Little River IBA Breeding Bird Count

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