(Betsy Bloom/Daily News photo)
The annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count, set this year for Dec. 17 in the Iron Mountain area, usually manages to have an unusual or out-of-season species turn up — like this juvenile red-winged blackbird that was still at the feeder at Six Mile Lake on Thursday despite most of its kind having long since departed south.
Area Christmas Bird Count coordinator Phyllis Carlson again invites people to join in the annual tally set for Saturday, Dec. 17.
The local count covers roughly the lower one-third of Dickinson County, from the Florence County line east to the Menominee County line and from the Menominee River north to Granite Bluff.
But participants can simply take note of what comes to the backyard feeder that day, or drive around their neighborhood. Volunteers also need not commit an entire day but can spend as little as a couple of hours searching a set area, Carlson said, or perhaps an hour or two in the morning, afternoon and evening.
It’s also not necessary to be an expert birder — if unsure about a species, Carlson said she can be contacted to try to help in making an ID.
“Don’t think you’re not good enough,” Carlson said. “It’s just a fun thing to do.”
(Carol Vardian photo)
Carol Vardian of Randville managed to get a photo of an unusual, all-yellow evening grosbeak at their yard feeder in late November.
This isn’t a competition, either, or a search for something rare or unusual. It is, instead, supposed to provide a year-by-year snapshot of bird populations.
“We’re looking for what’s out there, because we want to keep a historical view,” she said.
In most years, though, something unexpected does seem to show itself.
This year, winter has set in enough to drive out much of the potential waterfowl that might have lingered.
Perhaps as compensation, some of the winter birds — evening and pine grosbeaks, Bohemians waxwings — already have appeared in the region, raising hopes they will stick around long enough to be part of the Dec. 17 count. A tufted titmouse — a small, gray, crested bird related to the chickadees that normally stays much farther south — also has been seen in the Waucedah area, along with other locations in the Upper Peninsula, Carlson said.
The Christmas Bird Count is part of the National Audubon Society’s 123nd annual 24-hour “bird census” within designated areas in the U.S., Canada, and many countries in the Western Hemisphere. Data gathered from these counts, which groups can do any day from Dec. 14 to Jan. 5, is analyzed to gauge how avian populations might be expanding their numbers and range, or losing ground.
Volunteers are asked to record the numbers of birds they see of each species, then submit their lists to Carlson, who enters the information online at the Audubon website.
Unlike the Great Backyard Bird Count in February, this event requires all information be filed through a coordinator. Carlson has had that role for a few years.
About 24 people took part in the local count in 2021 and Carlson said two more already have come forward this year. But they still could use volunteers in the areas of Pine Mountain and Bass Lake roads.
Those who might want to volunteer or offer other assistance need to contact Carlson at [email protected] to get emailed a form for the count.
*****
Speaking of rare birds, a reader, Carol Vardian, last month sent a photo of an evening grosbeak at their Randville home. As mentioned, evening grosbeaks already have turned up at many bird feeders in the region since about mid-November.
But this one was very different, seeming to lack all of the black pigmentation that against a yellow background makes the male evening grosbeak so distinctively marked. Without the black feather tipping that mutes the yellow and the strong black primary feathers on the wings, this bird almost looked canary-colored, bright yellow with white wings and tail tip.
A mutation called leucism can cause such variations, creating paler, white spotted or even all-white birds. Usually these white morph birds can be distinguished from albinos by having dark eyes or some color patches.
But Ryan Brady, Natural Heritage Conservation biologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, said he thinks it’s a different mutation: xanthochromism. Animals with this trait have unusually high yellow pigmentation, often due to a lack of red pigmentation or its replacement with yellow, according to several online definitions.
Brady had recently seen a photo of a similar bird taken in Florence County, which of course would not be that far away from Dickinson County.
A further online search turned up a Nov. 29 article by Andrew Philips on OrilliaMatters.com that showed an all-yellow evening grosbeak that had been visiting a home feeder in Tiny Township, in south-central Ontario, Canada.
The article quoted Ron Tozer, an Algonquin Park bird authority, attributing the bright yellow coloration to xanthochromism. To see the article, go to https://www.orilliamatters.com/local-news/unusual-bright-yellow-bird-ruffling-feathers-of-birdwatchers-6172219.
The same mutation creates “yellow cardinals” that occasionally make national news.
The Vardians said they’d call if the grosbeak returned, so perhaps I’ll get a chance to photograph this unusual bird.
Betsy Bloom can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 240, or [email protected].
