Juneau’s 2008 Christmas Bird Count Overview -- Prepared by Mark Schwan

The 2008 Juneau Christmas Bird Count

Overview -- Prepared by Mark Schwan

CLICK HERE to View Results of the Count

Given the protracted cold spell leading up to our count and temperatures ranging anywhere from zero to 15 above on the day of the count, trying to get the count in as early as we could during count period made no difference in capturing protracted fall conditions and hopefully more lingering birds.  It was winter, even if we were slightly ahead of the solstice.  Nevertheless, our overall species total and individual bird count total were about average and therefore pretty respectable given the conditions handed to us.

Forty-one birders, a good turnout, participated, along with several feeder watchers, and we had a crowd and a fun evening at the potluck/bird tally at the end of the day. 

We found 70 species of birds during the day and counted slightly less than 10,000 birds (see table for specifics). Several common species were relatively scarce, such as Common Merganser, White-winged Scoter, and Mew Gull, and we were way below average for Glaucous-winged Gull. We had a new low count for Barrow’s Goldeneye. Our only new record high count was for Gadwall. There were no shocker species found on count day, and no species new to our cumulative CBC list, however, there were a few unusual species present, such as Canvasback, Eurasian Widgeon, Northern Flicker, Lincoln’s Sparrow, and White-throated Sparrow. Moreover, a Barrow’s X Common Goldeneye hybrid was located on count day. This bird was first seen in our area last year, and had been found again earlier this fall. Although through the Fall we had an almost unprecedented number of lingering warblers, they were long gone from Juneau for our count.

Juneau birders found an additional seven species during the official count week but which were not seen on our count day. These species are identified in the table with a “cw” in the count column.

Juneau CBC Results, 12/20/2008

Species	Count
Canada Goose	679
Gadwall	45
Eurasian Wigeon	1
American Wigeon	357
Mallard	2,869
Northern Pintail	1
Green-winged Teal	37
Canvasback	1
Greater Scaup	61
Lesser Scaup	cw
Unidentified Scaup	11
Harlequin Duck	87
Surf Scoter	1,352
White-winged Scoter	31
Black Scoter	2
Unidentified Scoters	29
Long-tailed Duck	41
Bufflehead	120
Common Goldeneye	159
Barrow's Goldeneye	149
Common X Barrow’s hybrid	1
Unidentified Goldeneyes	14
Hooded Merganser	4
Common Merganser	19
Red-breasted Merganser	79
Unidentified Mergansers	1
Red-throated Loon	1
Pacific Loon	11
Common Loon	13
Unidentified Loons	5
Horned Grebe	31
Red-necked Grebe	5
Pelagic Cormorant	11
Unidentified Cormorants	1
Great Blue Heron	7
Bald Eagle	185
Sharp-shinned Hawk	cw
Northern Goshawk	1
Killdeer	3
Dunlin	8
Unidentified Sandpipers	1
Wilson's Snipe	5
Mew Gull	32
Herring Gull	4
Thayer's Gull	2
Glaucous-winged Gull	689
Unidentified Gulls	408
Common Murre	6
Pigeon Guillemot	2
Marbled Murrelet	58
Rock Pigeon	62
Northern Pygmy-Owl	cw
Anna's Hummingbird	1
Belted Kingfisher	6
Downy Woodpecker	2
Hairy Woodpecker	3
American Three-toed Woodpecker	1
Northern Flicker	1
Northern Shrike	4
Steller's Jay	37
Black-billed Magpie	51
Northwestern Crow	591
Common Raven	455
Chestnut-backed Chickadee	114
Red-breasted Nuthatch	2
Brown Creeper	2
Winter Wren	6
American Dipper	11
Golden-crowned Kinglet	22
Hermit Thrush	cw
American Robin	2
Varied Thrush	1
European Starling	1
Bohemian Waxwing	cw
American Tree Sparrow	2
Fox Sparrow	cw
Song Sparrow	18
Lincoln's Sparrow	2
White-throated Sparrow	1
White-crowned Sparrow	cw
Golden-crowned Sparrow	3
Unidentified Sparrows	1
Dark-eyed Junco	278
Red Crossbill	9
White-winged Crossbill	95
Unidentified Crossbills	55
Common Redpoll	1
Pine Siskin	317
TOTAL SPECIES; count day	70
TOTAL INDIVIDUALS	9,795
7 cw species