{"id":2886,"date":"2012-12-20T13:46:19","date_gmt":"2012-12-20T18:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/glenprovidencepark.org\/?p=2886"},"modified":"2012-12-20T13:48:40","modified_gmt":"2012-12-20T18:48:40","slug":"christmas-bird-count-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenprovidencepark.org\/2012\/12\/20\/christmas-bird-count-2012\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Bird Count 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a beautiful, crisp, sunny winter morning for our second year participating in the Christmas Bird Count<\/a> in Glen Providence Park.<\/strong>\u00a0 Our 8:30 start was after that of some dog walkers, so our four-legged friends may have scared off some birds- we counted a total of 80 birds of 15 species<\/strong>.\u00a0 While it was our second year, it was the 113th year for the CBC<\/strong>– the world\u2019s longest-running Citizen Science survey<\/a>!<\/p>\n

The frost and lighting were absolutely lovely, and it was a peaceful way to spend a December morning.\u00a0 In keeping with the season, we saw evergreen Christmas fern<\/strong> and American Holly<\/strong>.\u00a0 And we watched two White-tailed bucks<\/strong> as they made their way through the undergrowth and up the hill- they are always so much more impressive seen while hiking in the woods than from a car! \u00a0Other enchanting sights included\u00a0a shower of “petals” fluttering down on us from the fruit of a Tuliptree high above, <\/strong>the morning\u00a0light illuminating a pine tree,<\/strong>\u00a0the curious gnarled bark of a tree,<\/strong> and some moss peaking out from some frosted leaves<\/strong> – there is always something to see in the park!<\/p>\n

As for the birds, we enjoyed watching\u00a0two\u00a0pairs of Mallards swimming in the pond,<\/strong> three species of woodpecker,<\/strong> and more of the usual winter suspects<\/strong> (but oddly no sparrows!). \u00a0They are all charming to see. Our complete list is below- next year we will set an earlier start time for our Christmas Bird Count!<\/p>\n

Click on any photo below for a closer look, or scroll through the photos for a virtual tour.\u00a0 For more bird photos, visit our Wildlife Album on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here is our official Christmas Bird Count list for Saturday, December 15, 2012:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mallard 36
\nMourning Dove 3
\nBelted Kingfisher 1
\nRed-bellied Woodpecker 4
\nDowny Woodpecker 2
\nNorthern Flicker 3
\nBlue Jay 4
\nAmerican Crow 2
\nCarolina Chickadee 6
\nTufted Titmouse 5
\nWhite-breasted Nuthatch 4
\nCarolina Wren 2
\nNorthern Mockingbird 1
\nDark-eyed Junco 2
\nNorthern Cardinal 5<\/p>\n

You can compare it to the list from our 2011 Christmas Bird Count<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\t\t