Fort Collins CBC preliminary results

[Tom Hall, Fort Collins]

The Ft Collins CBC was held Dec. 17th, a perfect day compared to the five previous windy days.  We had over 110 participants (first time over 100) and got an impressive 99 species (we seem to get lower numbers when we have a cold spell early that lasts for a while so I  was pleased with results).  This is above normal and may be a result of better coverage) but not a high. Rarities included Trumpeter Swan flying over River Bend Natural Area, 1 Sandhill Crane straggler by I-25, 1 American Woodcock flyover (I suppose heading to Bobcat Ridge) and a first for count, Bohemian Waxwings at 2 locations (they used to be recorded annually until about 30 years ago), lots of Evening Grosbeaks, 3 Harris's Sparrows, 1 White-throated Sparrow, 1 Chipping Sparrow (will be new to the count), and 1 Northern Cardinal.  High Counts were recorded with 241 Snow Geese (crushed the old record of 16), 150 Bushtits (75 - they just keep going up every year), 178 Townsend's Solitaires (86), 3686 American Robins (2385), 498 American Goldfinches (410), and 577 White-crowned Sparrows (386).  Misses that we get more often than not included Northern Pintail, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Golden-crowned Kinglet, and Pine Siskin (if you are out and about in Fort Collins and see one of these 4 species or others, let me know).

Personally, I had a blast and got to introduce some newcomers to the count. In fact, we had an extra-large contingent of college students or recent grads this year, which pleased me (it was awesome to see so many younger birders) and, along with the standard cohort of birders that I count on every year (I am so fortunate to have them), we were able to conduct a great CBC.  Thanks to all!  

Tom Hall

Ft Collins Compiler