Things Were Different This Year … .

Due to Covid restrictions, several normal traditions were not done this year. This included morning assembly for territory assignments and instructions (performed previous to the count by email and text message), no noon gathering for lunch to discuss how count was going (birders brought lunches for eating in the field), no social gathering for data compilation and refreshments at end of day (birders received instructions from compiler on how to submit lists and numbers to the compiler), teams were not assigned for purposes of mixing experience levels or social mixing; rather teams consisted of household members, others with low risk and wearing masks or those traveling in separate vehicles). But the participants were grateful that this annual event was able to be held and that they were able to bird much as usual, though the camaraderie was missed.

Westfield Christmas Bird Count

The Westfield CBC was held as scheduled on Wednesday, 16 December 2020. Eleven teams of 22 birders recorded 57 species and counted 5806 birds. Highlights included Trumpeter Swan, Long-tailed Duck, Northern Goshawk, Belted Kingfisher, Carolina Wren, Townsend’s Solitaire, Brewer’s Blackbird, Gray Partridge, and Northern Shrike. A huge round of applause for all you birders that survived the cold, the boring harvested corn and soybean fields, gravel roads, and still had FUN! Obviously COVID did not affect the birds! Your patience and persistence paid off!! THANK YOU EVER SO MUCH! A listing of the species seen and counted can be found below.

Compiler: Dotty Zales, Reporter: Jerry Von Ehwegen

Total Species Counted- 57

Total Birds Counted- 5,806

BIRD NUMBER BIRD NUMBER BIRD NUMBER
Greater White-fronted Goose 1 Bald Eagle 34 Northern Shrike 1
Snow Goose 1 Northern Harrier 3 Blue Jay 34
Cackling Goose 52 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 American Crow 154
Canada Goose 3085 Cooper's Hawk 4 Black-capped Chickadee 26
Trumpeter Swan 5 Northern Goshawk 1 White-breasted Nuthatch 29
Mallard 827 Red-tailed Hawk 38 Carolina Wren 1
Northern Pintail 3 Rough-legged Hawk 18 Eastern Bluebird 13
Green-winged Teal 6 American Kestrel 5 Townsend's Solitaire 1
Ring-necked Duck 2 Rock Pigeon 79 American Robin 57
Lesser Scaup 13 Eurasian Collared-dove 75 European Starling 467
Long-tailed Duck 2 Mourning Dove 2 Cedar Waxwing 141
Common Goldeneye 20 Eastern Screech Owl 3 American Tree Sparrow 85
Hooded Merganser 6 Great Horned Owl 2 Dark-eyed Junco 68
Common Merganser 18 Barred Owl 5 Northern Cardinal 13
Gray Partridge 10 Belted Kingfisher 2 Red-winged Blackbird 2
Ring-necked Pheasant 37 Red-bellied Woodpecker 27 Western Meadowlark 2
Wild Turkey 117 Downy Woodpecker 42 Brewer's Blackbird 2
Great Blue Heron 2 Hairy Woodpecker 7 House Finch 22
. . Northern Flicker 9 American Goldfinch 38
. . . . House Sparrow 85

Ponca State Park Christmas Bird Count

The Park hosted its 17th official CBC on Friday, 18 December 2020. Eighteen participants in 10 teams were able to locate and identify 70 species and 16,485 individual birds. These 70 species smashed the record of 59 species found in 2013!!! The highlights included Greater Prairie-Chicken, Golden Eagle, all 5 forms of Red-tailed Hawk, Long-eared Owl, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-shafted Flicker, Winter Wren, Hermit Thrush, Townsend’s Solitaire and Brewer’s Blackbird.

