Elyria/Lorain Christmas
Bird Count 2023

By Marty Ackermann

This year marked the 124rd Christmas Bird Count and the 65th count in the Elyria-Lorain circle. This year the count was held on December 16 with 54 people participating. They counted for 79 hours, covering 54 miles on foot and 289 miles by car, while another 5 persons counted at their feeders The result was 73 species on count day and one during count week (cw). There were 31,457 individual birds reported, which is within the range of the numbers in the last decade.

The species seen and the number of each are: Mute Swan 5, Trumpeter Swan 7, Canada Goose 3248, Snow Goose (cw), Mallard 586, American Black Duck 13, Gadwall 4, Northern Shoveler 12, Bufflehead 3, Common Goldeneye 42, Red-breasted Merganser 434, Hooded Merganser 3, Common Merganser 68, Ruddy Duck 67, Double-crested Cormorant 3, Common Loon 1, Bonaparte’s Gull 42, Ring-billed Gull 19888, Herring Gull 660, Great Blue Heron 11, American Coot 14, Sandhill Crane 3, Wild Turkey 6, Turkey Vulture 3, Bald Eagle 10, Northern Harrier 2, Cooper’s Hawk 8, Sharp-shinned Hawk 4, Red-shouldered Hawk 16, Red-tailed Hawk 24, Peregrine Falcon 3, American Kestrel 15, Barred owl 1, Short-eared Owl 1, Rock Pigeon 396, Mourning Dove 78, Belted Kingfisher 13, Red-headed Woodpecker 12, Red-bellied Woodpecker 73, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2, Downy Woodpecker 96, Hairy Woodpecker 16, Pileated Woodpecker 13, Northern Flicker 33, Blue Jay 174, American Crow 80, Eastern Bluebird 112, American Robin 696, Cedar Waxwing 89, Black-capped Chickadee 110, Tufted Titmouse 76. White-breasted Nuthatch 74, Red-breasted Nuthatch 1, Brown Creeper 3, Carolina Wren 41, Winter Wren 2, Golden-crowned Kinglet 2, Yellow-rumped Warbler 5, Snow Bunting 36, Dark-eyed Junco 161, American Tree Sparrow 171, Song Sparrow 22, Swamp Sparrow 7, White-throated Sparrow 72, White-crowned Sparrow 4, House Sparrow 393, House Finch 178, American Goldfinch 83, Pine Siskin 6, Northern Cardinal 159, European Starling 2660, Red-winged Blackbird 4, Common Grackle 76, Brown-head Cowbird 25.

2021-22 Christmas Bird Count

(Review from National Audubon)

Welcome to a review of Ohio’s participation in the 122nd National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count. We have historical data for a total of 74 Ohio counts. During the 2021-2022 count period, Ohio observers participated in 70 CBCs.

The weather recap portion of the CBC review is almost unnecessary to write anymore. But to honor protocol, we had another warm December. Temperatures across the Lower 48 were the warmest in the 127-year record and surpassed the prior warmest December of 2015. Daily average temperatures for the Midwest were 5.8 degrees above the normal average from 1991 to 2020 (NOAA). No Ohio count reported totally frozen still or moving water. And there was next to no measurable snow on most counts in the state. The National Climate Report for December 2021 noted that “snowfall across northeast Ohio was 10-25 inches below normal.” Wellington, The Brown Family Environmental Center, Rudolph, Trumbull County, and Cuyahoga Falls were the only counts that reported having measurable snow on the ground. A climatic treat almost every count shared this year was clouds. As the dysthymic donkey Eeyore is prone to say, “Looks like rain.” And it did. Almost all day on almost every Ohio CBC. Nearly every count reported morning and afternoon cloud cover. A few changed things up and enjoyed fog; some compilers took the glass-half-full approach and reported partly cloudy or partly clear skies. Just four of seventy counts reported clear skies during a portion of the count day: Ashtabula and Clark County started out with clear skies, ending partly cloudy and cloudy, respectively. Cincinnati and Beaver Creek went from partly cloudy to clear.

A total of 1997 counters took to the field in Ohio CBCs this season. Participant numbers ranged from two to 115. The median number of field counters in Ohio was 21. Cuyahoga Falls led with the 115 participants, Columbus (88) and Wilmot (81) followed while Lakewood reached 79. Cincinnati (78) and Millersburg (77) also reached the 70s. Other participation highlights include Hocking Hills (64), Western Hamilton County (52), Lancaster (52), Cleveland (51), and four counts in the 40s. Ohio counters walked 2644 miles; drove 18,914 miles; traveled three miles by air; biked 153 miles; and covered 14 miles by motorized boat. Thank you everyone for your efforts!

Read the full Report:https://www.audubon.org/news/the-122nd-christmas-bird-count-ohio

2020 Christmas Bird Count Review: https://www.audubon.org/news/the-121st-christmas-bird-count-ohio

Audubon Christmas Bird Count

The nation's longest-running community science bird project fuels Audubon's work throughout the year.