Rice County Area

Christmas
Bird Count

More than a century of tradition!

updated January 12, 2010

"In late December and early January, thousands of North Americans temporarily forego the warmth of their homes to spend a day afield braving the elements. From southern Florida to Alaska, Honolulu to Maine, they search the woodlands and waterways, the meadows and plains. Such an annual trek is called the Christmas Bird Count and it is sponsored by the National Audubon Society, which is without a doubt the world's most gigantic cooperative survey of bird life."

-Orwin A. Rustad, A Journal of Natural Events in Southeastern Minnesota

This year's count date is Saturday, December 20, 2008

Want to get involved in the 2009 event?

Compiler and Northfield area coordinator:

Gene Bauer: 507-645-6810 or e-mail

Faribault area coordinator:

Dave Bartkey: 507-384-3065 or e-mail

Historical Information and Data

The 2006 count was the 56th in Rice County. Faribault began participating in the national Christmas Bird Count in 1951 under the leadership of George Rysgaard and Orwin Rustad. What follows is a summary of the data collected since the 1962-3 count (which is also available at www.audubon.org/birds/cbc/) along with handy charts illustrating trends for each species and some analysis of patterns found in the data.

The spreadsheets are not graphing the exact number of birds sighted in each year, but the amount of birds sighted per hour spent in the field. This is to account for the variation in number of survey participants over the years.

The numbers along the bottom of each graph (1-40) do not refer directly to count years. Number 1 indicates the first year of the count data (1962-3), number 2 indicates the second year (1963-4) and so on.

Download historical data file (Excel .xls format)

Thoughts and Trends

Several species of birds in the River Bend Nature Center have been seen much more frequently in recent years perhaps due to national recovery programs. One of these species is the Bald Eagle. After having been absent for the entire count, it suddenly appeared in the 1991-2 season and has been sighted almost every year since then. The eagle enjoys spending its winters along the Mississippi River, and the fact that it is appearing again in Minnesota could be a direct result of the recovery efforts. The Wild Turkey is another species that has only begun to appear in the count since the late 80s/early 90s. It had been severely depleted by hunting, but has been restocked in much of its former range, which seems to be well represented in the count.

The Great Horned Owl has been visibly decreasing in number over the past 25 years. About 20 years ago the Barred Owl appeared in the count for the first time. Is it possible that this new type of owl has begun to compete with its cousin for resources, causing the Great Horned Owl’s numbers to decline?

The Tufted Titmouse presents a mysterious case. It appeared in the count each year until the 1967-8 season, after which it disappeared altogether. Why could this have happened? Minnesota is already on the very edge of the titmouse’s range, so perhaps something has been causing that range to move south. Human development is a possibility, although titmice tend to thrive in places like man-made parks. Maybe there has even been a subtle climate shift over time, with slightly colder weather forcing the birds further south. That doesn’t explain the suddenness of the disappearance, however, and further research about the titmouse mystery is necessary.

Introduced in the east in the 1940s, House Finches have been spreading rapidly ever since then. They first appear in the Faribault bird count in the 1989-90 season and increase in number pretty rapidly after that. They have a much larger range than other finches, and it will remain to be seen how they affect other members of the same family over time.

These are just a few of the interesting trends that can be found by examining the data presented above. Why not see what other trends you can find, and if these trends are reflected at the bird feeder outside your window or on the fences around your fields?

--by Erin Quigley, Carleton College Student

Useful bird count links

Audubon Christmas Bird Count

Minnesota Christmas Bird Count

BirdSource

Minnesota Ornithologists' Union

RBNC's Bird Banding page