Compiler: Katie Leware, Ponca State Park     Reporter: Bill Huser

Total Species Counted: 70

Total Birds Counted: 16,485

BIRD NUMBER BIRD NUMBER BIRD NUMBER
Snow Goose 3468 Eastern Screech Owl 3 European Starling 278
Ross's Goose 2 Great Horned Owl 7 Cedar Waxwing 305
Greater White-fronted Goose 1 Barred Owl 3 House Sparrow 511
Cackling Goose 39 Long-eared Owl 1 House Finch 48
Canada Goose 3830 Belted Kingfisher 4 Purple Finch 15
Gadwall 8 Red-bellied Woodpecker 37 Pine Siskin 3
Mallard 5018 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 American Goldfinch 265
Common Goldeneye 7 Downy Woodpecker 42 Lapland Longspur 90
Common Merganser 17 Hairy Woodpecker 27 Fox Sparrow 1
Wild Turkey 334 Northern Flicker 25 American Tree Sparrow 336
Greater Prairie Chicken 2 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 1 Dark-eyed Junco 236
Ring-necked Pheasant 30 American Kestrel 2 White-crowned Sparrow 5
Rock Pigeon 304 Northern Shrike 1 Harris's Sparrow 7
Eurasian Collared-dove 27 Blue Jay 66 Song Sparrow 39
Mourning Dove 16 American Crow 227 Spotted Towhee 8
American Coot 1 Black-capped Chickadee 94 Western Meadowlark 126
Ring-billed Gull 5 White-breasted Nuthatch 77 Red-winged Blackbird 134
Golden Eagle 2 Brown Creeper 4 Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Northern Harrier 2 Winter Wren 1 Rusty Blackbird 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 Carolina Wren 2 Brewer's Blackbird 4
Cooper's Hawk 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet 27 Common Grackle 2
Red-tailed Hawk 51 Eastern Bluebird 34 Northern Cardinal 74
Rough-legged Hawk 15 Townsend's Solitaire 1 Hermit Thrush 1
Bald Eagle (Total) 32 . . American Robin 93
Bald Eagle (Adult) 23 . . . .
Bald Eagle (Immature) 9 . . . .

Sioux City Christmas Bird Count

The Sioux City CBC was held as scheduled on Saturday, 19 December 2020. Temperatures ranged from 9 degrees F to 35 degrees F under clear skies. Twenty-one birders found 58 species and counted 22,291 total birds. One amazing highlight is the fact that Sioux City birder Bob Nickolson has been working this count since 1947 or 74 counts! A listing of the species counted is below.

Compiler: Jerry Probst, Reporter: Jerry VonEhwegen

Total Species Counted: 58

Total Birds Counted: 22,291

BIRD NUMBER BIRD NUMBER BIRD NUMBER
Cackling Goose 110 Rock Pigeon 274 Winter Wren 1
Canada Goose 5219 Eurasian Collared-dove 7 Carolina Wren 1
American Wigeon 2 Mourning Dove 5 Hermit Thrush 3
Mallard 14,408 Eastern Screech Owl 1 American Robin 39
Northern Shoveler 1 Great Horned Owl 2 European Starling 128
Northern Pintail 8 Barred Owl 2 Lapland Longspur 18
Green-winged Teal 2 Red-bellied Woodpecker 56 Cedar Waxwing 91
Redhead 1 Downy Woodpecker 55 American Tree Sparrow 158
Lesser Scaup 2 Hairy Woodpecker 11 Dark-eyed Junco 408
Common Goldeneye 16 Northern Flicker 3 Harris's Sparrow 3
Common Merganser 1 American Kestrel 2 White-throated Sparrow 8
Ruddy Duck 3 Merlin 1 Song Sparrow 6
Ring-necked Pheasant 4 Blue Jay 32 Spotted Towhee 2
Wild Turkey 162 American Crow 78 Northern Cardinal 63
Osprey 1 Horned Lark 5 Red-winged Blackbird 18
Bald Eagle 7 Black-capped Chickadee 168 House Finch 52
Red-tailed Hawk 32 Red-breasted Nuthatch 16 Purple Finch 9
Rough-legged Hawk 3 White-breasted Nuthatch 63 Pine Siskin 55
Broad-winged Hawk 1 Brown Creeper 5 American Goldfinch 31
. . . . House Sparrow 428

Yankton Christmas Bird Count

The Yankton CBC was held as scheduled on Sunday, 20 December 2020. Thirty-one people, from teenagers to seniors, from Yankton, Vermillion, Armour, Sioux Falls, SD, South Sioux City, NE, and Sioux City, IA enjoyed a beautiful day to be out counting birds. A total of 13,282 birds of 82 different species of birds were counted which is better than the 75 species recorded last year and ties the highest species total of 82 ever which was tallied in 2012.

Highlights of the day: Lesser Black-backed Gull and Tundra Swan observed for the first time, Peregrine Falcon observed for just the second time on the count, the other time being in 1993; Townsend’s Solitaire also observed for the second time, previously in 2012.

Record high counts: Greater Scaup-60, Lesser Scaup-500, Common Goldeneye-3500, Ruddy Duck-17, Red-breasted Nuthatch-18, Spotted Towhee-2.

Species missed this year include: Northern Shoveler, Blue-winged Teal, Hooded Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Killdeer, Brown-headed Cowbird, Northern Harrier, Lapland Longspur, and Snow Bunting. A listing of the species counted can be seen below.

