Annual Bird Counts

Yellow-billed cuckoos, oh my! Attendees of the KVLT bird counts in April 2019, had a great time and a beautiful morning, despite the very rough storm that went through the area the day before. Many thanks to Irvin Pitts and Dr. Bill Rogers for leading those events!

Irvin reported 43 species from the Rocky Creek in Great Falls. These included 11 species of warblers and 3 species of vireo’s. Notable species included indigo buntings and summer tanagers. His full report can be found on eBird, which is an electronic database.

Bill reported 50 species of birds from and around Landsford Canal State Park, which he said was a little down from previous years and the annual average of about 60-65 species. He suspected the weather led to the lack of hawks, besides the broadwing, and the high water in the Catawba River affected the sightings of species such as spotted sandpipers and other water birds. Notable observations were 1) he did not see any downy or pileated woodpeckers, which is something he did not ever remember happening before; and 2) he did observe a huge number of both rough-winged swallows and chimney swifts, also a phenomenon never recorded before.

Due to COVID, the 2020 Bird count was not offered as a public outing. But… it is back on in 2021!

Join us on Saturday, April 24, 2021 for our next Annual Bird Count and this time it is taking place at three locations. Irvin Pitts will be in Great Falls and Bill Rogers will be at Landsford Canal again. This year we are adding the Lindsay Pettus Greenway (LPG) with Andrew Lazenby. See more detailed information about this amazing fun day here!