count in a decade. Eastern Screech-Owlshad their second best count in 20years—kudos to Rathbun for locating19. Northern Saw-whet Owls had theirbest year ever.

Belted Kingfishers had their bestcount in five seasons. After an excep-tional count last year, Red-headedWoodpecker numbers fell well belowtheir 10-year average. PileatedWoodpeckers set a new high. NorthernShrikes were at near record numbers.Probably due to a lack of snow cover,Horned Larks were hard to find. Red-breasted Nuthatches were uncommonalso. Brown Creepers and Winter Wrenswere in very good numbers. Ruby-crowned Kinglets were on four counts.It was an average year for thrushes.Mockingbirds were at Green Island andBurlington. Brown Thrashers were atDallas County and Burlington. No cat-birds were found.

Spotted Towhees were at Sioux City,DeSoto N.W.R., and Shenandoah.Eastern Towhees were at Decorah andDavenport. American Tree Sparrowswere abundant. Savannah Sparrows wereat record numbers. Lapland Longspurswere below average, while SnowBuntings were their lowest in a decade.Red-winged Blackbirds rebounded froma 20-year low to their best in five. NoBrewer’s Blackbirds were reported. PineSiskin and American Goldfinchnumbers were up slightly. A loneCommon Redpoll was at Davenport.Eurasian Tree Sparrows were again atrecord numbers and continue theirexpansion. New to the Cedar Rapidscount, 29 were found there this season.

MISSOURIRandy L. Korotev800 Oakbrook Lane

Saint Louis, MO 63132-4807

rlkorotev@artsci.wustl.edu

Missouri recorded 24 CBCs thisseason, down three from recent years.The average temperature was 40 degreesFahrenheit (range: 22 to 60) and therewas no snow anywhere. In total, 152species were observed.

A Black-legged Kittiwake at Maryvilleand a Common Ground-Dove atWeldon Spring represent first MissouriCBC records. Several other species wereonly observed on only one count: Long-tailed Duck (2, Kansas City), EaredGrebe (1, Horton-Four Rivers), Black-crowned Night-Heron (1, Columbia),Prairie Falcon (1, Horton-Four Rivers),Virginia Rail (1, Columbia), LeastSandpiper (1, Columbia), Franklin’sGull (1, Mingo), Fish Crow (1, Mingo),Tree Swallow (1, Mingo), Sedge Wren(1, Cole Camp Prairies), Pine Warblers(1, Mingo), Vesper Sparrow (1, JeffersonCity), Rose-breasted Grosbeak (1,Grand River), and Baltimore Oriole (1,Columbia).

High numbers of birds include 24300Greater White-fronted Goose (11counts), 928,000 Snow Geese (12counts), 446 American White Pelican(423 at Confluence), 234 Red-shoul-dered Hawks (20 counts), 55 Rough-legged Hawks (11 counts), sevenSandhill Cranes (2 counts), four SnowyOwls (2 counts), 523 American Pipits (4counts), 800 Savannah Sparrows (18counts), 176 Western Meadowlarks (8counts), and 3.5 million CommonGrackles (Columbia). Red-tail andkestrel numbers were typical. Only 11Loggerhead and three Northern Shrikeswere reported. Species occurring in sub-stantially lower-than usual numbersinclude Northern Bobwhite, NorthernFlicker, Blue Jay, Horned Lark, SongSparrow, and White-throated Sparrow.

There were no reports of Greater Prairie-Chicken, Northern Goshawk, GreaterRoadrunner, or Snow Bunting. BaldEagles (878) and Eastern Bluebirds (2533)were seen on all 24 counts. Winter erraticpasserines occurred in low numbers. Theonly report of Red-breasted Nuthatchwas five at Knob Noster. A total of 910Lapland Longspurs were reported fromeight counts and 39 Pine Siskins on threecounts. Introduced Trumpeter Swansoccurred on six counts (500 birds) andEurasian Collared-Doves occurred on15 counts (153 birds).

Six counts recorded 90 or morespecies, with 104 at Columbia. A record463 observers were in the field, with 22watching feeders.

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Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis) female, Kansas City, Missouri. Photo/Mike Stoakes

ARKANSASLeif AndersonP.O. Box 195

Hector, AR 72843

leanderson@fs.fed.us

The 112th CBC in Arkansas was anice year for counting—only 4 percentof the counts had winds exceeding 15miles per hour, 13 percent had lightrain, and 13 percent had partly frozenwater. Temperatures ranged from the20s to 70s. Two major local influenceswere extreme drought on 9 percent ofthe counts and extreme flooding on 9percent of the counts. The generallypleasant conditions resulted in thenumber of species, miles, and hoursremaining near normal, with parties andobservers setting 59-year highs. Numberof individuals (878,024) was 94 percentbelow average because of reduced black-bird numbers.

All told, 23 counts were submitted;11 counts had more than 90 species,including Holla Bend N.W.R. with thespecies high of 119. Mississippi RiverState Park was run for the first year, sam-pling the unique habitat of Crowley’sRidge. Two counts, Bayou DeView andMountain Home, set new species highs

of 113 and 73, respectively. BayouDeView had the most new or unusualspecies (11) and Holla Bend N.W.R.and Wapanocca tied with the most newhigh counts (9). The numbers for thefollowing bird highlights are normalizedby party hours. In broad groups, geesewere 685 percent above average (becauseof Snow Geese) and semi-hardy water-birds 189 percent. Blackbirds were -98percent below average (third year in arow) and frugivores were -97 percentbelow average.

