by John Parker
Thank you to all of the folks who helped with the Christmas Bird Counts around our area! This winter’s participants enjoyed relatively mild conditions compared to some of the counts in recent years. The nice weather contributed to high species totals on several of the counts.
A snowstorm preceding the Ennis count did prevent several people from making the trip to Ennis. With the clearing weather on count day, the Ennis counters were able to find 61 species of birds within the count circle. New high-count totals were set for Gadwall, Merlin, and—thanks to Ed Harper’s early morning foray to Jeffers—Great Horned Owls. Nothing too unusual was seen on the count, though Tundra Swans and Red Crossbills were seen for only the seventh and sixth time, respectively.
A high level of participation and mild weather certainly contributed to the third highest species total (72) on the Bozeman count. One new species was seen on the count—Lesser Goldfinch! The team of Patty Bartholomew, Paulette Epple, and Cherie Barth found the goldfinch along the west end of Boylan Street. Some of the more uncommon birds seen on the 2022 count were Northern Shoveler, Hooded Merganser, Pileated Woodpecker, Snow Bunting, and Spotted Towhee. This was only the fifth time Snow Bunting has been seen on the count, and the first time in 26 years.
After two straight years with high winds on count day, Livingston had a bit of a reprieve with only occasional gusty winds. Thanks to the efforts of the diligent bird finders, a new high count of 69 species was tallied for the day, including one new species. New to the counts was the Gyr Falcon seen by the Paradise Valley team. The same group also spotted a Peregrine Falcon in the same area, with a freshly killed duck. Other highlights included 20 Sharp-tailed Grouse and six Golden Eagles.
The Yellowstone and Gardiner counters had an excellent day of counting with 39 species of birds, which is five above the average for the count. Both Bufflehead and Western Meadowlark were seen for only the second time in the 50-year history of the count. The 70 Common Goldeneye set a new abundance record, and two other species equaled their previous high counts. Other uncommon birds seen on the count included Virginia Rail, Harris’s Sparrow, and White-crowned Sparrow. Virginia Rails probably turn up on the Yellowstone count more frequently than on any other local count. The hot runoff streams from the Mammoth Terraces in lower Mammoth are a very attractive over-wintering location for the rails.
Even though the weather for the Three Forks count was extremely mild, the count totals may have suffered from the previous week’s record-breaking cold temperatures. Only 47 bird species were seen during the count, which is considerably lower than recent year’s totals. Large numbers of blackbirds, including one Yellow-headed Blackbird, were seen taking advantage of the feedlots near Willow Creek.
Two other interesting birds have been reported recently. During the first week of the new year, Brian Cassell reported that a flock of Bohemian Waxwings, including one leucistic bird, was hanging around the Arrowleaf Hills subdivision east of Bozeman. On December 27th, Steve Dubois had a Spotted Towhee poking around the bushes in his yard north of Bozeman.
