Feathered Findings
The South Butler Christmas Bird Count turned up some unexpected guests during the Jan. 2 census.
“We found some interesting things like the pied-billed grebe. There were two pairs for four total,” said Chris Kubiak, development associate of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania.
“It is not a bird you are normally going to find in large numbers in Western Pennsylvania in the winter. It is an open water bird. That's a pretty interesting find,” Kubiak said.
“And the hooded merganser. We found a pair of those. We expect at this time of year for them to be farther south of us,” he said.
In fact, Kuibiak said, the warm winter the area had been experiencing may be the reason species such as the gray catbird and the fox sparrow, birds that should have migrated farther south by now, were spotted.
Another bird counted in the census, Kubiak said, was the turkey vulture.
“If the turkey vultures are a continuing and growing presence, that's a clear sign of warming winters. Even 10 years ago, it would be very rare to find them in the winter in Western Pennsylvania,” said Kubiak.
“These are like canaries in a coal mine,” said Kubiak. “They are showing us that the climate is warming. There is a definite clear trend that the southern species are moving north as the climate is warming.”
Kubiak spent days analyzing the data brought in by 74 volunteers spotting birds in a circular geographic area centered around Mars and running as far west as Zelienople, to Cranberry Township in the south, east to the Route 228 corridor and north to Penn and Connoquenessing townships.
“You couldn't ask for much better weather, it brings some of the birds to the feeders, and plus there was no real snow. We were able to get out and about, Kubiak said.
Spotters counted 58 species for a total 10,425 birds, he said.
The count did seem to show that the white-throated sparrow population in the county is declining.
“My best guess is it's habitat loss in the more rural part of the county circle, around Cranberry Township. They they have lost their overwintering habitat,” Kubiak said.
All the county data will go to National Audubon Society.
Geoff LaBaron, national director of the Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count, said the counts ended across the nation Jan. 5. “It will be months before the final numbers are in,” he said. “The compilers have until the end of February.”
LaBaron said there were an estimated 2,500 bird counts conducted nationwide, by 40,000 to 50,000 observers.
He said longtime bird watchers' ownership of the event provides more accurate readings. “We get really good trend data: increase and declines in population and the shifting ranges of species,” LaBaron said.
The bird count which was started on Christmas Day in 1900 is one of the two most important data sets to “see how birds are doing on a continental basis,” LaBaron said.
“It's very interesting this year,” LaBaron said. “The weather effects caused by a strong El Niño will affect results. The East has been very warm with little snow and lakes and ponds clear of ice. There has been an amazing diversity of waterfowl. The birds are just dispersed all over the country.”
“But in the mountains and the West, they've been hammered with blizzards. The coast has been hit with storms. I'm sure there were counts canceled because of the weather,” he added.
The South Butler Christmas Bird Count conducted by 74 volunteers Jan. 2, tabulated 10,425 birds divided into 58 species.Chris Kubiak, development associate with the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania said the most numerous species were:• European starling• American robin• Canada goose• American crow• Dark-eyed junco