Of note this season for individualspecies, no regularly occurring specieswere “missed.” Setting new 59-yearhighs were Greater White-frontedGoose, Snow Goose, Gadwall, NorthernShoveler, Pied-billed Grebe, Killdeer,Spotted Sandpiper, Eurasian Collared-Dove, and Eastern Phoebe. Other highsincluded Gadwall (708 percent),Northern Shoveler (863 percent),Northern Pintail (611 percent), Ring-necked Duck (502 percent), Pied-billedGrebe (345 percent), Killdeer (296percent), Spotted Sandpiper (426percent), Eurasian Collared-Dove (115percent), and Eastern Phoebe (230percent).

Meanwhile, 59-year lows were set byNorthern Bobwhite. Other lowsincluded Mallard (-58 percent), WildTurkey (-66 percent), NorthernBobwhite (-95 percent), LoggerheadShrike (-76 percent), Bewick’s Wren (-74 percent), American Robin (-92percent), European Starling (-97percent), Harris’s Sparrow (-87 percent),Red-winged Blackbird (-99 percent),Rusty Blackbird (-98 percent),Common Grackle (-99 percent),Brown-headed Cowbird (-97 percent),Purple Finch (-87 percent), Pine Siskin(-91 percent), and House Sparrow (-77percent).

Species found only on one countincluded Long-tailed Duck(Arkadelphia); American Black Duck,Solitary, Semipalmated, Western andStilt sandpipers, and Dunlin (BayouDeView); Cackling Goose and White-winged Scoter (Conway); Inca Dove

(Fayetteville); Red-necked Grebe,“Krider’s” Red-tailed Hawk, GoldenEagle, and “Red-shafted” Flicker (HollaBend N.W.R.); Forster’s Tern(Jonesboro); Western Grebe, AmericanBittern, Red-cockaded Woodpecker andWhite-eyed Vireo (Lake Georgia Pacific-Felsenthal N.W.R.); Mute Swan andRufous Hummingbird (Little Rock)Peregrine Falcon and “Oregon” Junco(Lonoke); Red-breasted Merganser andSora (Pine Bluff ); and Black-crownedNight-Heron, White Ibis, and Great-tailed Grackle (Texarkana). And thebird-of-the-year was the first ArkansasCBC record of an adult Blue Grosbeakat Wapanocca N.W.R.

And it can never be said frequentlyenough—all the compilers and volun-teers deserve a big “thank you” for yourhard work!

LOUISIANAErik I. JohnsonNational Audubon Society

6160 Perkins Road, Suite 130

Baton Rouge, LA 70808

ejohnson@audubon.org

During the 112th CBC, 409observers and 57 feederwatchers spent1741 party hours covering 24 counts inLouisiana. A total of 262 species and anadditional 2 count week species werefound—the largest list since before the2005 hurricanes (“Katrina” and “Rita”)despite worsening recent droughts. Thiswinter will be forever remembered as thewinter of the Green-tailed Towhee;across nine counts 15 individuals werefound, which is not bad consideringthere have been fewer than 10 recordsever for the Bayou State.

The Sabine count again tallied thelargest species count in the state with171 species and is still climbing towardpre-Hurricane Rita/Ike levels. A newcount this year, White Lake, pulled in arespectable 158 species and turned upLouisiana’s first Prairie Falcon.Lacassine N.W.R.-Thornwell had thehighest inland count with 162 species,while Baton Rouge and Crowley tied forthe highest non-tidewater counts with

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145 species each. Around LakePontchartrain, Reserve with 144 speciesjust topped New Orleans with 142. Innorth Louisiana, Natchitoches with 128species upped Bossier-Caddo-Bienvillewith 127 species.

Several raptors had abundances at least1.5 times more than the recent 10-yearaverage: Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, andAmerican Kestrel. Loggerhead Shrike, aspecies that has declined by 66 percentsince 1992, had its best showing in 10years. It was also a banner winter year forsome winter hummingbirds like Rufouswith 158 counted, Calliope and Broad-tailed with eight each, and Allen’sHummingbird with six. The onlyAnna’s Hummingbird was found inBaton Rouge. In contrast, many water-fowl counts were less than half of the pre-vious 10-year birds/party hour average,possibly related to recent droughts. Evenso, eight Fulvous Whistling-Ducks, oneCinnamon Teal, and two White-winged Scoters were found. Last winter,Rusty Blackbirds were seemingly every-where, but their numbers this year wereback to recent lows.

A Scott’s Oriole visiting a BatonRouge homeowner’s hummingbirdfeeder, a Western Grebe found on theShreveport count, and a Rough-leggedHawk found during the Natchitochescount were among the most exceptionalvagrants. Other highlights that kept

participants entertained included aParasitic Jaeger, three Swainson’sHawks, two Burrowing Owls, andthree Western Tanagers. Six Say’sPhoebes adds to only 11 total previousrecords, nine of these since 2000, sug-gesting a pattern of increasing vagrancyto Louisiana. Vermilion Flycatcherswere also well represented with 30 indi-viduals found, just shy of the previoushigh count of 31 in 2002. Only 13warbler species were found this winter,but included a Black-throated GrayWarbler at Sweet Lake-CameronPrairie N.W.R. In contrast, sparrowswere well represented, with eight Clay-colored Sparrows and 10 Smith’sLongspurs among the highlights.

Wintering hold-over shorebirds werealso notable with a well-documentedSemipalmated Sandpiper during theSabine count representing one of fewconfirmed winter records for the U.S. Acount week Pectoral Sandpiper fromReserve and seven Wilson’s Phalaropesfrom two counts are also quite unusual.After being absent the last three of fourwinters, 21 Red Knots were found atGrand Isle, but this is a far cry fromcounts exceeding 200 birds in the1980s.

Thanks to all who participated incounts and submitted data. Your hardwork provides valuable insights intopopulation trends for many species thatwould otherwise go unmonitored.

