On a rainy morning just before Christmas three
women entered the Gardena Willows Wetland Preserve, their binoculars,
clipboards and cameras ready for action.
Tracy Drake, Heather Williamson and Connie Vadheim were participating in
a December tradition that dates back over one hundred years: the Audubon
Society’s Annual Christmas Bird Count.
Each year since 1900, tens of thousands of volunteers from the Northern arctic to
South America brave the cold, rain and snow to census local birds. Working with local scientists and
naturalists like Ms. Drake (Manager/Naturalist at the Madrona Marsh Preserve
and Nature Center), local birders and citizen scientists canvas the number of
species and individual birds in over 2000 count areas . The
counts are done each year between December 14th and January 5th.
The date for our local Palos Verdes/South Bay
Circle was December 23rd this year.
Count volunteers follow specified routes through a
designated 15-mile diameter circle, counting every bird they see or hear all
day. More than 60 volunteers visited over 50 sites all over the South Bay
this year. The count is not just a species tally—all
birds are counted all day, giving an indication of the total number of birds in
the circle that day. The results are
tallied at the end of the day and submitted to the national bird count
database.
Good ears, sharp eyes and excellent observation
skills are required for the Christmas Bird Count. That’s why volunteers are trained before they
get to participate. The count team
records all the birds it sees, as well as those it hears. If possible, the team also photographs unusual
or rare birds that it encounters. The
Gardena team did all three; it quickly became obvious why a team approach is
required.
American
Crows and Mourning Doves flew over as the team entered the Gardena Willows
Preserve. A large flock of tiny birds
(Bushtits) flitted through the trees, foraging for insects. The team recorded a total of 64 Bushtits during
their hour and a half survey, the most common species seen that morning. Other
insect-eating birds, including five species of Warblers, were busy feeding in
the Willow and Cottonwood trees. These large
trees provide an important food source for insects and for the birds that feed
on them.
A
White-tailed Kite – a new raptor for the Preserve – circled above and landed on
a nearby Willow branch. The team paused
and photographed this rare treat.
White-tailed Kites were almost hunted to extinction in California in the
1930’s. They are slowly returning to
our area – thanks in part local nature preserves and open areas.
Hummingbirds were busy feeding and gathering
nesting materials throughout the Preserve. A small group of Cedar Waxwings were gobbling
down a preferred food – Toyon berries.
On the ground, several Hermit
Thrushes and California Towhees rustled in the leaves, searching for
ground-dwelling insects. The team did
not see these elusive birds, but their distinctive call allowed Ms. Drake to
identify them.
In total, the team identified 30 species and over 275 individual birds
in the Gardena Willows wetland Preserve and surrounding Johnson Park. The
count from the Gardena Site helped make the Palos Verdes/South Bay Circle one
of the top 40 sites in the United States in terms of bird species and
individual birds seen.
According to the CBC Website, ‘the results of Christmas Bird Counts
provide a powerful picture of our world over time. Using data from over 40 years of Christmas
Bird Counts, Audubon scientists learned that nearly 60% of birds that winter in
North America have shifted their winter ranges northward over the past 40
years. This is important evidence that
our winters are getting warmer.’
The Gardena Willows Wetland Preserve continues to play a role in
providing key data about our changing planet.
You can see results of previous bird and butterfly counts at http://www.gardenawillows.org/
and learn more about the Christmas Bird Count at: http://birds.audubon.org/christmas-bird-count
.
--posted by Constance M. Vadheim, Board Member, Friends of Gardena Willows Wetland Preserve
--posted by Constance M. Vadheim, Board Member, Friends of Gardena Willows Wetland Preserve
