This year marked the 51st Morro Bay Christmas Bird Count. There were approximately 36 parties covering the count circle. Together the parties spent 56 hours driving 192 miles, 204 hours walking 116 miles, 9 hours boating and kayaking 15 miles, 1 hour bicycling 3 miles, and 12 hours and 16 miles owling (foot & car). The count total of 50,603 individuals was 2,776 greater than the average of the past 23 years and the total of 198 species was one shy of the 23 year average. Had the additional eight count week species been recorded on count day, this year's total would have been 206 species. Eurasian Green-winged Teal (count week), Bald Eagle and California Condor (count week) were new for the count and bring the cumulative (1948-2003) species count total to 310 species. Thanks to the 89 volunteers that contributed to this years success. A special thanks to Bert and Elaine Townsend who coordinated the count, and the sector leaders, Alan Schmierer, Mike Stiles, Jim Royer, and Bill Bouton for organizing the participants.
Tom Edell - Compiler
Greater White-fronted Goose - 1
Snow Goose - 5
Ross's Goose - 18
Brant - 2951
Canada Goose - 150
Cackling Goose - 4
Gadwall - 7
Eurasian Wigeon - 4
American Wigeon - 996
Mallard - 315
Blue-winged Teal - 62
Cinnamon Teal - 72
Northern Shoveler - 916
Northern Pintail - 1258
Green-winged Teal - 2031
Eurasian Green-winged Teal - CW
Canvasback - 1
Ring-necked Duck - 34
Greater Scaup - 3
Lesser Scaup - 920
Surf Scoter - 1160
White-winged Scoter - 1
Scoter sp. - 1200
Long-tailed Duck - 1
Bufflehead - 506
Hooded Merganser - CW
Red-breasted Merganser - 25
Ruddy Duck - 243
Wild Turkey - 35
California Quail - 483
Red-throated Loon - 4
Pacific Loon - 160
Common Loon - 66
Loon sp. - 31
Pied-billed Grebe - 46
Horned Grebe - 12
Red-necked Grebe - 1
Eared Grebe - 75
Western Grebe - 15
Clark's Grebe - 1
Clark's/Western Grebe - 47
Pink-footed Shearwater - 20
Black-vented Shearwater - 763
Shearwater species - 25
American White Pelican - 116
Brown Pelican - 255
Brandt's Cormorant - 682
Double-crested Cormorant - 562
Pelagic Cormorant - 249
American Bittern - CW
Great Blue Heron - 70
Great Egret - 80
Snowy Egret - 80
Green Heron - CW
Black-crwnd Night Heron - 39
Turkey Vulture - 389
California Condor - CW
Osprey - 1
White-tailed Kite - 21
Bald Eagle - 1 immature
Northern Harrier - 16
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 13
Cooper's Hawk - 12
Accipiter sp. - 6
Red-shouldered Hawk - 42
Red-tailed Hawk - 125
Ferruginous Hawk - 6
Golden Eagle - 10 (8 adults)
American Kestrel - 111
Merlin - 6
Peregrine Falcon - 7
Prairie Falcon - 5
Virginia Rail - 3
Sora - 8
Common Moorhen - 1
American Coot - 1054
Black-bellied Plover - 362
Snowy Plover - 79
Semipalmated Plover - 88
Killdeer - 131
Black Oystercatcher - 22
American Avocet - 227
Greater Yellowlegs - 16
Willet - 689
Wandering Tattler - CW
Spotted Sandpiper - 5
Whimbrel - 43
Long-billed Curlew - 326
Marbled Godwit - 1074
Black Turnstone - 10
Surfbird - 12
Red Knot - 8
Sanderling - 689
Western Sandpiper - 716
Least Sandpiper - 4146
peep sp. - 220
Short-billed Dowitcher - 10
Long-billed Dowitcher - 56
dowiticher sp. - 293
Wilson's Snipe - 13
Pomarine Jaeger - 1
Bonaparte's Gull - 266
Heermann's Gull - 313
Mew Gull - 139
Ring-billed Gull - 354
California Gull - 387
Herring Gull - 5
Thayer's Gull - 1
Western Gull - 646
Glaucous-winged Gull - 4
Caspian Tern - 42
Royal Tern - 25
Forster's Tern - 105
Common Murre - 2
Rhinoceros Auklet - 2
alcid sp. - 2
Rock Pigeon - 195
Band-tailed Pigeon - 13
Eurasian Collared Dove - 76
Mourning Dove - 445
Greater Roadrunner - 1
Barn Owl - 8
Western Screech-Owl - 19
Great Horned Owl - 29
Burrowing Owl - 2
Spotted Owl - 7
Long-eared Owl - 2
Short-eared Owl - 3
Common Poorwill - 1
White-throated Swift - 85
Anna's Hummingbird - 359
Selasphorus sp. - 1
Belted Kingfisher - 11
Acorn Woodpecker - 30
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 2
Red-naped Sapsucker - 2
Red-breasted Sapsucker - 5
Nuttall's Woodpecker - 38
Downy Woodpecker - 17
Hairy Woodpecker - 15
Northern (R-s) Flicker - 130
Northern (Y-s) Flicker - CW
Black Phoebe - 178
Eastern Phoebe - 1
Say's Phoebe - 125
Cassin's Kingbird - 7
Loggerheaded Shrike - 30
Hutton's Vireo - 54
Steller's Jay - 37
Western Scrub-Jay - 357
Yellow-billed Magpie - 2
American Crow - 1418
Horned Lark - 30
Tree Swallow - 11
Violet-green Swallow - CW
Barn Swallow - 4
Chestnut-sided Chickadee - 196
Oak Titmouse - 23
Bushtit - 689
Red-breasted Nuthatch - 32
White-breasted Nuthatch - 5
Brown Creeper - 2
Rock Wren - 12
Canyon Wren - 1
Bewick's Wren -122
House Wren - 12
Winter Wren - 2
Marsh Wren - 9
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 491
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 17
Western Bluebird - 200
Hermit Thrush - 106
American Robin - 146
Wrentit - 207
Northern Mockingbird - 92
California Thrasher - 73
European Starling - 2388
American Pipit - 495
Cedar Waxwing - 34
Orange-crowned Warbler - 14
Nashville Warbler - 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 332
Y-r (Aud) Warbler- 1144
Y-r (Myrt) Warbler - 127
Townsend's Warbler - 45
Palm Warbler - 1
Black-and-white Warbler - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 64
Wilson's Warbler - 3
Spotted Towhee - 127
California Towhee - 196
Rufous-crowned Sparrow - 10
Chipping Sparrow - 1
Lark Sparrow - 18
Sage Sparrow - 11
Savannah Sparrow - 50
Savannah (Lrg-billed) - CW
Nelsons Sharp-taild Spw - CW
Fox Sparrow - 78
Song Sparrow - 175
Lincoln's Sparrow - 55
Swamp Sparrow - 1
White-throated Sparrow - 3
White-crwnd Sparrow - 1942
Golden-crwnd Sparrow - 816
Dark-eyed Junco - 195
Red-winged Blackbird - 1283
Tricolored Blackbird - 15
Western Meadowlark - 664
Brewer's Blackbird - 1389
Brown-headed Cowbird - 760
Purple Finch - 60
House Finch - 1045
Pine Siskin - 51
Lesser Goldfinch - 304
American Goldfinch - 209
House Sparrow - 130
Nutmeg Mannikin - 12