NORTH DAKOTA/SOUTH DAKOTA/NEBRASKA/KANSAS/OKLAHOMASebastian T. Patti 552 W. Belden Avenue

Chicago, ILLINOIS 60614-3354

sebastianpatti@hotmail.com

The winter of 2011–2012 will cer-tainly go down in the weather annals asone of the mildest on record; in fact, thefall was extremely mild as well. Themoderate temperatures in the centralplains states were accompanied by littleor no snow or rain. Unfortunately,throughout much of the region, this lackof precipitation has now been translatedinto a profound drought. As a result ofthe mild winter conditions, however,this season birders were not only birdingin balmy temperatures and in shortsleeves, but their access to all areas ofnearly every count circle in the regionwas also unrestricted. I can point to nobetter measure of the mildness of thisseason than to note that both NorthDakota and South Dakota set new CBCspecies high counts this past season!Possibly counterintuitive given the mildweather, however, this was a bannerinvasion year for Snowy Owls through-out the Midwest, and many countsreported multiple individuals.

North Dakota birders completed 20counts. The 66 species recorded on theGarrison Dam count established arecord high species CBC count for thestate, and a new count was initiated andcompleted at Ft. Union-Yellowstone &Missouri Rivers Confluence Area.Garrison Dam participants recorded anumber of rare and uncommon species,and both Ross’s Goose and Wood Duckwere recorded on that count for the firsttime; the count tallied 16 waterfowlspecies, as well as seven gull species(including Lesser Black-backed), andKilldeer was a nice find as well.Elsewhere around the state, this was afantastic year for Snowy Owls with 19 ofthe 20 counts reporting the species. TheLong Lake CBC was treated to six indi-viduals on count day! Speaking of owls,seven counts also reported NorthernSaw-whets this year. Other interesting

THE 112TH CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT AMERICAN BIRDS 83

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species reported statewide wereCommon Raven at Denbigh, WoodDuck at Fargo-Moorhead, EasternTowhee at Grand Forks-East GrandForks, and Pine Grosbeak at IcelandicS.P. The only Gyrfalcons were spotted atArrowwood N.W.R., Garrison Dam,Lostwood, and Upper Souris N.W.R.Bohemian Waxwings flocks were fewand far-between, and were only found atGarrison Dam, Icelandic S.P., andJamestown. Purple Finches were scat-tered around the state and seen on 12counts, and redpolls were moderatelywell-represented, though Hoaries wereonly found at Denbigh, Des LacsN.W.R., Lostwood, and at Upper SourisN.W.R.

South Dakota observers submitted 17counts this past season, and the 85species reported on count day at Pierreestablished a new CBC species counthigh for the state! Rapid City birdersscored a far-distant second place in thehigh species count race this year with 57species. Ten of the 17 counts reportedSnowy Owls with both Lake Andes andSand Lake N.W.R. tallying nine birdseach on count day! (Whatever thecorrect collective noun, nine birds surelyis large enough to qualify as a parliamentof Snowy Owls, I would think!).Northern Saw-whets were reported fromBison, Brookings, and Pierre, and amongthe record number of species reportedfrom Pierre were 21 waterfowl speciesand the state’s only Gyrfalcon this year.Rapid City’s Harlequin Duck, found onCanyon Lake, was a real treat and newfor that count; the female bird cooper-ated and was observed several days.Speaking of waterfowl, Yankton reporteda swan sp. and a small flock of sevenLong-tailed Ducks. This was not anespecially eventful year for irruptivepasserine species, however; the onlyBohemian Waxwing (one bird) wasreported from Shadehill, and the onlyEvening Grosbeaks were seen at Sturgis.Red Crossbills were observed atBrookings, Piedmont, and Sturgis, whileBrookings and Sioux Falls birders locatedWhite-wingeds. Purple Finches were

only found on four counts this year.Finally, some of the western/montanespecialty species were reported as follows:Piedmont birders found Gray andPinyon jays, Pygmy Nuthatch, andCanyon Wren; Rapid City reported GrayJay, Pygmy Nuthatch, Canyon Wren,and American Dipper (cw); andSpearfish reported Lewis’s Woodpecker,Canyon Wren, and American Dipper.

Nebraska CBCers completed andsubmitted 12 counts this past season,and Lake McConaughy took first placeprize honors with 103 species reportedon count day, while rivals Omaha andLincoln tallied 70 and 69 species,

respectively. It was, however, LakeMcConaughy that reported some reallynice finds including 23 waterfowl andfour grebe species, plus eight gull speciesincluding three Mews, but Dunlin wasprobably the best find of the day.Elsewhere, American White Pelicans lin-gered late enough to be seen at bothAmes and Lake McConaughy, andTrumpeter Swans were reported fromCalamus-Loup, Lake McConaughy, andNorfolk. Common Redpolls were onlyfound in Crawford and North Platte,while Purple Finches were sprinkledaround the state and noted on sevencounts. Finally, the Snowy Owl invasion

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extended to Nebraska, but not as dra-matically as in the Dakotas: Calamus-Loup, Lake McConaughy, and NorthPlatte each reported single birds oncount day.

