On Saturday, December 20, Morgantown held its Christmas Bird Count under reasonably nice weather for late December. I think we will likely set a record for participant numbers on Count Day, but I am still awaiting final information from several groups.
We keep bumping right up against that magical 100 species barrier for Count Day. So far, we have tallied 97 species on Count Day, with 1 additional species awaiting possible confirmation. We have added 2 Count Week species thus far as well!
Surprising misses were few, as one might imagine, but no Common Loon or Ruddy Duck on Count Day were unfortunate. Still, no one can complain with this wonderful effort by a really amazing group of birders and families.
Highlights included likely record numbers of Bald Eagles and Short-eared Owls. We killed on Sparrows with 13 species (14 if you include House Sparrow)! Blackbirds continue to give us trouble, but feeder watchers came through for us adding Red-winged Blackbird and Common Grackle to our tally. We had hoped for more of the irruptive winter finches, but that didn't really materialize for us. No new species have been added to our Circle's history this year ... yet! But the possibility remains.
I want to thank everyone who volunteered their time to support us this year. Team Leaders did an amazing job! I hope everyone had a great time. Please consider joining us next year for the Morgantown CBC which should take place on Saturday, December 19, 2026!
Happy Holidays to you all. I hope everyone gets a chance to join in a Christmas Bird Count this season. Definitely consider it, if you have never participated before ... It would make a great New Year's resolution too :)
