The annual Christmas Audubon bird count began on Dec. 14 and ended last Friday, on Jan. 5, and many of you asked how to see the final tallies. They are interesting for sure and I came across an article from Canada noting that a Limpkin, like the one in the cover photo above, was spotted in a Windsor, Ontario park--not far from Detroit--for the first time since the count began in 1900! This rare find is remarkable for so far north. In fact, the Limpkin is much more likely to be found in the Gulf Coast states, from Texas to Louisiana to Florida--three were spotted here in Houston during the count.
This speaks to a warmer world, certainly, and is an important part of the bird count--not just how many birds are out there and their species, but where they are. Then it’s up to scientists to figure out why they are where they are! What migration patterns are changing and why?
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So, how many birds were counted? 10,964,917 among 755 different counts from Canada to the US to Central America and Mexico.
That’s a lot of birds! And you can see the counts or the species right here.
In Houston, 131 species of birds were counted, including those 3 Limpkins. Here’s an example of Houston’s page followed by that Limpkin spotting:
So get to scrolling and learn more about just how many birds and what kind there are around the world! You can find more from Audubon right here.
Frank
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