Kansans completed 23 CBCs this pastseason; Udall-Winfield reported themost species seen at 106, and Lawrencetook second place with a veryrespectable 100. Trumpeter Swans havebecome increasingly common in the lastdecade with reports this year fromBaldwin City, Lawrence (cw),Oskaloosa-Perry Lake, Parsons, and RedHills, while Oskaloosa-Perry Lake andUdall-Winfield reported Tundra Swans.A statewide survey can quickly detailsome of the better sightings: CimarronN.G. had Ladder-backed Woodpecker(cw), Western Scrub-Jay, CommonRaven, Sage Thrasher, and LarkBunting; Halstead-Newton had Black-crowned Night-Heron; Quivira N.W.R.reported Virginia Rail and SandhillCrane; Red Hills reported Rufous-crowned Sparrow; Scott Lake hadVirginia Rail; Salina reported RedCrossbill (cw); Udall-Winfield hosted alate Dunlin; and Wichita birders foundLong-tailed Duck, Barrow’s Goldeneye,and Least Sandpiper. Waconda Lake andWebster Reservoir both reportedThayer’s and Glaucous gulls, plus theyboth reported the state’s only SnowyOwls this season, though Webster’s wascount week only. Last, but certainly notleast, Wilson Reservoir participantsfound Long-tailed Duck, Pacific Loon,Virginia Rail, and Sandhill Crane.

Oklahoma birders completed and sub-mitted 18 counts this winter season with

five counts equaling or breaking thecentury mark: Tishomingo N.W.R. with125, Oklahoma City with 121, Normanand Tulsa both with 113, and WichitaMountains W.R. with 100. Some of themore interesting bird species reported onthis year’s count included: four AmericanWoodcocks at Broken Bow; TrumpeterSwan, Black Vulture (out-of-range), andSprague’s Pipit at Norman; WesternGrebe and Thayer’s and Lesser Black-backed gulls at Oklahoma City; andSprague’s Pipit at Sooner Lake. Also seenand reported were: a Sedge Wren atStillwater; a Common Yellowthroat atSpavinaw; an ibis (Plegadis), sp. Say’sPhoebe, Common Yellowthroat, andmost unexpectedly, a Green-tailedTowhee at Tishomingo N.W.R. AtTallgrass Prairie Preserve, birdersreported both Trumpeter and Tundraswans and Sprague’s Pipit, Tulsaobservers found Western Grebe and a farout-of-range Lesser Goldfinch, while atWashita N.W.R. birders reported yetanother Tundra Swan. Finally, a survey oflingering/late waders will, I think, under-score the truly mild nature of the winterjust passed. Killdeer were found on 12 ofthe 18 counts, Greater Yellowlegs werenoted on 10 counts, while Lessers werefound on two (Tishomingo N.W.R. andWichita Mountains W.R.), LeastSandpipers were found on seven counts,Wilson’s Snipe on eight, and as previ-ously noted Broken Bow found fourwoodcocks.

In closing, let me acknowledge thehard work of all compilers in editingtheir counts. This dedication not onlyensures the highest data accuracy and

quality for each count, but it also makesmy job as regional editor that mucheasier. Additionally, I find informationcontaining interesting historical,weather, or contextual count informa-tion to be especially helpful; thanks forpassing this information along. Asalways, thank you!

TEXASBrent OrtegoTexas Parks and Wildlife Department

2805 N. Navarro, Suite 600B

Victoria, TX 77901

brent.ortego@tpwd.state.tx.us

Manx Shearwater at MatagordaCounty, Black-vented Oriole andBlue Bunting at Anzalduas-Bentsen,Golden-crowned Warbler and Rose-throated Becard at Weslaco, Crimson-collared Grosbeak at Brownsville, LittleGull at Port Aransas and Lake RayHubbard, Hepatic Tanager at Victoria,American Golden-Plover at SanBernard and Red-throated Loon atLake Tawakoni. These were the headlin-ers in a season whose landscape wasdominated by exceptional droughtthroughout Texas along with more thanfour million acres of wildfires. In all,2838 birders on 109 Christmas BirdCounts (CBCs) produced 377 speciesand 11 additional infraspecific forms,which is the lowest species tally in my sixyears as editor. Thirteen species weredeleted that were not supported withsatisfactory documentation. A total of113 species were missed that werereported during the last 10 CBCseasons. Party hours declined by 4percent, but birder numbers increasedby 3 percent. We welcome new CBCs:Lost Pines near Austin, and Pineywoodsat Lake Livingston.

Matagorda County was Number Onein the Nation with 244 species, andGuadalupe River Delta was second with225 species. Freeport had 199, SanBernard 196, and, amazingly, Weslaco195. Weslaco is about 45 miles inlandwith a previous high tally of 178. This isthe highest species count for an inlandCBC in Texas. Corpus Christi–Flour

THE 112TH CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT AMERICAN BIRDS 85

Long-tailed Ducks (Clangula hyemalis), Yankton, South Dakota. Photo/Roger Dietrich

Bluff had 184, Bolivar Peninsula andCorpus Christi had 183, Port Aransashad a record 178, Anzalduas 173,Rockport 172, and 15 additional CBCswith at least 150 species. Bill Grabercompiled Bolivar Peninsula for his 50thyear, which is a remarkable feat.

The Manx Shearwater is mostly apelagic seabird of the Atlantic Ocean. Itis not expected near Texas with the rela-tively shallow edge of the Gulf ofMexico. Petra Hockey spotted one whiledoing her Sea Watch for the MatagordaCounty CBC. The shearwater was beingpushed by strong onshore winds andflew along the beach. The Black-ventedOriole returned to Anzalduas-Bentsenfor the second winter on 13 Octoberand stayed throughout the season in thestate park. Blue Buntings were reportedat a number of Lower Rio Grande Valleyhotspots during winter, but only onewas found on a CBC. The Golden-crowned Warbler made its second

appearance on a CBC this decade andwas first sighted on 17 Dec and stayedthrough the winter; Ira Sanders pho-tographed it on the Weslaco CBC.Another cooperative bird was the Rose-throated Becard, which arrived inNovember for the winter. It was thefourth Texas CBC record this decadeand was photographed by Kyle O’Haver.The Crimson-collared Grosbeak wasreported at several Valley locals duringthe winter, but only on the BrownsvilleCBC for the fourth CBC record thisdecade. The Little Gull made its thirdappearance on Texas CBCs this decade.Two were found on the Port AransasCBC, which was very atypical sincemost reports traditionally are away fromthe Gulf Coast, and another bird wasfound at Lake Ray Hubbard CBC. Newfor Texas CBCs this decade was aHepatic Tanager on the Victoria CBCfound by David and Mark Elwonger ona TOS sanctuary. Another new species

for the decade was an AmericanGolden-Plover found on the SanBernard CBC by Jennifer Sanchez andPhil Huxford. In its fifth year in a row, theRed-throated Loon is starting to becomea regular at the Lake Tawakoni CBC.

