The Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania’s Christmas chicken depend for 2023 offered extra proof of a altering local weather because the regional nonprofit continued the 100-year custom of collaborating on this nationwide occasion, and it added a brand new circle this 12 months.
Audubon leaders mentioned monitoring the birds helps them analyze and perceive birds’ migratory patterns. It is obvious that some birds are staying put or migrating shorter distances as a result of temperatures have risen in the course of the colder months within the area, they mentioned.
Volunteers and workers counted birds on two completely different dates regardless of wet and chilly climate. This 12 months a brand new circle within the Mon Valley contributed to the trouble and chicken statistics on Sunday, Dec. 17.
The annual Christmas chicken depend is Audubon’s initiative to achieve a transparent image of chicken distribution and abundance and assist within the understanding of the urgency of chicken conservation, in keeping with its website. More occasions are set for this month to proceed that work, and Audubon officers additionally need residents to assume forward to assist birds thrive as they sit up for spring and summer season and hotter climate.
Brian Shema, operations director who led the Pittsburgh chicken depend assisted by 12 others based mostly in Fox Chapel and close by communities, mentioned it appears to rain and the climate turns chilly each time the occasion takes place right here, usually the Saturday after Christmas. The Pittsburgh depend had 215 individuals with extra volunteers delivering counts from feeders and different websites within the area, South Butler had 47 individuals and 25 feeder counts, and the Mon Valley circle had 66 individuals and 40 checklists turned in from yard chicken counters.
The youngsters’s variations of the counts crammed up rapidly. Shema mentioned that’s fairly regular as a result of the educators do a wonderful job with the kids in all of the society’s programming. “We want everyone to be involved in the bird count, but we want to build the interest in younger people so as they grow older, they have the best interests of birds in mind,” he mentioned. “Hopefully, they carry that on and think about birds as they get older.”
The numbers of birds detected within the circles out within the discipline and from these checking yard feeders had been: Pittsburgh, 35,946 birds of 76 species; Mon Valley 2,322 birds of 52 species; and South Butler 6,613 birds of 59 species. Descriptions of every circle’s actions that day and the precise species depend may be discovered on the Audubon Society web site. Robins and English starlings ranked excessive on these lists, in keeping with these reviews.
Some attention-grabbing observations from the Mon Valley depend, which had 4 completely different walks on Dec. 17 with individuals seeing loads of American robins, included 4 widespread ravens seen alongside the Monongahela River, and a merlin that posed for a gaggle of photographers in the course of the Renzie Park group walk. Counters additionally heard an incredible horned owl calling and photographed an Eastern screech owl in a cavity of a black cherry tree. The Mon Valley group had a winter birds program led by neighborhood conservation coordinator Ben Kehoe final month and mentioned the depend on the McKeesport History and Heritage Center.
South Butler report included a “count high observations of grey catbird (2), our continuing resident population of red-headed woodpecker (1), and a high count of belted kingfisher (13!).” Counters additionally discovered a 4 bald eagles, a excessive quantity for that circle in contrast the previous years.
Shema has been collaborating within the annual depend for 22 years and has compiled the Pittsburgh depend for a few decade. He mentioned the Western Pennsylvania climate is unquestionably changing into milder, so the birds don’t journey as far within the winter months. “It takes a lot of resources for a bird to migrate,” he mentioned. “If they can save that energy and not migrate, that’s a survival strategy. They’re smart. They don’t expend the energy if they don’t have to.”
One particular instance Shema pointed to validate that is the individuals discovered the best depend ever of redwing blackbirds within the Pittsburgh depend circle at 81. “The redwing blackbird is a migrant bird, historically not found here in the winter,” Shema defined. “They don’t migrate far — a state or two south or to the coast — for the winter. When the temperatures are mild, these birds don’t need to escape treacherous weather conditions as far as they used to do. With killdeer, the same thing happened. Their migration range very similar to redwing blackbirds. We found 21 killdeer on Pittsburgh count day.”
Other excessive factors for Pittsburgh included a excessive depend of fox sparrows, a winter chicken for the area, and the identical with golden crown kinglets. Counters discovered 110 of these birds, that are solely discovered within the Pittsburgh space within the winter months.
The Western Pennsylvania society urges residents to affix the Cornell sponsored Great Backyard Bird Count that can take place over 4 days this month, Feb. 16-19. It’s a worldwide effort to create a winter snapshot of birds all over the place, in keeping with its web site.
Pennsylvania has simply launched into a bird atlas venture, coordinated by the Pennsylvania Game Commission. It can be working with volunteers all through the state to doc over the course of the subsequent 5 years the birds that breed in Pennsylvania, in keeping with its web site.
Shema defined this work is accomplished each 20 years and the Audubon Society right here will take part in it. “This is the third time we’re doing it,” he mentioned, including that it simply began Jan. 1. “It’s a way for people to enter bird activities, nesting activities, for example. Those types of observations get entered into this data set. It gives us a really good understanding of the birds that nest in our backyards and forests.”
As the climate begins to enhance, Audubon urges residents to recollect to maintain their chicken feeders and areas beneath their chicken feeders clear. “This is an important thing,” Shema mentioned. “It helps our local birds remain healthy.” Any extra micro organism or fungus there can carry illness to the birds.
In planning gardens and bedding areas, contemplate the birds’ well being there, too. “If people can think about the types of plants that are planting in their yards, it makes an amazing difference for birds,” Shema mentioned. “Plant native plants rather than cultivated species purchased in a nursery or garden center. The native plants can provide food for birds to survive. Those native plants can attract beneficial insects. The birds then carry those insects to their babies.”
Helen is a replica editor on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, however she’s presently on strike. Contact her at [email protected].
