2005 Morro Bay Christmas Bird Count Totals This year marked the 52nd Morro Bay Christmas Bird Count. There were approximately 41 parties covering the count circle. Together the parties spent 63 hours driving 313 miles, 192 hours walking 113 miles, 9 hours boating and kayaking 17 miles, 2 hour bicycling 4 miles, 4 hours at a feeder, and 14 hours and 17 miles owling (foot & car). The count total of 50,699 individuals was 2,732 greater than the average of the past 24 years and the total of 197 species was two shy of the 23 year average. Had the three count week species been recorded on count day, this year’s total would have been 200 species. Northern Parula and Common Grackle were new for the count and bring the cumulative (1948-2005) species count total to 312 species. Thanks to the 76 volunteers that contributed to this year’s success. A special thanks to Bert and Elaine Townsend for coordinating the count, and to the Sector Leaders Maggie Smith, Mike Stiles, and Bill Bouton for organizing the participants. [Bold = rare species or high count, CW = bird seen during Count Week, but not on count day]

Snow Goose – 4
Brant – 3437
Cackling Goose – 3
Canada Goose – 111
Wood Duck – 4
Gadwall – 3
Eurasian Wigeon – 2
American Wigeon – 1029
Mallard – 276
Blue-winged Teal – 93
Cinnamon Teal – 29
Northern Shoveler – 329
Northern Pintail – 109
Green-winged Teal – 151
Canvasback – 1
Ring-necked Duck – 44
Greater Scaup – 1
Lesser Scaup – 639
Surf Scoter – 378
Long-tailed Duck - 3
Bufflehead – 423
Common Goldeneye – 3
Hooded Merganser – 3
Common Merganser – 2
Red-breasted Merganser – 44
Ruddy Duck – 302
Wild Turkey – 84
California Quail – 498
Red-throated Loon – 1
Pacific Loon – 23
Common Loon – 49
Pied-billed Grebe – 44
Horned Grebe – 11
Eared Grebe – 169
Western Grebe – 34
Clark’s Grebe – 10
American White Pelican – 54
Brown Pelican – 626
Brandt’s Cormorant – 519
Double-crested Cormorant – 646
Pelagic Cormorant – 527
Great Blue Heron – 65
Great Egret – 67
Snowy Egret – 54
Cattle Egret -- 7
Green Heron – 3
Blk-crowned Night Heron – 42
Turkey Vulture – 468
Osprey – 1
White-tailed Kite – 32
Northern Harrier – 33
Sharp-shinned Hawk – 8
Cooper’s Hawk – 14
Accipiter sp. – 1
Red-shouldered Hawk – 49
Red-tailed Hawk – 167
Ferruginous Hawk – 11
Golden Eagle – 6
American Kestrel – 140
Merlin – 2
Peregrine Falcon – 3
Prairie Falcon – CW
Virginia Rail – 11
Sora – 6
American Coot – 906
Black-bellied Plover – 129
Snowy Plover – 65
Semipalmated Plover – 29
Killdeer – 68
Black Oystercatcher – 28
American Avocet – 97
Greater Yellowlegs – 20
Willet – 1284
Wandering Tattler - 1
Spotted Sandpiper – 4
Whimbrel – 34
Long-billed Curlew – 972
Marbled Godwit – 1401
Black Turnstone – 99
Surfbird – 2
Red Knot – 2
Sanderling – 2411
Western Sandpiper – 2954
Least Sandpiper – 3057
Dunlin -- 22
peep sp. – 35
Short-billed Dowitcher – 14
Long-billed Dowitcher – 93
Wilson’s Snipe – 8
Bonaparte’s Gull – 1
Heermann’s Gull – 1498
Mew Gull – 5
Ring-billed Gull – 749
California Gull – 74
Herring Gull – 3
Thayer’s Gull – 1
Western Gull – 715
Glaucous-winged Gull – 3
Caspian Tern – 33
Royal Tern – 13
Forster’s Tern – 1
Common Murre – 2
Rhinoceros Auklet – 2
Rock Pigeon - 353
Band-tailed Pigeon – 4
Eurasian Collared Dove – 158
Mourning Dove – 371
Greater Roadrunner – 1
Barn Owl – 8
Western Screech-Owl – 14
Great Horned Owl – 21
Burrowing Owl – 3
Spotted Owl – 2
Long-eared Owl – 3
Short-eared Owl – CW
Northern Saw-whet Owl – 4
White-throated Swift – 45
Anna’s Hummingbird – 415
Selasphorus sp. – 4
Belted Kingfisher – 13
Acorn Woodpecker – 49
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 1
Red-naped Sapsucker – 2
Red-breasted Sapsucker – 7
Nuttall’s Woodpecker – 42
Downy Woodpecker – 20
Hairy Woodpecker – 6
Northern (R-s) Flicker – 81
Black Phoebe – 184
Say’s Phoebe – 96
Cassin’s Kingbird – 6
Loggerheaded Shrike – 11
Hutton’s Vireo – 23
Steller’s Jay – 76
Western Scrub-Jay – 306
Yellow-billed Magpie – 9
American Crow – 1130
Horned Lark – 10
Swallow sp. -- 7
Tree Swallow – CW
Violet-green Swallow – CW
Chestnut-sided Chickadee – 191
Oak Titmouse – 45
Bushtit – 834
Red-breasted Nuthatch – 1
White-breasted Nuthatch – 54
Brown Creeper – 2
Rock Wren – 19
Canyon Wren – 2
Bewick’s Wren -93
House Wren – 14
Winter Wren – 3
Marsh Wren – 4
Golden-crowned Kinglet -- 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet – 475
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – 44
Western Bluebird – 167
Hermit Thrush – 111
American Robin – 90
Wrentit – 148
Northern Mockingbird – 114
Sage Thrasher – 1
California Thrasher – 27
European Starling – 3394
American Pipit – 177
Cedar Waxwing – 171
Orange-crowned Warbler – 15
Northern Parula – 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler – 339
Y-r (Aud) Warbler– 893
Y-r (Myrt) Warbler – 85
Townsend’s Warbler - 91
Common Yellowthroat – 50
Wilson’s Warbler – 4
Summer Tanager – 1
Western Tanager – 1
Spotted Towhee – 57
California Towhee – 207
Rufous-crowned Sparrow - 109
Lark Sparrow – 46
Savannah Sparrow – 104
Savannah (Lrg-billed) - 1
Fox Sparrow – 46
Song Sparrow – 122
Lincoln’s Sparrow – 18
Swamp Sparrow – 1
White-throated Sparrow – 4
White-crwnd Sparrow – 1896
Golden-crwnd Sparrow – 831
Dark-eyed Junco – 462
Red-winged Blackbird – 1412
Tricolored Blackbird – 71
Western Meadowlark – 596
Yellow-headed Blackbird – 6
Brewer’s Blackbird – 2669
Common Grackle – 1
Great-tailed Grackle – 2
Brown-headed Cowbird - 727
Purple Finch – 27
House Finch – 916
Pine Siskin – 1
Lesser Goldfinch – 146
American Goldfinch – 197
House Sparrow – 169