Ponca State Park

Saturday, 14 December 2024

Thank you to Ponca personnel and count participants!

Ponca State Park's 20th Official Christmas Bird Count was held on Saturday, December 14 as part of the Park's Winterfest weekend. In spite of the dire weather forecast, road conditions were good, and participants from Sioux City, IA; South Sioux City, Wayne, Norfolk, and Lincoln, NE; and nearby South Dakota were present and searching for birds. However, the foggy conditions negatively impacted both bird activity and viewing conditions.

Though the official list is not yet complete, at least 54 species were recorded with highlights being Golden Eagle, Pileated Woodpecker, Long-eared Owl, Merlin, Northern Shrike, Winter Wren, Purple Finch and both Rusty Blackbird and Brewer's Blackbirds. Additionally, more common birds not expected on CBC's included Great Blue Heron, Eastern Bluebird, Golden-crowned Kinglet and Harris's Sparrow that persevered in the cold temperatures rather than leaving for milder climates.

There were 16 participants: 7 - Park volunteers, staff or administrators; 4 - Loess Hills Audubon members; and 5 - Nebraska Ornithologists' Union members from Norfolk and Wayne.

Thank you to Ponca State Park from all participants for hosting the count and providing a warm meeting place, a hot lunch, warm rest rooms, bird feeding stations, rescue services (none needed this year) and a compiler to crunch our data.

Bill Huser, Loess Hills Audubon Society

Yankton Christmas Bird Count

Sunday, 15 December 2024

Thirty-one people from Yankton, Vermillion, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota; South Sioux City, Omaha, and Wayne, Nebraska; and Sioux City, Iowa enjoyed a cool and partly cloudy day to be out counting birds. A total of 22,022 birds of 76 different species of birds were found. That is the same number of species as last year but just a slightly different mix of species and not as high as the 82 species record set in 2012 and recorded again in 2020.

Highlights of the day were three Trumpeter Swans, one Lesser Yellowlegs, thirteen Long-tailed Ducks, three Song Sparrows, and one Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Record high counts of the following species were found:

*Trumpeter Swans photographed during count week and also documented on count day. Swan image copyright 2024 by Roger Dietrich, used with permission.*

Ring-necked Duck - 86
Greater Scaup - 350
Lesser Scaup - 985
Long-tailed Duck - 13
Bufflehead - 44
Common Goldeneye - 9,000
Double-crested Cormorant - 11

A Lesser Yellowlegs was only seen one other time on this count and that was back in 1995 and the Trumpeter Swans were recorded for the first time on the count. Two interesting hybrids were also observed: Common Goldeneye x Hooded Merganser hybrid and a Trumpeter Swan x Whooper Swan hybrid or perhaps the bird could be just an aberrant Trumpeter or some other hybrid.

One additional species that we did not find on Sunday but was observed for “Count Week” (three days before and three days after our Sunday count day): Canvasback.

Species expected to be found that were missed this year include: Ruddy Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Carolina Wren, Horned Lark, White-throated Sparrow, Merlin, Prairie Chicken, Hermit Thrush, Brown-headed Cowbird, and Snow Bunting.

The next Audubon Christmas Bird Count will be held on December 14, 2025. If you have any questions about the 2024 or 2025 Christmas Bird Counts contact Roger Dietrich at 1947rogerd@gmail.com.

Total Birds: 22,022

Total Species: 76