One exciting aspect of participating inCBCs is finding the only species for acount and maybe for the state. Therewere many “exclusives” this season.Texas had many instances where onlyone individual was found, but it is stillamazing when you think about it: 2838birder days in the field and they onlyfound one individual of a species. Thiswas repeated 30 times for the season.Eleven other exclusives were reportedthat were more numerous.

The coastal CBCs above the Valleyhave the most people, CBCs, species,and exclusives in Texas. GuadalupeRiver Delta had more exclusives thanthe other CBCs. It had the only Yellow-throated Vireo, Wood Thrush, Tropical

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Parula, American Redstart, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Matagorda Countywas productive with the only BlackScoters, Manx Shearwater, and Broad-winged Hawk. Attwater’s had the onlyAttwater’s Greater Prairie-Chicken, SanBernard had an American Golden-Plover, Kenedy County had Least Terns,Freeport a repeat Eastern Whip-poor-will from last season, Bolivar Peninsulahad a Prairie Warbler, Brazos Bend aLouisiana Waterthrush, and Victoriahad a far out of range Hepatic Tanager.

The Lower Rio Grande Valley pro-duced the exciting tropical rarities.Anzalduas-Bentsen had the only Hook-billed Kite, Blue Bunting, Black-headedGrosbeak, and Black-vented Oriole.Weslaco had its own special rarities withthe only Rose-throated Becard, BankSwallows, Cliff Swallows, and Golden-crowned Warbler. Falcon Dam had theonly native Muscovy Ducks, Red-billedPigeon, and Brown Jay, and Brownsvillethe only Crimson-collared Grosbeak.

Our western CBCs had their own setof unique species. Davis Mountains hadthe most of these with the onlyMontezuma Quail, Band-tailed Pigeon,and Western Screech-Owl. Lubbock hadthe only Ring-necked Pheasants,McNary the only California Gull, ElPaso the only Glaucous Gull, Big BendN. P. the only Gray Flycatcher, ChisosMountains the only Mexican Jays, andthe Guadalupe Mountains had the onlyJuniper Titmouse.

Lake Tawakoni has developed its ownset of rarities with the only Red-throatedLoons and Smith’s Longspurs this season.Spring Creek produced its traditionalRed-cockaded Woodpecker, and Muleshoeproduced the only Cassin’s Finch.

What about the rare species weexpected to locate, but missed thisseason? There were only 13 speciesmissed that are typically reported on 70percent of the seasons ; Long-tailed Duck,Purple Gallinule, Wilson’s Phalarope,Groove-billed Ani, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Williamson’s Sapsucker, GreatCrested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird,Northern Shrike, Plumbeous Vireo,Tennessee Warbler, ProthonotaryWarbler, and Baltimore Oriole.

I review population trends of speciesreported each season by comparing theresults of the season for each species tothe average number reported for the pre-vious 10 years. I view a population aschanged if it varies from the average of aspecies greater than one standard devia-tion; i.e., White-fronted Goose 10-yearaverage = 27,158, standard deviation =13,000, this season = 11,652 = popula-tion decrease.

Most of Texas only received one-thirdof its normal rainfall in 2011. The pre-ceding year was about average and theyear before that was another severedrought that covered about three-fourths of the state. The difference in2009 to the worst drought of this pastseason was that the coast received 10

inches of rain before the CBC season,which filled many wetlands, and in2011 all shallow non-tidal wetlandswere dry and bay salinities were at fullsea strength.

This influenced Texas CBCs to report26 percent infraspecific forms as aboveaverage, and 22 percent below averagethis season. Compared to last seasonwith average rainfall, they reported 30percent of species increasing and 4percent decreasing, with 24 percentincreasers and 14 percent decreasers inthe preceding season’s severe drought.With a high percent of Texas winterbirds originating from more northernstates and Canada, which had an aboveaverage rainfall year, this made for acomplicated mix of above averagenumbers of migrants. These migrantswere produced under good nesting con-ditions and they arrived on parched win-tering grounds. The results were thatducks, loons, grebes, pelicans, raptors,plovers, shorebirds, terns, doves,hummers, and orioles were generallyabove average (deep water sites that didnot dry out held many ducks). Raptornumbers were extremely high in coastalcounties; many deaths were related tovehicle collisions while birds foragedalong highways. The drought dried allshallow wetlands and reduced the avail-ability of irrigation water, which is nor-mally sold to duck hunting clubs. Thedrought also lowered the water levels ofsome normally deep lakes to optimumdepths of many waterbirds. The result ofthis situation was high numbers ofshorebirds on the Guadalupe RiverDelta CBC. On the other extreme, theKenedy County CBC waterfowlnumbers dropped from 110,000 lastseason to 8000 this season when salini-ties in the Laguna Madre rose from 22to 55 parts per thousand (35 is seastrength) during the drought.

