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 The results are in from the fifth South Fork Kern River Rapid Assessment Summer
Bird Count and the numbers are not looking good. Whether the trend is because
the area is suffering from 50% of normal rainfall and only 26% of normal
snowpack runoff only time will tell. Although this effort does show some trends,
the entire 5 year trend is hard to assess due to fluctuations in numbers of
birders in the field and an uneven distribution of territories covered.
Overall
when comparing all years, the trend shows a 50% downward trend in numbers of
individuals, while when comparing the similar effort year 2002 to 2007, the
numbers improve only slightly with a 45% downward trend. Some of this is
expected with waterfowl relatively non-existent this year and hummingbird
numbers differing from extrapolated data off hummingbird feeder consumption to
actual field counts, but species like Song Sparrow and Red-winged Blackbird are
down significantly while Yellow Warblers
 numbers continue to climb. The chart
for Yellow Warbler numbers is particularly significant when comparing the number
of individuals in 2002 and 2007. The number of field observers was closely
matched those years, yielding an accurate comparison of individuals in the
forest. The population appears to have almost tripled in 5 years. (Other years
had up to 7 times the number of observers skewing the results higher in those
years).
Future census efforts might include two day censuses of the same territories or
larger numbers of field participants. What is apparent is that this effort
should be repeated next year to see if the trend is actually down and matching
the downward trend of common bird numbers across the nation or if it is a
statistical anomaly caused by the extreme drought. Tune in next year!
Alison Sheehey - Audubon California Kern River
Preserve
Complete data from Bob
Barnes:
TIME/DATE: 1:15am-11:30am, Saturday, July 7, 2007
TEMPERATURE: 56F-90F HUMIDITY: 74%-40%
OBSERVERS: 14 observers in 8 count parties - Linda Anderson, Margaret
Anderson, Bob Barnes, Wes Fritz, Cher Hollingsworth, Mark Holmgren, Bruce Kautz,
Judy Kautz, Michael McQuerrey, David Pavlik, Roy Poucher, Alison Sheehey, John
Schmitt, Mary Whitfield
PARTY HOURS: 42.5
COVERAGE AREA: Rapid assessment of c. 4000
acres of Audubon-California's Kern River Preserve, California Department of Fish
& Game acreage flanking the valley portion of Fay Ranch Road, and Sequoia
National Forest's South Fork Wildlife Area
KEY: CAPITAL LETTERS = California Partners In Flight's Riparian Habitat
Joint Venture Bird Conservation Plan Target Species, (PIF XX) = Partners in
Flight conservation ranking
 91
SPECIES, 3722 INDIVIDUALS: Wood Duck 2, Mallard 6, Ring-necked Pheasant 4,
Wild Turkey 2, California Quail 167 (PIF 20), Clark's Grebe 8, Western/Clark's
Grebe 150, Double-crested Cormorant 1, Great Blue Heron 45, Great Egret 2, Green
Heron 2, Turkey Vulture 7, Osprey 7, White-tailed Kite 2, Cooper's Hawk 2,
Red-shouldered Hawk 19, Red-tailed Hawk 18, Golden Eagle 2, American Kestrel 17,
American Coot 2, California Gull 46, Caspian Tern 2, Eurasian Collared-Dove 2,
Mourning Dove 142, YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO 5, Greater Roadrunner 7, Barn Owl 4,
Western Screech-Owl 1, Great Horned Owl 14, Black-chinned Hummingbird 10, Anna's
Hummingbird 28, Selasphorus hummingbird 2, hummingbird species 2,
Nuttall's Woodpecker 56 (PIF 20), Downy Woodpecker 22, Hairy Woodpecker 6,
Northern Flicker 45, Western Wood-Pewee 165, WILLOW FLYCATCHER 22, Pacific-slope
Flycatcher 3, Black Phoebe 14, Say's Phoebe 5, Ash-throated Flycatcher 89,
Western Kingbird 44, Loggerhead Shrike 6, WARBLING VIREO 6, Western Scrub-Jay
15, American Crow 4, Common Raven 103, Horned Lark 4, Tree Swallow 344,
Violet-green Swallow 9, Northern Rough-winged Swallow 3, Barn Swallow 2, Cliff
Swallow 72, Oak Titmouse 25 (PIF 22), Bushtit 74, White-breasted Nuthatch 11,
Cactus Wren 1, Rock Wren 2, Bewick's Wren 60, House Wren 68, Western Bluebird
13, American Robin 24, Northern Mockingbird 7, European Starling 64, Phainopepla
1, Northern Parula 1, YELLOW WARBLER 311, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT 149,
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT 21, Summer Tanager 24, Spotted Towhee 12, California Towhee
6 (PIF 18), Rufous-crowned Sparrow 2 (PIF 18), Lark Sparrow 90, Sage Sparrow 2,
Savannah Sparrow 19, SONG SPARROW 129, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK 14, BLUE GROSBEAK
67, Lazuli Bunting 42, Red-winged Blackbird 98, Western Meadowlark 4, Brewer's
Blackbird 49, Great-tailed Grackle 20, Brown-headed Cowbird 146, Hooded Oriole
2, Bullock's Oriole 71, House Finch 145, Lesser Goldfinch 153, Lawrence's
Goldfinch 24 (PIF 24), House Sparrow 2 |
