an organizer for the local event. “At least, the intent was there.”
Ultimately, only 23 birders were able to make it out that weekend. A combination of snowfall and freezing temperatures made for slow going by foot, but rough waters prevented four of five groups planning to go out by boat from doing so.
As many of the island’s bird species live on the water, the lack of boat coverage had an impact on the count, bringing the total variety down from 2015’s 51. Meanwhile, counts that normally cover the Back Channel, Woronkofski Island and Etolin Island had to be largely called off.
“It makes a huge difference,” Demerjian said.
Even so, the group spotted 3,324 birds in all on local routes and at feeders, down only slightly from last year’s 3,690. At 873, by far and away the most abundant species were the Barrow’s goldeneye, a type of sea duck. There were six varieties and 1,455 individual ducks counted in all.
Also common were the island’s ravens and northwestern crows, with 96 of the former and 577 of the latter spotted. Juncoes, rock doves, black turnstones, mergansers, herons, geese and scoters were just some of the variety found around the island.
The data Wrangell’s volunteers collected is submitted to Audubon and filed. Christmas counts occur in all 50 states, all Canadian provinces, several Latin American countries and several islands in the Pacific and Caribbean, which together helps shape an understanding of how winter bird species are faring across borders.
Another bird count is set in February, Audubon’s Great Backyard Bird Count. Participants are asked to count birds for as little as 15 minutes on one or more days during the four-day event, reporting sightings to the database online at http://www.birdcount.org.
“You pick your own area, and when you want to do it,” Demerjian explained. Like the Christmas bird count, information benefits researchers and helps inform policy advocacy.
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