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		Points of View December 30, 2001 Guest Column © 2001 Susan Robinson Published with Permission Photo of warbler © 2001 Joe Kaplan. Published with Permission

2001 Christmas Bird Count Results for Houghton, Keweenaw Counties

By Susan Robinson

Saturday, December 15th, was a nearly perfect winter day for the 26th Copper Country Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Blue skies, above freezing temperatures, and ice-free waters accompanied the birders for most of the morning, with afternoon clouds rolling into the area. Houghton County did not have as many observers participating as the previous year, but we did accomplish a new record: 47 species counted! (46 species in 2000).

Keweenaw County birders scheduled their first official bird count for Sunday, Dec. 16th. The two birders, Jim Rooks of Copper Harbor and Janet Hewett-Fountain of Lac La Belle, compiled 32 species, with an additional five or six species in an addendum period of 24 hours. 

Rooks said the weather on Dec. 16 was cold with intermittent rain, but "a great day to see birds."

Cape May warbler among birds observed in Houghton County

Observers in Houghton County covered a 15-mile-diameter circle and searched the areas from south of Chassell to the South Entry of the Portage Canal, to the Houghton County  Airport, Cole's Creek, Rabbit Bay and the villages of both Houghton and Hancock. Here are some of the highlights and birds observed:

• The most unusual bird recorded was a warbler. Initially, it was very difficult to pin a definite identification on the bird. Several keen birders viewed it at very close range and decided it was a Cape May warbler! 

A Cape May warbler feeds in the front yard of a house in the Brooklyn location (near Baltic). Joe Kaplan said Bill Deephouse noticed the warbler on the Christmas Bird Count. Kaplan went to see it the next day and took this photo. (Photo copyright and courtesy Joe Kaplan)

Joe Kaplan not only viewed the warbler but took a photo of it (above). Kaplan noted the Cape May warbler is an uncommon breeding species in this area (It breeds in spruce stands). 

"The birds typically migrate through our area in August and  September," Kaplan explained. "Previous late records for the Keweenaw include 28 Sept 1986 (Agate Harbor), 14 October 1995 (Copper Harbor),  and 11 November 1993 (a bird at a feeder in the Traprock Valley). So to have one into December is really outstanding." 

• Lots of waterfowl: mergansers (common and hooded), mallards, a ring-necked duck, some long-tailed ducks (formerly called oldsquaw), and an American widgeon.
 
• Birds of prey: a barred owl (near the Chassell-Painesdale Road), several bald eagles along the Portage, and a rough-legged hawk in the Sturgeon Sloughs. Also, a snowy owl was seen the previous day in Houghton near the Courthouse. 
 
• Finches: Pine grosbeaks, evening grosbeaks, a purple finch and lots of common redpolls seen in the Chassell area. A white-throated sparrow was seen in the Atlantic Mine region, and snow buntings were recorded, too.
 
• A northern shrike was seen along the Pike River Road, and lots of bohemian waxwings recorded, but no cedar waxwings were to be found. Several ruffed grouse, one belted kingfisher, and a Brewer's blackbird (in Atlantic Mine) were viewed. 
 
• Lots of the usual winter species were recorded nearly everywhere the birders traveled: black-capped chickadees, both white and red-breasted nuthatches, mourning doves, and hairy and downy woodpeckers. A pileated woodpecker was seen in Hancock, too.

Northern cardinal among species seen in Keweenaw County

• Waterfowl: common goldeneye, red-breasted and hooded mergansers, and long-tailed ducks.
 
• Birds of prey: three bald eagles. (During the addendum period a great horned owl and a barred owl were also observed.)
 
• Finches: Pine grosbeaks, pine siskins, purple finches, one dark-eyed junco (Brockway Mountain), American goldfinches, a tree sparrow, and a northern cardinal (Copper Harbor, addendum period).
 
• A common snipe was recorded, as well as ruffed grouse (Brockway Mtn.).
 
• Two cedar waxwings were seen, a pileated woodpecker, and two white-breasted nuthatches. Lots of black-capped chickadees were also listed.
 
• Three tiny golden-crowned kinglets were seen, too!

Rooks, who has been doing the Christmas count on his own for 20 years, said having another birder meant an increase in the number of species observed in Keweenaw County.

"We actually saw one third more birds," he said. "I am never surprised at what I get here in Copper Harbor."

Rooks noted birds don't follow a pattern but are "where you find them." He said he hopes next year to have an official bird count and section off parcels for birders to cover, as they do in Houghton County.

"We'll need more people to cover those," he added.

In Houghton County, another birder and I observed that most of the feeders we saw were empty! The birds are dependent on the feeders for their food source, and if they cannot find food they will either seek it elsewhere or starve. Please try to keep your feeders filled and remember our "feathered friends" that give us so much pleasure and enjoyment throughout the year!

Learn more about the author of this guest column, Susan Robinson.

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