by Ellen Sullivan and Lauren Michelsen
The 31st annual Eureka Christmas Bird Count was held on Saturday, December 16, on a mild day that ranged from 27 degrees to 33 degrees. Koocanusa Reservoir was open as were parts of the streams, but smaller lakes and ponds were mostly frozen. Eighteen people went to the field and 16 feeders were counted as well. Sixty species were recorded which is in the upper half of our species counts over 31 years. Our record high of 72 species was in 2014. The total number of individual birds was 3,067 which is in the upper end of numbers we have recorded over the years (9 of 31 years had over 3000 individuals).
Canada Geese (1050) were the most numerous species observed. Other most common birds included Wild Turkey (352), Black-capped Chickadee (233), Mallard (145), Common Raven (139), and House Sparrows (95). Record high counts were recorded for five species which were Canada Goose (1050), Black-billed Magpies (71), Golden Eagle (4), Sharp-shinned Hawks (8), and Song Sparrow (14). Five or fewer individuals were seen for 26 species including American Widgeon, Bufflehead, American Kestrel, Golden Eagle, Brewers Blackbird, Rough-legged Hawk, Northern Harrier, Pileated Woodpecker, Common Merganser, White-breasted Nuthatch, Evening Grosbeak, Northern Shrike, Roughed Grouse, Great Blue Heron, Rough-legged Hawk, Great-horned Owl, Clark’s Nutcracker, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco, Red Crossbill, American Tree Sparrow, Brown Creeper, Winter Wren, Northern Saw-whet Owl, and Killdeer. Most species recorded regularly on the count were observed, but many in lower numbers. No falcons were observed. Raptors, finches, grosbeaks, and crossbills were limited this year. Individual counts of duck species other than mallards were low. The usual Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, and Bald Eagle were sighted. Finch numbers were very low with only small numbers of Red Crossbills, Cassin’s Finches, Goldfinches, and Pine Siskins.