Christmas Bird Count (Lakewood) 2009
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CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT 2009 Christmas Bird Count Results Lakewood (west side of Cleveland) Count Circle With temperatures hovering in the upper 20’s to low 30’s and scattered, light snow flurries, overcast skies and almost no wind … it was, in most regards, a nice winter day. It was also one of the best of the Lakewood Christmas Counts with regard to the number of species seen, not to mention effort by the terrific counters. Seventy-five (75) species were sighted the day of the CBC and one (1) species during count week. Sixty-eight (68) participants spent 55.00 hours out in the field and 14.00 hours watching feeders. Another 1.25 hours was spent owling either in the early morning or late in the day and it produced results!!! Lake Erie was open and so gulls and diving ducks were not as concentrated as could be, but the crews doing the Lake Erie shoreline did a fabulous job. A few species of dabblers Wood Duck, Mallard, American Black Duck, Northern Shoveler and Northern Pintail were found both along Lake Erie and a few sites inland. Big water ducks and divers generally were low in diversity and in number with the exception of Red-breasted Mergansers. Note that no Canvasback or Common Mergansers were sighted and single digits of Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Hooded Merganser and Ruddy Duck. Two species of scoters were great additions. A single Tundra Swan was found at, of all places, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Wonder if it had to have a full body scan? Continuing with Lake Erie sightings Double-crested Cormorant, not usually hanging around in the winter, and a Common Loon added nice touches. The gull numbers were respectable with Ring-billed Gulls far outnumbering other species. No white-winged or unusual gulls were sighted, possibly due to the lake being open and birds scattered widely. Diurnal raptors made nice showings. At one time listing a Bald Eagle or Peregrine Falcon would be notable, not so much any longer. What is notable is that two American Kestrels were found around the Cleveland airport. Sightings of kestrels have dwindled over the years. Having all three expected falcons is pretty cool. Owls made a comeback this count year with three Great Horned Owls, including a pair, a single Barred Owl and two different Screech Owls. Woodpeckers were in good numbers across the board with Red-headed Woodpeckers being located at a mitigated wetland site. Red-heads are not seen every year. American Crows and Blue Jay numbers seem to have rebounded from several years ago after West Nile virus came through. The more feeder-friendly birds such as chickadee, titmouse and nuthatch numbers were good. Several Red-breasted Nuthatch were tallied and it was not a huge year for them. Brown Creeper, Winter Wren and Golden-crowned Kinglets were a nice touch. A good fruit year (honeysuckle, flowering crabapple, hawthorn and poison ivy) kept many of the fruit eaters, such as Eastern Bluebird, American Robin (lots) and Cedar Waxwing around. Five Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warblers were a good find. Three Chipping Sparrows, not usually sighted, were noted from different areas. A single Fox Sparrow was good. One might not think that Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird are that exciting. In northeast Ohio the numbers of blackbird and grackle were considerably higher than expected. Normally the number of these species is in the single digits, if found at all. Lastly, two Purple Finch, filled out our list. As usual, there were ups and downs with the numbers of certain species. Some of more noteworthy species are in bold and count week are in italics. Below is the list of species and numbers.
Nancy Howell, compiler A GIANT thank you to all who participated in the 2009 Christmas Bird Count. Whether you went afield or stayed in the comfort of your home and watched your feeders. All tallies are appreciated. The following is a list of the 68 participants: Don Altemus, Jay Ambercrombie, Ken Ballas, Susan Beck, Howard Besser, Dennis and Kit Birch, Kathleen Bradley, Nancy Brewer, Erik Bruder, Diane Busch, Craig Caldwell, Lee and Mary Cavano, Liz and Todd Clingman, Gary Cowell, Jr., Sally Deems-Mogyordy, Bill Deininger, Dave Dvorak, Bob Finkelstein, Bill Fissell, Joanne and Terry Gorges, Dave Graskemper, Jim Hamilton, Jim Heflich, Jan Holkenborg, Don and Nancy Howell, Mary Lou Hura, Claire Kluskens, Audrey Kodger, JoAnn Kubicki, Jeff and Marian Kraus, Ray Kutnar, Colleen Lavelle, Dave LeGallee, Paula Lozano, Terri Martincic, Bret and Jim McCarty, Liz McQuaid, Marianne Nolan, Penny O’Connor, Michael Pasek, Peggy Patch, Chris Pierce, Mary Anne and Tom Romito, Larry Rosche, Colleen Roy, Inga Schmidt, Rita Schneider, Linda Sekura, Andrea and Robert Segedi, Judy Semroc, Paul Sherwood, Robin Slanie, Jessie St. Christopher, Page Stephens, Nick Taylor, Bev and Sam Walker, Rachel Wassman and Jeff Wert.
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 Colleen & Page © Penny O'Connor
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