Chirps and Cheeps

Today was the CBC (Christmas Bird Count) day for the Hamburg and East Aurora areas.  I was enlisted to count in Area D, East Aurora, having been asked to fill-in for Joe M. who regularly counts that area. I was happy to find out that my assignment included Sinking Ponds, one of my very favorite and regular places to bird!

Nonetheless, I was quite nervous that my sub-pro birding skills would not do the count justice or that my broken rib would keep me from a hearty try. I shouldn't have worried so much though because, as it turned out, it was a horrible day, weather-wise.  The morning began with over a foot of snow on the ground - and it continued to fall heavily throughout the rest of the day. With the snow falling and swirling all around and the dim light, it was challenging to see anything. I was lucky to find any birds to count!

After I spent a couple of hours trekking around Sinking Ponds, my 2 new expert birder friends, Mike and Ron, came by and helped out with the rest of the count area. Mike drove the village streets while Ron and I watched for feeders. We picked up a few song birds by some of the feeders we spotted, but sadly, almost all of the feeders in East Aurora were empty of food!  I think the economy is hurting our bird friends; the rising cost of seed has caused a lot of folks to make concessions.

Our complete list included:

• Canada Goose - 370
• Mallard - 6
• Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
• Pileated Woodpecker - 1
  
• American Crow - 4
• Black-capped Chickadee - 14
• Tufted Titmouse - 2
• Swamp Sparrow - 2
• Dark-eyed Junco - 3
• Northern Cardinal - 1
• American Goldfinch - 7