Colorado Springs Christmas Bird Counters,
Thank you to all area leaders and participants for joining this year’s Colorado Springs CBC. The commitment and hard work that all participants put in each year are truly impressive. A total of 155 people participated as field observers or feeder watchers in 30 areas within our count circle. We covered 139 miles on foot, 413 miles by car, and a total of 250.8 party hours for this year’s count, which is a Colorado Springs CBC record. Through such effort, we found 93 species on count day and one additional count week species. The 68-year average species count is 80.0 species. We tallied 16,579 individual birds, slightly lower than most recent years, but much higher than the 68-year average of 11,172 individuals.
I have attached the annual count records, which now include every year of the Colorado Springs CBC’s 68-year history. The results for the 2017 Colorado Springs CBC are also attached, and are presented by count area. We set several record high counts of species this year, which can largely be attributed to the effort that area leaders and participants made to cover our count circle thoroughly and carefully.
The following species set record highs for number of individuals counted: Red-tailed Hawk (127 individuals), American Three-toed Woodpecker (2), Northern Parula (2), Canyon Towhee (4), and Mountain Chickadee (424), which exceeded the previous record high by 164 individuals. Chipping Sparrow tied a previous record high with one individual. This was also the first Colorado Springs CBC on which Northern Parula has been documented. If you are interested, please take some time to look through the attached historical records.
This event is truly a group effort. Each year, Colorado Springs has one of the highest participant turnouts of any Christmas Bird Count in Colorado. CBCs are a great way to contribute to the effort to sustain our bird populations. I would like each of you to consider how important birds are in your life, and think about other ways you can get involved to ensure their futures in our community and beyond.
If you have any suggestions for changes or improvements for the Colorado Springs count, please share them with me. I look forward to seeing everyone again for next year’s CBC.
Birdifully,
Tyler Stuart