Herons, egrets, rails, flycatchers, vireos,swallows, titmice, wrens, gnatcatchers,and warblers were generally lower innumber than average. Parched marshescreated very poor winter conditions formany wetland birds. Dry pastures

THE 112TH CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT AMERICAN BIRDS 87

Brown Jay (Psilorhinus morio), Falcon Dam and S.P., Texas. Photo/Brandon K. Percival

resulted in record lows of Cattle Egretswith a number of CBCs missing themfor the first time in their history.Drought created dismal conditions forinsectivores. Populations were generallysuppressed and a number of normallyexpected species were absent.

Brief summaries from Special Aspectsreports are provided here to characterizeconditions as described by compilers:Panhandle region had very dry rangeland practically devoid of birdlife withmany area lakes dry, but some dryinglakes created unusual waterbird situa-tions. The Trans Pecos region wasseverely impacted by drought and wild-fires causing low populations. TheRolling Plains region had an invasion ofwestern and southwestern species thatmight have been influenced by droughtand fires in those areas. Some CBCs hadlittle or no water. The Edwards Plateauregion reported western birds pushedinto area because of drought and fires.The Post Oak Savannah region reportednorthern portion received fall rainswhich helped increase waterfowl counts,but insectivorous birds were scarce. ThePineywoods region had mixed resultsfrom drought and fires. The CoastalPrairie and Marshes region had oneCBC with 30 percent of area burned.Dry wetlands prevailed throughout andthere was an invasion by western speciesand raptors. The drought appeared tosuppress some bird numbers. The SouthTexas brushlands reported high salinitiesin bays with some CBCs having highspecies diversity, especially Weslaco andCorpus Christi–Flour Bluff.

Data were examined for select speciesto determine if observed species popula-tions were more the result of the Texassituations or broader continental events.

The 4511 Red-tailed Hawks were 12percent above the highest tally for thedecade in Texas, and the United Statesreported about 58,000 this season. Texasreported 3813 last season while theUnited States had about 65,000. Thus,the continental population appeared todecline while record numbers werebeing reported across Texas.

The 240 White-eyed Vireos were 50percent lower than the smallest tally thispast decade. Florida, which is also agood winter ground for this species, hada normal year by reporting 758. Texasreported 746 last season while Florida727. The decline in Texas did not appearto be part of a continental change.

The 1555 Tree Swallows reported thisseason was the second lowest for thedecade while Florida, which is an impor-tant wintering area for this species, hadabout 1,800,000. Texas reported 5263last season and Florida 1,205,611. Lownumbers in Texas did not appear to bepart of a broader trend.

The 151 Green-tailed Towheesreported were 50 percent higher than itsprevious highest tally for the decade.The 15 CBCs that had unusually highnumbers of this species were mostly nearthe Gulf Coast, and seven CBCs experi-encing unusually low numbers werefrom far West Texas in the Trans Pecos.The normal South Texas winter areashad normal numbers. Numbers to thewest of Texas were also reported lowerthan normal. There was a similar east-ward movement of this species in Texasduring the 80th CBC season, butweather conditions were not discussedin that Texas CBC report.

The 897 Spotted Towhees reportedwere 60 percent higher than the previ-ous high tally this decade, and thesecond highest tally ever in Texas. Therecord count occurred during anotherdrought. Twenty-five CBCs had unusu-ally high numbers this season with mostof those in the Edwards Plateau andCoastal Prairie. Seven had unusually lownumbers and were from western Texas,but not all of the West Texas CBCs hadbelow-average numbers.

The 1178 Lincoln’s Sparrow reportedwas the lowest tally since the 70thseason. No CBC had an unusually highnumber. Numbers outside of Texasappear lower than normal.

The 5409 Harris’s Sparrows reportedwere twice as high as the previous recordthis decade, and no Texas CBC had anunusually low number. Numbers outside

of Texas appear to be higher than normal.High numbers in Texas appear relatedto an overall population increase.

Warblers occurred in relatively lowdiversity with only 21 species reported,which is seven below the record postedduring the 103rd CBC season.Guadalupe River Delta had the mostspecies with 13. This was followed by 12at both Matagorda County and Weslaco.

This was not an “irruptive” year fornorthern seedeaters. There were nocrossbills or western jays. Purple Finch,Pine Siskin, and American Goldfinchoccurred in normal numbers. SageThrasher occurred in above-averagenumbers, and Mountain Bluebirdsoccurred farther east than normal, butthe total for Texas was in its normalrange.

Species tallies at Matagorda County,Guadalupe River Delta, and Weslacowere much higher than expected, whilemost other CBCs reported more modestnumbers for their area. The combina-tion of an eastern dispersal of westernspecies and lingering migrants con-tributed to their success. The extremedrought in Texas, the above average pre-cipitation in Canada and northern statesappeared to have some affects on popu-lations. However, they could not be usedto explain all seasonal changes and therelikely were several other factors influenc-ing populations.

The most common species this seasonwere Red-tailed Hawk and MourningDove, tallied on 106 of the 109 CBCs.American Kestrel and House Sparrowoccurred on 104, and NorthernMockingbird and Northern Cardinal 103.

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Tropical Parula (Setophaga pitiayumi),Weslaco, Texas. Photo/Brandon K. Percival

In closing, I would like to thank all ofthe compilers, birders, conservationorganizations, land managers, and spon-sors who make the results reported herepossible.

