DANVILLE CBC 

News release

The National Audubon Society’s Midwinter Bird Count for Danville and the surrounding area was held on Saturday, Dec.16. This was the 69th consecutive year of the count for the area. The weather was seasonable, with a low of 30 and a high of 48, and a clear sky and light wind.  

The 66 species sighted was up from the 58 species observed last year, with the number of individuals down a little over 1,000 (7,806 in 2016 vs 6,714 in 2017). One highlight was a White-eyed Vireo, sighted by Don Pelly of Mercer County. This species nests in Kentucky, but is particularly rare in winter.

The species of birds sighted were Canada Goose, Mallard Duck, Hooded Merganser, Wild Turkey, Great Blue Heron, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, American Coot, Sandhill Crane, Killdeer, Wilson’s Snipe, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Red-headed Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, American Kestrel, Eastern Phoebe, Loggerhead Shrike, White-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Winter Wren, Carolina Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, Brown Thrasher, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Palm Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, White-crowned Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Eastern Towhee, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Brown-headed Cowbird, House Finch, American Goldfinch, House Sparrow.

The 29 participants were divided into nine teams, each with a unique area in a circle with a radius of 7.5 miles centered on the Boyle County Courthouse. Team members were Jane Brantley, J.P. Brantley, Granville Cox, Thelma Cox, Neil Eklund, Virginia Eklund, Mark Galatowitsch, Bill Garriott, Mort Hoagland, Anne Lubbers, Gail Manning, Preston Miles, Eric Mount, Milton Scarborough, Patsi Trollinger, Charles Vahlkamp, Joan Newson, Lori Covey, Amanda Falk, Rob Pendygraft, Tom Lamp, Danielle LaLonde, and Lisa Smentowski of Boyle County; Don Pelly and Ben Leffew of Mercer County; Kate Slankard of Anderson County; Loren Taylor and Jim Barnard of Franklin County; and Laura Baird of Fayette County.

SO YOU KNOW

Anyone interested in participating in the 2018 Midwinter Bird Count (Saturday, Dec.15), can email bleffew@shakervillageky.org and include contact information with a phone number. Individuals can participate even if they don’t consider themselves to be  expert “birders.” The group also needs drivers and tabulators on each team.