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Winter birds from the weekend’s CBCs

Joel Jorgensen December 17, 2013 Leave a comment

I was out and about this past weekend helping on Christmas Bird Counts (CBC), which I recently blogged.  The Lincoln CBC was held on Saturday and the Branched Oak Lake/Seward CBC occurred on Sunday.  The early December cold snap relinquished its grip and weather was actually pleasant.  The cold snap froze most water bodies and reduced the overall number of species and bird numbers.   At this point, I have not heard of any major surprises discovered.  Nevertheless, I was able to find a nice mix of species on both days.  I covered the Pawnee Lake area on Saturday and the Twin Lakes WMA area on Sunday.  Highlights for my weekend included Yellow-rumped Warblers, Townsend’s Solitaire, White-throated Sparrows, and Rusty Blackbirds.  I provide some mediocre photos from the weekend’s foray, below.

American Goldfinches
American Goldfinches in non-breeding plumage.
Harris's Sparrow
Harris’s Sparrow breed far to the north where taiga transitions to tundra.  The species winters primarily in the Great Plains.
American Tree Sparrow
American Tree Sparrows were numerous in weedy patches.
Northern Cardinal
Northern Cardinal were plentiful, as expected.
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker viewed from below.  If you look closely, small portions of the red belly can be seen.
Ring-necked Pheasants
Ring-necked Pheasants venturing out into the open.
White-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Yellow-rumped Warbler
A “butter butt”, which is slang or street talk for Yellow-rumped Warbler.
more goldfinches
More goldfinches.
Townsend's Solitaire
This Townsend’s Solitaire may not have provided the best picture, but it was my best bird of the day.

About Joel Jorgensen

Joel Jorgensen is a Nebraska native and he has been interested in birds just about as long as he has been breathing. He has been NGPC’s Nongame Bird Program Manager for eight years and he works on a array of monitoring, research, regulatory and conservation issues. Nongame birds are the 400 or so species that are not hunted and include the Whooping Crane, Least Tern, Piping Plover, Bald Eagle, and Peregrine Falcon. When not working, he enjoys birding.

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