MONTANADaniel CaseyAmerican Bird Conservancy

33 Second Street East, Suite 10

Kalispell, MT 59901

dcasey@abcbirds.org

Montana CBC weather was fairlymild overall; six counts stayed abovefreezing all day, and only eight stayedbelow freezing. Chester had the high,56°F, and Big Hole the low, minus 9degrees Fahrenheit. Counts averaged 1to 6 inches of snow, with the deepest (36in.) at West Yellowstone. Although therewere some exceptional finds, none of the146 species reported on 31 counts werenew to the state CBC list. Bigfork tallieda new all-time Montana high of 90species; Stevensville and Missoula eachrecorded 85. With effort and luck, willone of these counts soon break the 100-species barrier? The excellent new highof 73 species at Ennis included fourcount firsts: Virginia Rail (2), Barn Owl,American Three-toed Woodpecker, andGray Catbird. There were 37 othercount firsts established statewide,including Red-necked Grebe andNorthern Saw-Whet Owl at GlacierN.P., both Ross’s and Snow goose atBozeman, Canvasback (2) at Libby, andCooper’s Hawk at Miles City. TheGrant-Kohrs count led the state with 23new high count totals and five newspecies in this, their sixth year.

Common Montana breeding speciesthat are exceedingly rare (e.g. Blue-winged Teal, Chipping Sparrow) orabsent (e.g. Swainson’s Hawk) in winterare reported without details nearlyannually, usually by less experiencedobservers. This year was no exception. Iremind compilers to seek details orphotos for these out-of-season reports,which will otherwise be dropped fromcount results. Luckily, a few of this year’snotable rarities were well documented

with photographs (e.g. Barn Owl, countweek Cape May Warbler) and/ordetailed descriptions (e.g. SpottedSandpiper).

Great Falls hosted more than one-fifth(13,106) of all the Canada Geesereported statewide. Five Cackling Geeseat Fort Peck were the only ones reportedand were joined by two Snow Geese,one of each color morph. The total of 66Trumpeter Swans at West Yellowstonewas down 66 percent from the 10-yearaverage for this count. Five TundraSwans at Troy was a new high countthere; the species was found on just fivecounts, with 92 percent of them (272) atBigfork. A single Blue-winged Teal wasreported (with marginal details) atEureka, where “count day was perhapsthe mildest weather in the history of thecount.” The only Spruce Grousereported were two at Upper Swan Valley.Hamilton had a five-year low count ofCalifornia Quail (189), andStevensville’s total (383) was also welldown from last year’s peak (658). CBCdata are the primary dataset in ongoingdeliberations regarding this species’addition to the official state list.

Twenty Golden Eagles at Lewistownand 19 at Livingston (Park County)contributed to a new high total of 129statewide. Single Gyrfalcons were newto the Big Hole and Bowdoin N.W.R.counts; another was found at NinepipeN.W.R., where they have been seen six

of the past 20 years. An injuredAmerican White Pelican on the ClarkCanyon Dam count expired less thantwo weeks later; previous state CBCrecords (e.g., Great Falls in 2006) havealso represented sick or injured birds.

The Spotted Sandpiper at Stevensvillewas the second for that count and thefourth CBC record for Montana. A first-winter Glaucous-winged Gull that over-wintered was new to the Kalispell count;there are two previous CBC records(Fort Peck). It was a banner year forSnowy Owls, with 15 on eight counts.They were new to the Big Hole andMiles City counts. The Barn Owl pho-tographed at Ennis was the second stateCBC record of a species whose winter(and overall) distribution in the state isstill relatively poorly known.Remarkably, count week hummingbirdswere reported from both Missoula andKalispell, none confirmed to species(likely Anna’s). Three lingering Lewis’sWoodpeckers were reported fromcounts where they are most expected:two from Missoula and one atHamilton.

A Mountain Bluebird was foundcount week at Yellowstone. The 89Townsend’s Solitaires at Warm Springsmore than doubled their previous high,but the number paled in comparisonwith the 234 at Bozeman, which thatcompiler attributed to much better cov-erage of foothills habitats. Well-docu-

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Count circles inMONTANA

mented Hermit Thrushes (four previousCBC records) were new to the Bozemanand McNeil Slough counts. GrayCatbird was new at Ennis, but, perhapssurprisingly, has occurred on 10 previ-ous Montana counts. A Cape MayWarbler photographed in Helena justtwo days prior to the count was notfound count day, but established a firststate winter record. Missoula andBillings (2) had the only Yellow-rumpedWarblers. Both counts also had singleWhite-crowned Sparrows, as did ClarkCanyon Dam. Seven White-throatedSparrows were reported, from fivecounts, with two each at Bigfork and atMissoula, which hosted the only Harris’sSparrow. The (Red) Fox Sparrow pho-tographed by Dave Allen at Chester wasthe first so well documented, in spite ofnumerous previous CBC reports aroundthe state. It was present for more thantwo months. Two hundred LaplandLongspurs at Three Forks were the onlyones reported. Spotted Towhee andCommon Grackle (one each) were newfor the Helena count.

The 26 Hoary Redpolls on fivecounts comprised 1.4 percent of all

(1865) redpolls reported on 24 counts,which seems reasonable for a mildirruption year. But reports includedsparse details at best, and we may neverknow whether the number of Hoariesthat go undetected in flocks balancesout those bright male CommonRedpolls misidentified as Hoaries.

Thank you to the nearly 600observers who tallied more than 1200party hours in the field, and to all thecompilers, for persevering through a yetanother trying data entry process.Admirably, Fritz Prellwitz again single-handedly ran the Little RockyMountains count, where (numbers of )“small birds were greatly reduced fromwhat would be expected.” Here’s hopinghe will get more support in future yearsthere. Seasonal distribution changes areafoot, and we want to describe themwith confidence. So kudos to theStevensville observers that described theSpotted Sandpiper there in great detail,and to everyone else who sent photosand details for rarities.

