For the second straight season Indiana鈥檚 Christmas Bird Count featured the discovery of two remarkable rarities; this year it was a Vermilion Flycatcher and a Western Sandpiper. Incredibly, both of these CBC firsts were found on the same count - Western Gibson County! Other great finds included the state鈥檚 seventh Western Grebe, the tenth Swainson鈥檚 Thrush, and the first White-winged Crossbill in seven years. Nine species had record high totals this season - Trumpeter Swan (80), Redhead (1579), Red-necked Grebe (3) , American White Pelican (101), Great Egret (7), Red-shouldered Hawk (365), Barn Owl (8), Red-bellied Woodpecker (2406), and Winter Wren (68). Species found in low numbers this year were Red-breasted Nuthatch (12), Lapland Longspur (103), Snow Bunting (77), Purple Finch (18), and Pine Siskin (20).
Western Gibson County had the highest species total again with an impressive 109. Other circles to top 90 species included Oakland City (94) and Sullivan County (93). Sadly, missing from this group is the Goose Pond count that failed to report their data this year. Forty-four counts reported data in Indiana this season (down from 53 last year), which included 797 field observers and 133 feeder watchers (both totals were slight increases from a year ago). A total of 1904 party hours, 265 hours of feeder observation, and 107 hours of nocturnal birding resulted in the discovery of 147 total species. These totals were also a bit higher than last season, with the exception of the species total, that was down by six.
Several circles enjoyed good goose counts. The best Greater White-fronted Goose totals came from Sullivan County (3665), Gibson (1600), and Terre Haute (743). By recent standards, the Snow Goose total (39,024) was low; the highest totals came from Gibson (30,717), Evansville (4983), and Sullivan County (1549). Two circles had Ross鈥檚 Geese - Gibson (13) and Terre Haute (1). Tippecanoe (117) and Pokagon (97) had this year鈥檚 highest Mute Swan totals. The bulk of the season鈥檚 record 80 Trumpeter Swans were provided by Oakland City (51). It was also a good year for Tundra Swans (132) with fine counts from Eagle Creek (46) and Gibson (34).
Duck counts of note included Gibson鈥檚 458 Gadwall and 115 Northern Pintail. Elkhart (23) and Oakland City (12) had the best Canvasback totals this season. It was an amazing year for Redhead; the vast majority of the record high 1579 Redhead total was provided by Dunes West (915), Elkhart (290), and the Dunes counters (104). The Dunes count also added two Surf Scoters, while Tippecanoe鈥檚 single bird was a nice 鈥渋nland鈥 find. All 26 White-winged Scoters were also added by the Dunes count. Black Scoter went unreported for the first time in seven seasons. This year鈥檚 three Long-tailed Ducks came from the Dunes (2) and Gibson (1).
Ring-necked Pheasants were scarce, only being reported by three circles. The best Wild Turkey counts came from Elkhart (112), Ohio River (73), and Terre Haute (62). Three counts had Red-throated Loons - the Dunes (51), Dunes West (1), and Lake Monroe (1). Sullivan County鈥檚 68 Horned Grebes was more than half of the state鈥檚 total (114). Red-necked Grebe is always a good CBC find; this season three circles reported this handsome grebe 鈥 Whitewater (2), Oakland City (1), and Patoka Lake (cw). Even more impressive was Lake Monroe鈥檚 Western Grebe, Indiana鈥檚 seventh CBC record. Gibson (146) and Sullivan County (38) added most of the 196 Double-crested Cormorants.
A new American White Pelican record was created singlehandedly by Gibson鈥檚 101, far surpassing the previous best (12). Seven Great Egrets was also a record high, with an impressive four by Sullivan County, a pair for Ohio River, and one for Gibson. Muncie (2) and Gibson (1) added the season鈥檚 three Black-crowned Night-herons.
