A Fowl Accounting
Thirty-four volunteers endured last Saturday无毛视频檚 all-day rain for the Christmas Bird Count, based at the Laurel Highlands Visitor Center in Ohiopyle State Park. Observers fanned out on assigned routes to log 6,288 birds of 52 different species, all within a 7-mile radius of the falls at Ohiopyle.
The tally was an official part of the National Audubon Society无毛视频檚 120th Christmas Bird Count but only the second done at Ohiopyle. National Audubon began the annual count in 1900 at 25 locations around the country. Today, bird enthusiasts across the United States, Mexico, Central America and many Pacific islands search for birds in more than 2,600 circles, each 14 miles in diameter, then report their sightings to Audubon无毛视频檚 national database. Local organizers can schedule their Christmas count on any date between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5.
无毛视频淚 always wondered why there was no count in Fayette County,无毛视频� said Matthew Juskowich, an Audubon member from Bethel Park who organized the Ohiopyle event. 无毛视频淔or a long time, Allegheny County as well as Butler, Greene, Westmoreland, and Washington counties have hosted two counts each year.
无毛视频淲ith Fayette无毛视频檚 more extensive forests, plus fields, wetlands, lakes and the Youghiogheny River corridor, it无毛视频檚 a natural place to record a lot of different birds. We decided last year to base the Fayette count at Ohiopyle because a 7-mile radius from there takes in all those different habitats.无毛视频�
The Christmas count is more than a novel day outdoors. Audubon has compiled results from counts beginning in 1900. It uses the data to track trends in bird populations and shifts in the ranges of species. Bird-count tallies have helped scientists document changing climate by noting seasonal shifts in where certain species appear, and enabled wildlife agencies to launch conservation initiatives for some birds. National summaries of all counts back to 1901 are available on Audubon无毛视频檚 website, www.audubon.org.
无毛视频淎 concentrated effort like this helps you see things that are happening, even on a local level, which is important,无毛视频� Juskowich said. 无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e seeing a change in species无毛视频搕hings that wouldn无毛视频檛 have been here during the winter some years ago无毛视频搇ike the eastern towhee, bluebirds, turkey vulture, and the Carolina wren.无毛视频�
Juskowich also noted that observers working out of Ohiopyle failed to find some birds, once common here, during the 2019 and 2020 Christmas counts. 无毛视频淲e failed to find a single ruffed grouse for the second straight year,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淒espite some of our volunteers making a deliberate effort to flush grouse in typical brushy habitat.无毛视频�
Ruffed grouse are an indirect casualty of changing climate. Pennsylvania Game Commission biologists proved through rigorous experiments that ruffed grouse, Pennsylvania无毛视频檚 state bird, are suffering extensive mortality from West Nile virus, of tropical origin and transmitted by mosquitoes that have thrived here during recent mild winters.
There were some happy highlights in this year无毛视频檚 count. Observers reported seeing eight bald eagles, including three during the same encounter.
无毛视频淲e were searching a portion of the Great Allegheny Passage trail, just downriver from the Bruner Run boaters无毛视频� takeout when we saw the three eagles,无毛视频� said John Bauman of Pittsburgh.
Bauman无毛视频檚 small party described seeing one eagle, a sub-adult, fly down the [Youghiogheny] river toward them and perch in a tree. It was joined a moment later by an adult bald eagle. Both birds flew off downriver and another sub-adult followed.
Bald eagles have rebounded from a low point in the early 1970s, when there were only two nesting pairs in Pennsylvania. Now, nearly 300 eagle pairs nest in the state, including several in Fayette County.
Bauman reported that just after their eagle sighting, his party spotted a flock of 10 common mergansers, a species of fish-eating duck, on a pool in the river.
Bauman无毛视频檚 route covered Cucumber Run, the Kentuck day-use area and campground, all in Ohiopyle State Park, Middle Ridge Road with a side-excursion to Deer Lake, and the Great Allegheny Passage at Bruner Run. He also reported two screech owls, the only ones recorded on the day of the count.
无毛视频淛ust before dawn, above Cucumber Run, I was playing a recording of the screech owl call loud on my phone,无毛视频� Bauman said. 无毛视频淚 got two screech owls to call back to me from different points in the woods.无毛视频�
The count accepts records of birds heard but not seen, provided they come from birders accomplished in identifying calls. Bauman returned to the spot later in the day and searched for the owls by sight but could not spot them.
Screech owls are oddly named because they emit a call that sounds nothing like a 无毛视频渟creech.无毛视频� Their call is more accurately described as a 无毛视频渕ournful whinny,无毛视频� according to the Peterson Field Guide to the Birds.
Some other notable sightings included; seven common goldeneye (duck), six belted kingfishers, one ring-necked pheasant, and at least one of all seven woodpecker species known to inhabit this region无毛视频損ileated, red-bellied, red-headed, yellow-bellied sapsucker, downy, hairy, and flicker.
A sampling of some other birds noted includes mourning dove, wild turkey, Cooper无毛视频檚 hawk, red-tailed hawk, American kestrel, raven, white-breasted nuthatch, brown creeper, cedar waxwing, and winter wren.
One party visited Cranberry Glade Lake and recorded five gadwall ducks and 15 American black ducks, closely related to the common mallard but in decline continent-wide.
Some observers searched for birds that could only be found in specific types of habitat. The golden-crowned kinglet, for example, is a tiny, attractive but secretive bird with a bright gold crest. It is considered 无毛视频渃onifer-obligate.无毛视频� It needs dense stands of conifers like hemlock or spruce to survive. Count volunteers searched hemlock stands along stream courses and counted 71 golden-crowned kinglets, far more than the nine counted in 2019. But ornithologists have concerns for the kinglet无毛视频檚 future in this region. As eastern hemlock trees decline from infestation by hemlock woolly adelgid, an invasive insect pest favored by warmer climate, conifer-obligate species like the kinglet will need to retreat farther north or perish.
无毛视频淏irding is such a great hobby,无毛视频� Juskowich said, 无毛视频渂ut a count like this goes beyond recreation. The Laurel Highlands are such an exceptional area for experiencing nature, and it无毛视频檚 vital that we document what无毛视频檚 here now, because things are changing.无毛视频�
Juskowich said the rain likely suppressed both the number of volunteers, and the number and diversity of birds seen, but he noted that some volunteers traveled to Ohiopyle from as far as Beaver County to participate.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e hoping to be consistent and always set our Ohiopyle count for the first Saturday in January,无毛视频� Juskowich said. 无毛视频淭he 2021 count will be Jan. 2.无毛视频�
Kerry Bell, a wildlife photographer from Connellsville, did not travel far but was glad to be part of the count. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檝e always had an interest in nature and wildlife,无毛视频� Bell said. 无毛视频淎bout 250 species of birds are known from Pennsylvania, and it无毛视频檚 my personal goal to collect a good photograph of every bird in the state. The Christmas count is like a scavenger hunt for birds, but with a higher purpose.无毛视频�
Ben Moyer is a member of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association and the Outdoor Writers Association of America.