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Feb. 3, 2011
The 111th Audubon Christmas Bird Count, an effort that utilizes volunteers throughout the Americas to collect bird data, took place recently. It was the 40th such bird count conducted in Garrett County, which has participated in the event since 1950.
Unlike last year’s CBC, which was hampered by blizzard conditions, this year’s bird watching was considered by the Audubon Society to be a success. Thanks to temperatures that ranged between 15 and 26 degrees Fahrenheit, minimal winds, and snow that measured between two to eight inches deep throughout the area, many birds were sited.
During the specified count day, the bird watchers found 58 species of birds. Four other species were seen during the count period. The Garrett County average of species noted for the CBC is 58.
Thirteen field observers logged in 321 miles by car and 12 miles on foot, as they searched their assigned territories for birds. In the field, the group spent 19.5 hours on foot and 35 hours by car for a total of 54.5 hours in the field. The participants included Caroline and Neal Blizzard, Kevin Dodge, Courtney Englar, Aaron Holochwost, Alan and Kyle Klotz, Mikey and Jo Anna Lutmerding, Bill and Fran Pope, Connie Skipper, and Becky Wilson.
Three stationary watchers, Barbara Skipper, Mike Speranzella, and Ashley Rodeheaver, spent seven hours counting birds at their bird feeders.
With Deep Creek Lake 99 per cent frozen, the waterfowl species count suffered, as the frozen waters prompt the birds to migrate. The waterfowl that were found were spotted in moving water such as the Youghiogheny River and a few unfrozen inlets of Deep Creek Lake. Twelve species of waterfowl (20% of all species found in the area) were counted.
