Little River IBA Breeding Bird Count

The field work for this 17th annual Little River IBA Count was done on a mild, windy evening, followed by a cool, windy morning.  The compilation get-together was accomplished electronically using Zoom, due to social distancing requirement for COVID-19, but all who took part enjoyed the usual spirited conversation about the day’s adventures.

There were 7 teams and 12 observers in the field for a total of 70.75 hours.  The hours were up 13 from last year, and just below the Count’s average hours of 72.  The total number of species counted was 109, slightly below our average of 111.4.

Notably low species counts compared to average, with lowest count ever being noted with an asterisk, were for Sapsucker 18* (33.5), Least Flycatcher 5* (14.2), Veery 93 (142.2), Yellow Warbler 32* (47.1), BT Blue 40* (82.9), Yellow-rumped 6* (16.8), BT Green 26 (53.6), Canada 6 (11.9), Indigo Bunting 8* (18.9), and Purple Finch 1* (8.1).  Misses of note include, Common Loon, Green Heron, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Blue-winged Warbler and Savannah Sparrow, along with Barred Owl (first time) and Whip-poor-will (only missed one other year).  High counts were set this year for Yellow-throated Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Raven, Bank Swallow, Carolina Wren, House Wren and House Sparrow.  For the first time in several years, Double-crested Cormorant, American Woodcock and Northern Mockingbird were counted.  Ring-necked Pheasant, Least Bittern and Northern Harrier were reported for the first time ever!

Click below to view or download complete count results.

2020 June Count Results