Trip Highlights

June Count 2025

The weather was less than perfect for the 22nd Little River IBA June Count.  Friday evening handed us rain and thunderstorms from 6-8 PM, but cleared from 8-9 PM. The wind was calm and the temperature was in the mid-70s, with high humidity.  Saturday morning was overcast, temps hovered around 67 degrees, winds were calm, and humidity still high.  It was a decent morning, allowing us to get some good birding in before rain began in earnest at 1:30 PM.  

Altogether, there were 8 teams and 13 observers in the field for a total of 56.5 hours.  The hours of effort were below average by 15 hours, due to heavy rain shortening our usable timeframe and one territory without coverage. The total number of species counted was 103, approximating our 21-year average of 105.  The number of individuals at 2,528 was just shy of one thousand below average.

Misses of note include Black-billed and Yellow-billed Cuckoo (last time both species were missed was 2012, and there were five Black-billed Cuckoos counted just last year), Red-tailed Hawk (1st miss in count history), White-throated Sparrow (missed for 5th year in a row), and Nashville Warbler (only 3rd miss in 22 years).

Many species were found in below average numbers and here’s the rundown, including those species with the lowest number in count history, but keep in mind the poor weather and low total hours of effort contributed heavily to these lows.  Recorded in parentheses after each species is the count for this year, followed by the 21-year average:  Ruby-throated Hummingbird (5, 11.3), Great Blue Heron (5, 9.6), Turkey Vulture - lowest (2, 12.5), Broad-winged Hawk (1, 6.5), Red-shouldered Hawk (1, 5.9), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (19, 32), Pileated Woodpecker (4, 9.8), Northern Flicker (1, 9.6), Alder Flycatcher – lowest (5, 16.1), Eastern Phoebe (23, 41.8), Blue-headed Vireo (6, 16.3), Red-eyed Vireo – lowest (167, 287.6), Blue Jay – lowest (26, 50.7), Black-capped Chickadee – lowest (44, 85.3), Eastern Bluebird (7, 13.0), Hermit Thrush (10, 21.3), Wood Thrush (22, 43.6), Purple Finch (3, 7.1), Dark-eyed Junco (1, 14), Bobolink – lowest (13, 46.4), Baltimore Oriole (10, 18.9), the warblers, Louisiana Waterthrush – lowest (2, 6.2), Magnolia (5, 16), Blackburnian – lowest (27, 51.4), Black-throated Blue - lowest (28, 76.5), Yellow-rumped (5, 14.6), Black-throated Green - lowest (16, 48.5), Canada - lowest (3, 10.8), and finally, Rose-breasted Grosbeak – lowest (5, 16.3).

Species that were found in above average numbers, despite the conditions:  Wild Turkey (23, 19.1), Double-crested Cormorant - found in roughly half of the counts (3, 0.7), Cooper’s Hawk (3, 1.0), Willow Flycatcher (5, 3.9), Field Sparrow – matched 2007 for highest count (14, 6.3), the warblers, Blue-winged (6, 2.8), Yellow (59, 47.3), Prairie (20, 10.8), and finally, Indigo Bunting (28, 20.5).  

No new species were added to the count this year, but a few stand-out finds include, Osprey – found just one other time in the last six years, Great Horned Owl and American Kestrel - both found only occasionally, Acadian Flycatcher – last found in 2021, Orchard Oriole – only found on four other counts, and Cerulean Warbler - first found in 2024 and again this year.

All of the teams had a good find or two or more, contributing species to the count that other teams did not observe.  Kathy and Myles found Hooded Merganser, American Kestrel, and Dark-eyed Junco, Janice heard Eastern Whip-poor-will and Great Horned Owl on Friday evening and she and Gail found Double-crested Cormorant, Osprey, Acadian Flycatcher, and Bank Swallow on Saturday, Joanne and Al picked up Red-shouldered Hawk and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Al and Lois spotted the only Northern Flicker, Steve got Golden-crowned Kinglet, Northern Mockingbird, and Orchard Oriole, Doug located two Louisiana Waterthrushes, Bambi and April found Cerulean Warbler, and Tom got on three Canada Warblers.