Compiler: Roger Dietrich, Reporter: Jerry VonEhwegen

Species Counted: 82

Total Birds Counted: 13,282

BIRD NUMBER BIRD NUMBER BIRD NUMBER
Greater White-fronted Goose 5 American Coot 470 Horned Lark 23
Snow Goose 2065 Wilson's Snipe 1 Black-capped Chickadee 65
Ross's Goose 2 Ring-billed Gull 104 Red-breasted Nuthatch 18
Canada Goose 260 Herring Gull 4 White-breasted Nuthatch 54
Cackling Goose 250 Glaucous Gull 1 Brown Creeper 7
Tundra Swan 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet 4
Wood Duck 6 Bald Eagle 22 Eastern Bluebird 9
Gadwall 7 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 American Robin 105
American Wigeon 2 Cooper's Hawk 1 European Starling 701
Mallard 2506 Red-tailed Hawk 25 Cedar Waxwing 17
Northern Pintail 3 Rough-legged Hawk 1 House Sparrow 195
Green-winged Teal 12 Eastern Screech Owl 7 Purple Finch 20
Canvasback 1 Great Horned Owl 6 House Finch 150
Redhead 1 Long-eared Owl 1 Pine Siskin 11
Ring-necked Duck 3 Northern Saw-whet Owl 1 American Goldfinch 105
Greater Scaup 60 Belted Kingfisher 6 Spotted Towhee 2
Lesser Scaup 500 Red-bellied Woodpecker 24 American Tree Sparrow 102
Long-tailed Duck 5 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 Song Sparrow 2
Bufflehead 1 Downy Woodpecker 52 Swamp Sparrow 2
Common Goldeneye 350 Hairy Woodpecker 13 Dark-eyed Junco 148
Common Merganser 4 Northern Flicker 18 Northern Cardinal 26
Red-breasted Merganser 1 American Kestrel 1 Western Meadowlark 27
Ruddy Duck 17 Merlin 1 Red-winged Blackbird 6
Ring-necked Pheasant 12 Peregrine Falcon 1 Common Grackle 3
Wild Turkey 134 Northern Shrike 2 Townsend's Solitaire 1
Pied-billed Grebe 2 Blue Jay 71 . .
Eurasian Collared-dove 182 Black-billed Magpie 3 . .
Mourning Dove 7 American Crow 51 . .

Ida Grove Christmas Bird Count

The Ida County CBC was held as scheduled on Saturday, 2 January 2021. Beginning temperatures were in the low teens with foggy conditions but the fog lifted later in the day. Fourteen birders found 48 species and counted 2,908 total birds. Some of the better finds were Ross’s Goose, Greater White-fronted Goose, Green-winged Teal, Purple Finch, Bald Eagle, Eastern Screech-Owl, Great Horned Owl, Long-eared Owl, Belted Kingfisher, Cooper’s Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Winter Wren, Northern Shrike, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Lapland Longspur and Pine Siskin. A couple of misses were Northern Saw-whet Owl which was seen 2 days prior to count day and our resident Barred Owl. The counters enjoyed a lunch of chili and other goodies around noon plus pie and ice cream later in the day at the compile! A listing of the species counted can be seen below.

Compiler: Don Poggensee, Reporter: Jerry Von Ehwegen

Species Counted: 48

Total Birds Counted: 2,908

BIRD NUMBER BIRD NUMBER BIRD NUMBER
Greater White-fronted Goose 1 Eastern Screech Owl 3 Winter Wren 2
Ross's Goose 1 Great Horned Owl 5 European Starling 351
Canada Goose 480 Long-eared Owl 5 Lapland Longspur 82
Mallard 90 Belted Kingfisher 3 American Tree Sparrow 297
Green-winged Teal 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 2 Chipping Sparrow 1
Ring-necked Pheasant 205 Downy Woodpecker 10 Song Sparrow 2
Wild Turkey 14 Hairy Woodpecker 4 White-crowned Sparrow 1
Bald Eagle 17 Northern Flicker 2 Harris's Sparrow 44
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 American Kestrel 1 Dark-eyed Junco 180
Cooper's Hawk 1 Northern Shrike 1 Northern Cardinal 41
Red-tailed Hawk 8 Blue Jay 107 Eastern Meadowlark 8
Rough-legged Hawk 3 American Crow 206 Western Meadowlark 42
Rock Pigeon 70 Horned Lark 231 House Finch 202
Eurasian Collared-dove 8 Black-capped Chickadee 7 Purple Finch 1
Mourning Dove 2 Red-breasted Nuthatch 6 Pine Siskin 4
. . White-breasted Nuthatch 11 American Goldfinch 22
. . . . House Sparrow 123