IDAHOCharles Swift414 South Lincoln Street

Moscow, ID 83843

chaetura@gmail.com

Idaho birders conducted 27 countsduring the count period, and 26 countsare summarized here. The period wasdecidedly average in terms of rarities andoverall diversity, but interesting earlywinter phenomena and ongoing trendsin bird populations were as always dis-cernible. Party hours increased slightlyand total observers increased by 20percent, indicating continued growth inparticipation statewide. Two new countsare scheduled to start in the upcomingperiod, Challis in east-central Idaho anda count centered near Kendrick innorth-central Idaho. I look forward toincluding them in this summary in2013.

The northwest, including much ofIdaho, experienced one of its driestDecembers on record, resulting in lowsnowpacks in most parts of the state by

the count period. The fairly benignweather pattern before and during thecount period may have resulted in thefairly mundane species totals and lack ofrarities. This despite generally favorablecount day conditions that should intheory bolster count results. Althoughthe causes of species presence (orabsence) during the count period arevaried and complex, it seems that countperiods preceded by cold snaps producehigher species diversity and morerarities.

The 164 species reported statewide isclose to the five-year average (165.8)with total individuals increasing by 30percent over the previous period toalmost 457,000. As usual the change intotal individuals is largely attributable tothe fluctuation in numbers of CanadaGeese and Mallards on a handful ofcounts. These two species increased thisyear by close to 120,000 primarily onthree Snake River plain counts:Hagerman Valley, Bruneau, and Nampa.

90 AMERICAN BIRDS

Count circles inIDAHO

Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca), Chester,Montana. Photo/Dave Allen

Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus), NinepipeN.W.R., Montana. Photo/Dan Casey

Bruneau scored top count honors with96 species, with two other counts—Nampa (93), and Lewiston-Clarkston(91)—also breaking 90 species. Asalways much credit goes to count com-pilers and participants for efforts vitallyimportant to furthering the understand-ing of population trends and winterphenomena, and for aiding in the con-servation of Idaho’s birds. Following is areview of count highlights (and low-lights) in roughly taxonomic order.

Red-necked Grebes appear to havealmost entirely disappeared as a winter-ing species in Idaho with only sevenreported, whereas the count as recentlyas five years ago was 140. The reasonsfor the decline are unknown and worthinvestigating. American Kestrelnumbers fluctuate but have generallyincreased over the past 10 years record-ing a new high (840) this year. Rare gullswere scarce (perhaps partly due to land-fill access issues) with only count weekMew and Thayer’s gulls and Glaucous-winged Gull (2) on two Treasure ValleyCounts. Idaho benefited from the wide-spread Snowy Owl irruption with indi-viduals present on two counts, Nampa(2) and Lewiston-Clarkston (1), theformer enjoyed by many southern Idahobirders. Eurasian Collared-Dovesincreased, as they have done every yearsince appearing in the state, by 37percent to 3259; only three wererecorded in 2004–2005 and the countexceeded 1000 (1523) for the first timejust three years ago.

Red-breasted Nuthatches (556) werefound in near record numbers despitelittle evidence of an irruption fromlower elevation counts. Townsend’sSolitaires (137) were similarly in nearrecord numbers bolstered by high talliesfrom three eastern Idaho counts (IdahoFalls, Pocatello, and Teton Valley). Awell-documented Wilson’s Warbler,only the second ever for an Idaho count,was a big surprise at Bonner’s Ferry upnear the Canadian border. Nampareported an impressive 15 Orange-crowned Warblers, surely the winterhotspot for this species in Idaho. Idaho

had its best irruption of CommonRedpolls (950) since 2001, as well asone of the better irruptions of PineSiskins (803) in recent years. LesserGoldfinch populations have increasedmarkedly in Boise and the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley, resulting in a recordcount of 335 with small numbers ofprospecting birds on four other counts.Indian Mountain in the panhandlereported two Rusty Blackbirds in an areaproviding a number of previous winterrecords. Thanks and good birding!

WYOMING/UTAHKeith Evans4826 Kiwana Drive

South Ogden, UT 84403

bkevans4@comcast.net

For the 112th Christmas Bird Count,19 count circles were reviewed forWyoming and 25 count circles for Utah.One new count was established in ParkCity, Utah (UTPC). The region experi-enced a mild winter; however, a coupleof cold fronts froze much of the openwater just prior to the count period.

Again this season, Utah had very lowcounts of Bohemian Waxwings, withonly 12 on three counts. Wyoming’sBohemian Waxwing count was down by34 percent from CBC-111, with 1329

observed on five counts. The Red-tailedHawk is the most abundant raptor inboth Wyoming and Utah. Looking atthe last 10 count years, the Red-tailedHawk in Wyoming was at its lowest onCBC-103 (49 on 12 count circles) andsteadily increased to a high of 164 on 18count circles on CBC-109. This year,129 were reported on 13 counts, slightlyhigher than the 10-year average of 108individuals. In Utah, no trend in Red-tailed Hawks was apparent; however,there was a high of 806 reported (on 23counts) on CBC-110. This year, 566were counted on 22 circles, which ishigher than the 10-year average of 528.Birding in northern Utah during theperiod just before the CBC-112 countperiod, I had the impression this wasgoing to be a “good” year for Rough-legged Hawks; however, the Utah countof 116 on 16 counts was very close tothe 10-year average of 113 individuals.One Winter Wren was reported duringthe count week in Cheyenne, Wyoming.I’m unsure if eastern Wyoming is in thePacific Wren range or the Winter Wrenrange. I would appreciate hearing fromsomeone who has studied the winteringranges after the split between WinterWren and Pacific Wren. Documentationof any winter sightings of both Winter

THE 112TH CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT AMERICAN BIRDS 91

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