February 5–18 , 2022
MOUNT WASHINGTON — “I cannot remember a time when I have found an owl when it was not already looking at me.”—Paul Bannick, photographer-naturalist
The Snowy Owl photographed in an urban environment can be described as an irregular winter visitor, south of its summering grounds far north of the Arctic Circle. Typically, the winter birds are spotted hunting in prairies, fields, and beaches. We receive the gift of Greg Ward’s stunning image of the Snowy Owl with a sense of responsibility. Quoting Paul Bannick again, “The owl is truly a messenger and … the messenger comes to us and it is our challenge to get that message and do something about it because we are the stewards of more than just our back yard.”
It is in that spirit that, at the turn of the 20th century, American Museum of Natural History ornithologist and nascent Audubon Society member Frank M. Chapman transformed what was a deadly Christmas holiday competition — when teams went out to kill as many birds and other wildlife as they could — into teaming up to identify and count birds in support of environmental awareness and conservation.
In the Berkshires, Hoffmann Bird Club is the local hub of the now international Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC) that takes place December 14–January 5 every year. According to Audubon, “Today, the longest-running wildlife census in the hemisphere continues to shape and inform our approach to conservation, providing vital information about bird populations and trends, data that alerts us to environmental threats not only to birds but to the larger ecosystems we all depend on.”
The complete report of the 122nd CBC is not yet in, but remarkable news from our South Berkshire Count, conducted on New Year’s Day, was conveyed to me by coordinator Rene Wendell. The count circle includes parts of Sheffield, Egremont, Mount Washington, Monterey, Great Barrington, and New Marlborough. Forty-six birders, divided into seven teams, were out looking for birds in the count circle. Highlights of Rene’s report follow.
“We found an amazing 76 species! This is unheard of. Undoubtedly, part of the reason was the open water we had throughout the count area. Water bodies like the Housatonic River, Lake Garfield, Smiley’s Pond (Mill Pond), and many smaller ponds were all free of ice. Eleven species of waterfowl were observed, including snow geese, northern shoveler, and northern pintail.
Some lingering passerine species taking advantage of the mild weather were yellow-rumped warbler, hermit thrush, northern harrier, great blue heron, northern flicker, American kestrel, and ruby-crowned ringlet.
“We also had some northern species on the count, like red-breasted nuthatch, horned lark, evening grosbeak, and pine siskins. At the end of the day, the teams counted 10,913 individual birds.”
The Hoffmann Bird Club’s Central Christmas Bird Count took place December 18 in a 15-mile-wide circle around Pittsfield. Please visit the Club’s website for more information.
Do you have 15 minutes, or more, to contribute information to ornithologists and conservation biologists researching how the birds of the Americas are faring over time? The 25th annual Great Backyard Bird Count will take place President’s Day weekend, February 18–21. For details and to sign up for a wild bird immersion webinar to be held February 16, click here.
