2021 Christmas Bird Count

Happy New Years to all you birders,

Several of you participated in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count that I conduct at Huguenot and Kinsley Plantation on December 26, 2021. We also had help from Adam and Gina Kent of Gainesville and Cody Limber who was visiting his grandfather while on Christmas break from his Yale Ornithology doctorate. We identified 61 species at Huguenot and an additional 13 species at the Kingsley Plantation area that were new for the day. The highlight was the rare Lapland Longspur that had not been reported for 12 days prior to the 26th. The bird actually found us and posed on a rope barrier as we walked on the backside of the dunes. I attached 2 of the photos taken in close range of less than 20 feet. We had large numbers of Dunlin and Semipalmated Sandpipers that in the case of the Dunlin totaled 489.

Our next field trip is Saturday January 29th,2022 at Okefenokee. Please save that date on your calendars. I am leading that trip with Pat Murphy of Duval Audubon so sign up on their website if possible. Currently they do not place a limit on the size of the group.

Good birding,

Bill George

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