Participants in the 2012 Audubon Bird Count had to deal with snow and rain, but they were able to complete the count. They were treated to a wide variety of beautiful birds like this pine grosbeak.
North Shore residents can tell Christmas is coming when the weather cools, when the radio starts playing seasonal music and holiday lights start appearing on houses and businesses throughout the county. Another sign that Christmas is coming is the announcement of the Audubon Christmas Bird Count and the publishing of the list of birds spotted on counting day and counting week.
Grand Marais Audubon Christmas Bird Count Compiler Jeremy Ridlbauer said counting day, Saturday, December 15, started out well, but after lunch the rain on the lakeshore and snow over the hill in the upper part of the counting circle slowed things down. “However, we did count our circle area of birds and had a respectable list,” reported Ridlbauer.
He said counters logged 35 species on the count day, and 41 species during the count week. Count week annotates birds spotted not on count day, but in the “count week”— the three days before and three days after the count day of Saturday.
The counting circle is a 7.5- mile radius circle from a point three miles south of the middle of Devil Track Lake. The count circle covers Highway 61 to Lindskog Road and north, some of County Road 60, the Gunflint Trail to the landfill road, Pine Mountain Road to the backside of Elbow Lake, Devil Track Road to Bally Creek Road, Ball Club Road to The Grade, Pike Lake Road, and Highway 61 west to Cascade Lodge, and all of the lakeshore between Lindskog Road and Cascade Lodge.
Bird watchers monitored feeders, drove county roads and hiked through the forest to complete the Audubon count.
Ridlbauer submits the Grand Marais count to National Audubon Society. The Society designates a 16-day period for the count around Christmastime and publishes a complete compilation annually of all official counts in their Audubon Field Notes.
Ridlbauer also shared the results of this year’s count with Cook County News-Herald readers, just in time for our holiday issue. Thanks Jeremy!
Species seen in the
2012 Audubon
Christmas Bird Count
In order of abundance
Black-capped Chickadee
Common Redpoll
Common Raven
Rock Pigeon
Bohemian Waxwing
European Starling
White-winged Crossbill
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Herring Gull
Pine Grosbeak
Common Goldeneye
American Crow
Downy Woodpecker
Pine Siskin
Red Crossbill
Blue Jay
Bald Eagle
Mallard
Hairy Woodpecker
Ruffed Grouse
Evening Grosbeak
Long-tailed Duck
Northern Cardinal
White-breasted Nuthatch
American Goldfinch
American Robin
Bufflehead
Hoary Redpoll
Northern Shrike
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
American Coot
Northern Mockingbird
Red-breasted Merganser
Ring-Necked Duck
Brown Creeper *
Dark-eyed Junco*
Great Horned Owl*
Harlequin Duck*
Spruce Grouse*
Cedar Waxwing*
* indicates birds seen
during the Count Week
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