Annual bird count tallies 81 species in Bigfork

On Saturday several groups of bird enthusiasts scoured the Bigfork area during the 42nd annual Bigfork Christmas Bird Count.

Official numbers from the count haven’t been released yet, but early numbers showed 81 species and over 15,000 birds sighted in a 15-mile radius.

The record for Bigfork is 90 species set in 2011.

Good weather contributed to the productive day, event organizer Craig Hohenberger said.

Several unusual birds were spotted in the Bigfork area, including two Pacific loons, gray-crowned rosy-finches, marsh wren, Western meadowlark and horned larks. It was only the third time loons have been recorded on the count, Hohenberger said.

The count is conducted through the Audubon Society, which has about 3,000 Christmas bird counts nationwide. The Bigfork count is one of the longest-running Christmas bird counts in North America.

Kathy Ross has been participating in the Bigfork Christmas count for over 10 years. She also does the Kalispell and Ninepipe Christmas bird counts.

Ross counted in the Swan River area and saw a wide variety of birds.

“There was open water, so lots of water fowl,” she said. “We had a number of pygmy owls, which was a neat thing to find on the count.”

Around the Bigfork village Paula Smith and her group spotted pine grosbeaks, a belted kingfisher, a merlin, Townsend solitaires and three brown creepers. “They are the cutest birds,” Smith said of the creepers. “They are a very small bird that you might see lower on the trunk of a tree. It was a good day for a variety of species.”

While seeing unique birds is part of the fun of participating in the Christmas Bird count, that’s not the only reason to participate.

“It contributes to the national Audobon data base,” Smith said. “It’s a citizen science project in which I can take part.”

“The data that we collect is very valuable,” Ross said. “There’s a lot of species moving through the area that weren’t here 25 years ago.”

The tradition of a Christmas bird count started as an alternative to the traditional Christmas bird hunt. The hunt, which was called the “Side Hunt,” was also a competition where participants choose sides, and would see who brought back the biggest pile of quarry.

Around the turn of the 20th century, however, scientists were becoming concerned about the declining bird populations. So in 1900 ornithologist Frank Chapman proposed the “Christmas Bird Census.” Twenty-five counts were held the first year.

As a result, the count became a loved tradition, and besides being a fun social activity for people interested in birds and wildlife, it has also become a key data-compiling event.

“I love birds and I love to be out experiencing our winter avian friends because we don’t realize how many birds are here in the winter time,” Ross said. “It brings to our attention how many birds there really are around. The more we know about the birds the more we appreciate that they’re there in our world.”

Ross encourages more people to join the Christmas bird count. Kalispell’s count is on Jan. 3.

“You don’t have to be an expert birder to go along and count,” she said. “It’s a good way to learn.”

Smith said if people don’t want to wander around part of Bigfork searching for birds, they can always use people in the neighborhoods to keep watch on their bird feeders.

“We’re not relying just on our own eyes because we can’t get around to all of the places there are in the are in one day,” she said.