Click below to view or download complete count results.

2025 June Count Results

Trip was canceled - rain.

A dozen members participated in the morning walk at the refuge and counted a total of 32 species.  See complete list below.

Seven members gathered at the wetlands for a 2.25-mile walk, identifying a total of 49 species.  See complete list below.

2025 May Count Summary

There were 15 teams and 30 observers out in Hampden County territories for the count held on May 16-17.  The weather was a comfortable 70 degrees on Friday evening with 5 mph breeze from the east.  Saturday early morning gave us temps in the low 60s, reaching 71 degrees for a high, with 5-10 mph east winds.  Clouds persisted throughout the count.  The water level was high in rivers and streams.

Together the teams recorded 137 species, which was the same total as last year and two more than the average counted in the last ten years.  At 8,561 individuals, we were 875 birds below the ten-year average, which is explained by having one less territory covered this year.

A half dozen species had higher counts than their 10-year average.  In parentheses are the totals for 2025, followed by the past 10-year average:  Ruby-throated Hummingbird had an all-time high count (20-14), Eastern Screech Owl (6-2), Eastern Wood-Pewee enjoyed extra high counts for the second year in a row (41-20), Barn Swallow had 10-yr high (109-73), Field Sparrow had its highest count since 1991 (28-13) and Blackpoll Warbler had its highest count since 2004 (34-8).  

We did not add any new species to the May Count this year, but we did have a few species that are not frequently counted.  Black-crowned Night Heron was last counted in 2014.  Olive-sided Flycatcher was counted just 3 other times in the last 10 years.  Golden-crowned Kinglet was only counted one other time in the last 10 years.  Purple Finch was counted last year, but it was only counted two other times since 2000.  Interestingly, Purple Finch was abundant in the 60s and early 70s, with an average count of 42 birds a year between 1965 and 1975.  Since the year 2001, they have only appeared on the count three times: 2010 (1), 2024 (1) and 2025 (2).

There were many species with low counts this year, likely in part to several migrants going through early. Another factor is that one territory was not covered.  In parentheses are the totals for 2025, followed by the 10-year average: Common Merganser (2-11), Black-billed Cuckoo (1-4), Spotted Sandpiper (13-29), Least Sandpiper (6-30), Downy Woodpecker (37-53), Hairy Woodpecker, lowest in 10 years (11-27), Northern Flicker (34-54), Blue-headed Vireo (6-13), Common Raven (2-9), Bank Swallow (22-132), Tree Swallow (102-193), Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, lowest count in 30 years (14-37), Swainson’s Thrush (2-19), and White-throated Sparrow (5-40).  Warblers were also counted in low numbers: Black-and-white (27-62), Northern Parula, low for two years in a row (9-59), Blackburnian (3-13), Magnolia (6-19), Black-throated Blue (4-24), and Yellow-rumped (8-59).  This year was the lowest count of Yellow-rumped Warbler in the 63-year count history.

Noticeable misses this year, though never found in abundance, were Marsh Wren - first miss since 2018, Grasshopper Sparrow - only one other miss in the last 10 years, and Nashville Warbler - only one other miss in the last 10 years.

Thanks to all who spent many hours in the field, especially Dave and Kim who birded for 14 hours and racked up a whopping 111 species.  The variety of habitats in certain territories lends itself to finding unusual species and some teams managed to find a species or two or more that no other team identified on the count.  Joseph and Terri picked up Black-billed Cuckoo, Cape May and Bay-breasted Warblers, Kathy and Myles found Golden-crowned Kinglet, April and Bambi got Broad-winged Hawk and Olive-sided Flycatcher, Craig and Harvey picked up Upland Sandpiper, Black-crowned Night Heron, American Kestrel, Savannah Sparrow, and Eastern Meadowlark, Bill and Carol spotted Common Loon, and Dave and Kim added Hooded Merganser, Herring Gull, Winter Wren, Dark-eyed Junco, Blackburnian Warbler, and Black-throated Blue Warbler.  Despite these teams adding hard-to-get species, EVERY team that participates contributes to covering parts of Hampden County and all efforts are sincerely appreciated.