Bushit range expansion

[Ted Floyd]

Hey, Virginia & all.

Bill Schmoker gives us Boulder CBC data for 2004 onward. Okay, but how about before that time? Here is the rest of the story, told with great dramatic effect:

youtube.com/watch?v=z7jA-KJ6RCM&t=749s

Ted Floyd
Lafayette, Boulder Co.

=============================================

Hi Virginia- I was already digging around a little in the Boulder CBC archives in preparation for this year's count and thought I'd look back to see what our Bushtit situation has been for the last 20 years.  I wonder if a CO-wide CBC picture could also be produced but haven't looked into that.  Anyway, here's what we've had on the count since 2004:
2004: 8 (in 1 territory)
2005: 4 (feeder watcher)
2006: 20 (in 1 territory)
2007: 7 (1)
2008: 19 (4)
2009: 46 (2)
2010: 58 (3)
2011: 67 (2)
2012: 96 (6)
2013: 8 (1)
2014: 86 (7)
2015: 110 (4)
2016: 27 (5)
2017: 163 (9)
2018: 174 (10)
2019: 92 (6)
2020: 135 (8)
2021: 146 (9)
2022: 178 (10)
2023: 142 (11)
2024: 173 (7)

So definitely the expected ups and downs but overall I see a pretty strong increase both in numbers of birds and in numbers of territories reporting Bushtits in our last 20 counts.  I suspect that our earlier counts would show even more Bushtit paucity.

[linda hodges]

Virginia, I'm beginning to think you set up Bill and Ted!

Linda Hodges

--
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To post to this group, send email to cob...@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds
* All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate.
* Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/membership/
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+u...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAGk944d0DD99Juvb-rc-hLxZjzK-4y6-1htzq_%3DXiEGL%2BcmZ%3DA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Virginia Holman]

Folks,

Thanks for all the great local sources and data on Bushtits. And the great YouTube presentation. 

All very helpful and informative!

One more question:

I'm seeing anecdotal chatter regarding climate shifts and human activity as 

causes for expansion. Is there any ongoing or published research regarding this re:  Bushtits

and co-occurring avifauna?

Thanks again.

Virginia Holman

On Thu, Dec 4, 2025 at 4:32 PM Ted Floyd <tedfl...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Ted Floyd]

On Thu, Dec 4, 2025 at 5:14 PM linda hodges <hiker...@gmail.com> wrote:

Virginia, I'm beginning to think you set up Bill and Ted!

Oy, those CBCs back in the good ole daze, the best of times:



Zoomers and Millennials, you have no idea what real culture was like. Meanwhile:

> One more question:

> I'm seeing anecdotal chatter regarding climate shifts and

> human activity as causes for expansion. Is there any ongoing
> or published research regarding this re:  Bushtits and co-occurring
> avifauna? 

But of course. (Searches for Grey Poupon emoji...)

From the WFO convention in Ventura in 2018 and then from the WFO-CFO convention at Copper Mountain in 2023, these riveting potboilers:

[Virginia Holman]

Excellent. Thank you so much.

[T. Luke George]

Hi All,

I plotted the data and despite the ups and downs, the increase is remarkably consistent. The number of Bushtits on the count has increased by about 9 birds per year since 2005. The R squared of 0.73 which is very high for an ecological data set.

Best,

Luke George

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CANoL3ZCAjiQX95QuYSueG_Xe_XQkk9GzsmTjBs%3D2Mw-skOYRxg%40mail.gmail.com.

--

​T. Luke George, PhD

Master Instructor, ​Colorado ​State University

Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology

Wagar 110

970-491-3311 (o)

P​rofessor Emeritus, Humboldt State University

707-499-4053 (c)

t.luke...@gmail.com

"what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" Mary Oliver