Raptor highlights included a Knox County Osprey, Golden Eagles from Willow Slough (2) and Pigeon River (1), and a record year for Red-shouldered Hawks (365). Rough-legged Hawks were scarce (51), with only Willow Slough (20) finding more than six. The lone Virginia Rail was found on the Dunes count. Several circles had big Sandhill Crane totals, including Eagle Creek (5203), Muscatatuck (3500), and Whitewater (2300). Whooping Cranes were added by Gibson (4) and Eagle Creek (1).
Gibson counters discovered the season鈥檚 only Least Sandpiper as well as one of two birds vying for 鈥渂ird of the season鈥 honors - Indiana鈥檚 first CBC Western Sandpiper. Two counts contributed the bulk of the 鈥渓arge gulls鈥 this season - Elkhart and the Dunes. Both of these counts contributed single Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Glaucous Gulls. The active landfills in the Elkhart circle produced 2822 of the Herring Gull total (3265). The Dunes count also contributed all 12 of this season鈥檚 Great Black-backed Gulls.
A new record Barn Owl total was set with eight; remarkably they were all found on one count - Oakland City. Double-digit Eastern Screech-Owl counts were achieved by Lake Monroe (21), Spring Mill (10), and Elkhart (10). The Dunes count had the season鈥檚 only Snowy Owl and Northern Saw-whet Owl, while the lone Long-eared Owl belonged to Willow Slough. The Red-bellied Woodpecker count (2406) established yet another new record high. Lake Monroe had an impressive 64 Pileated Woodpeckers. Both Merlin (10) and Peregrine Falcon (11) had good totals this year.
The second bird laying claim to 鈥渂ird of the year鈥 was also an amazing Gibson find - a Vermilion Flycatcher, another state CBC first. Sadly, Loggerhead Shrikes have become tough to find in Indiana, so it was nice to see one on two counts this year, Pike County and Spring Mill. Seven Northern Shrikes represented a typical year. Once again Terre Haute, with 15,716 American Crows was the main contributor to the state total (28,910). Eagle Creek reported a single Fish Crow and a nice count of 595 Horned Larks.
Red-breasted Nuthatch was a 鈥渘o-show鈥 for most counts. The state total was only 12, with the highest count coming from the Dunes with only seven birds. Elkhart (50) and Topeka (30) had very good Brown Creeper counts. The 68 Winter Wrens was also a new record high, with the best count coming from Elkhart (13).
South Bend鈥檚 Swainson鈥檚 Thrush represented the state鈥檚 tenth CBC record, and the first in nine years. Ohio River had a big American Robin count (3167), while the Dunes and Lake Monroe had single Gray Catbirds. Oddly, all 65 American Pipits this season came from one count - Elkhart. It was another poor year for Lapland Longspur (103); Topeka鈥檚 55 was the only count with more than thirteen. The 77 Snow Buntings was only slightly better than last season鈥檚 disastrous total (11). In fact, only two counts had any Snow Buntings 鈥 South Adams County (75) and Eagle Creek (2).
The only warbler species this season (other than the expected Yellow-rumped) was Common Yellowthroat. Single yellowthroats were found on the Evansville, Dunes, and Richmond counts. It was a good year for Chipping Sparrows; the 17 chippies were added by Muscatatuck (7), Ohio River (6), Greenfield (2), Gibson (1), and Whitewater (1). There were two big contributors to the season鈥檚 93 Savannah Sparrows - Oakland City (54) and Gibson (22); there were no other circles with more than four. Six Lincoln鈥檚 Sparrows was the highest count in 28 years, thanks to Sullivan County with an impressive four birds, and singles from Big Oaks and Lafayette.
It was a big year for blackbirds on the Evansville count; they reported 31,670 of the season鈥檚 37,682 Red-winged Blackbirds and 775 of the 916 total Rusty Blackbirds. It was another poor year for winter finches. Only 18 Purple Finch were counted, the highest total was South Lake County鈥檚 ten birds. Pine Siskin (20) was also elusive, with only four circles tallying small numbers. The lone winter finch highlight was South Bend鈥檚 White-winged Crossbill - the state鈥檚 first in seven years.