A Great white egret and white-cheeked pintails were spotted in the pond past Skinny Legs in Coral Bay.
ST. JOHN — A total of 36 Virgin Islands Audubon Society members and community volunteers headed out early in the morning on December 14, to take part in the 115th Annual Christmas Bird Count, coordinated by the National Audubon Society.
Local bird enthusiasts have participated in the St. John Christmas Bird Count for more than three decades. The national event was first organized in 1900 by ornithologist and National Audubon Society officer Frank Chapman. The event was a reaction to the Christmas tradition of “side hunts,” a practice which involved heading out and shooting birds. Thanks to the conservation efforts of Frank Chapman and the early years of the National Audubon Society the Christmas tradition has become a census.
December 14, 2014 through January 5, 2015 marked the dates of national the 115th Annual Bird Count, the longest running citizen science survey in the world. All over St. John on December 14, 2014 at the crack of dawn, 36 intrepid volunteers donned binoculars, cameras and note pads.
These volunteers mucked through edges of ponds, many obscured from sight by thick bush, they climbed up hills and mountains, floated in boats searching and counting birds. These 36 bird watchers counted a total of 2,084 birds representing 57 different species.
There were 12 fewer volunteers this year from last year, yet 375 more birds were sighted. Four more species of birds were seen this year as compared to last year. Weather conditions vary from year to year; last year the wind howled and rain was pervasive. Variables for each year change, yet all in all, this year’s Christmas bird count was very successful.
Mary Moroney, President of VIAS, birded in Fish Bay and watched the movement of gray kingbirds out of the mangroves into the hills and followed the sound of two Clapper Rails in an obscure wet pond.
“Although this year’s Bird Count was sort of disappointing where we counted, I enjoyed being out and searching the pond near Skinny Legs and out in Coral Bay Harbor,” said VIAS board member Judy Buchholz. “In my group were Mike Buchholz, Dana (Donkey Dana) Bartlett and Robin Gallup. Maybe it was the rain shortly before we went out or maybe the birds were just hiding, but we just didn’t see as much as we hoped for.”
“With binoculars up and expectations low we scanned the pond, hoping for a sighting,” Buchholz said. “When we did sight something, it was cause for excitement for sure. I guess the highlight was spotting five belted kingfishers, one at the pond and four in Coral Bay Harbor.”
“We also saw great white egrets, little blue heron, green heron, white-cheeked pintails and several other species,” Buchholz said. “The Christmas Bird Count is always something I really look forward to. It’s great to be part of the local effort which is, of course, part of the national effort. I like the idea that we’re all ‘citizen scientists.’”
“The birds with the high numbers were the Juvenile Brown Boobies, which do seem to be everywhere, and the Scaley-naped pigeons,” said V.I. National Park Education Specialist Laurel Brannick Bigrig.
