2006 Morro Bay Audubon Christmas Bird Count Totals

This year marked the 53nd Morro Bay Audubon Christmas Bird Count. There were approximately 41 parties covering the count circle. Together the parties spent 75.5 hours driving 366 miles, 168 hours walking 116 miles, 9 hours boating and kayaking 17 miles, 1 hour bicycling 5 miles, 9.5 hours at a feeder, and 7.5 hours and 13 miles owling (foot & car). The count total of 58,084 individuals was 16,534 greater than the average of the past 26 years and the total of 207 species was seven greater than the average since 1980. There were no species new to the count this year, therefore the count’s cumulative (1948-2006) species total stands at 312 species. Thanks to the 77 volunteers that contributed to this year’s success. A special thanks to Bert and Elaine Townsend for excellently coordinating the count and to the Sector Leaders Maggie Smith, Mike Stiles, and Bill Bouton for organizing the participants. Bold text indicates rare species or high counts.

Gr. White-fronted Goose – 2
Snow Goose – 7
Ross’s Goose – 5
Brant – 3506
Cackling Goose – 2
Canada Goose – 85
Wood Duck – 1
Gadwall – 52
Eurasian Wigeon – 2
American Wigeon – 1505
Mallard – 183
Blue-winged Teal – 67
Cinnamon Teal – 50
Northern Shoveler – 316
Northern Pintail – 139
Green-winged Teal – 724
Ring-necked Duck – 52
Greater Scaup – 3
Lesser Scaup – 287
scaup sp. – 200
Surf Scoter – 2030
White-winged Scoter - 2
Bufflehead – 668
Hooded Merganser – 8
Red-breasted Merganser – 33
Ruddy Duck – 612
Wild Turkey – 98
Mountain Quail – 3
California Quail – 215
Red-throated Loon – 14
Pacific Loon – 5840
Common Loon – 68
loon sp. – 5
Pied-billed Grebe – 47
Horned Grebe – 60
Red-necked Grebe – 1
Eared Grebe – 147
Western Grebe – 17
Clark’s Grebe – 3
Black-vented Shearwater – 800
American White Pelican – 121
Brown Pelican – 891
Brandt’s Cormorant – 374
Double-crested Cormorant – 1525
Pelagic Cormorant – 61
cormorant sp. – 5
American Bittern – 1
Great Blue Heron – 54
Great Egret – 59
Snowy Egret – 52
Green Heron – 1
Blk-crowned Night Heron – 38
Turkey Vulture – 524
Osprey – 3
White-tailed Kite – 46
Northern Harrier – 38
Sharp-shinned Hawk – 11
Cooper’s Hawk – 11
Accipiter sp. – 2
Red-shouldered Hawk – 73
Red-tailed Hawk – 146
Ferruginous Hawk – 6
Rough-legged Hawk – 2
Golden Eagle – 5
American Kestrel – 147
Merlin – 4
Peregrine Falcon – 11
Black Rail – 1
Virginia Rail – 8
Sora – 7
American Coot – 938
Black-bellied Plover – 160
Snowy Plover – 18
Semipalmated Plover – 53
Killdeer – 67
Black Oystercatcher – 40
American Avocet – 220
Greater Yellowlegs – 17
Willet – 1933
Spotted Sandpiper – 6
Whimbrel – 9
Long-billed Curlew – 642
Marbled Godwit – 2000
Ruddy Turnstone – 3
Black Turnstone – 41
Surfbird – 7
Red Knot – 5
Sanderling – 472
Western Sandpiper – 3000
Least Sandpiper – 2522
Dunlin -- 163
peep sp. – 40
Short-billed Dowitcher – 12
Long-billed Dowitcher – 242
dowitcher sp. – 65
Wilson’s Snipe – 4
Red Phalarope – 2
Pomarine Jaeger – 1
Parasitic Jaeger – 2
jaeger sp. -- 1
Bonaparte’s Gull – 114
Heermann’s Gull –193
Mew Gull – 26
Ring-billed Gull – 299
California Gull – 216
Herring Gull – 5
Thayer’s Gull – 2
Western Gull – 547
Glaucous-winged Gull – 14
gull sp. – 17
Caspian Tern – 27
Royal Tern – 24
Forster’s Tern – 172
Common Murre – 78
Pigeon Guillemot – 1
Ancient Murrelet – 6
Cassin’s Auklet – 10
Rhinoceros Auklet – 42
Rock Pigeon - 483
Band-tailed Pigeon – 198
Eurasian Collared Dove – 143
White-winged Dove – 1
Mourning Dove – 537
Greater Roadrunner – 2
Barn Owl – 7
Western Screech-Owl – 16
Great Horned Owl – 39
Northern Pygmy Owl – 1
Burrowing Owl – 3
Spotted Owl – 1
Long-eared Owl – 3
Short-eared Owl – 2
Northern Saw-whet Owl – 2
White-throated Swift – 55
Anna’s Hummingbird – 306
Selasphorus sp. – 1
Belted Kingfisher – 12
Acorn Woodpecker – 26
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 1
Red-naped Sapsucker – 2
Red-breasted Sapsucker – 7
Nuttall’s Woodpecker – 50
Downy Woodpecker – 13
Hairy Woodpecker – 5
Northern (R-s) Flicker – 107
Black Phoebe – 208
Eastern Phoebe – 1
Say’s Phoebe – 87
Cassin’s Kingbird – 3
Loggerheaded Shrike – 11
Hutton’s Vireo – 19
Steller’s Jay – 42
Western Scrub-Jay – 251
Yellow-billed Magpie – 4
American Crow – 1826
Tree Swallow – 3
Violet-green Swallow – 2
Chestnut-sided Chickadee – 121
Oak Titmouse – 40
Bushtit – 767
Red-breasted Nuthatch – 2
White-breasted Nuthatch – 2
Brown Creeper – 2
Rock Wren – 7
Canyon Wren – 2
Bewick’s Wren -90
House Wren – 11
Winter Wren – 1
Marsh Wren – 11
Golden-crowned Kinglet -- 4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet – 605
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – 37
Western Bluebird – 157
Hermit Thrush – 61
American Robin – 123
Varied Thrush – 6
Wrentit – 121
< Northern Mockingbird – 94
California Thrasher – 33
European Starling – 2051
American Pipit – 115
Cedar Waxwing – 92
Orange-crowned Warbler – 22
Yellow-rumped Warbler – 439
“Audubon’s” Warbler– 423
“Myrtle” Warbler – 14
Black-throated Gray Warbler -- 1
Townsend’s Warbler - 94
Common Yellowthroat – 44
Wilson’s Warbler – 5
Western Tanager – 1
Spotted Towhee – 84
California Towhee – 152
Rufous-crowned Sparrow - 10
Lark Sparrow – 59
Sage Sparrow – 5
Savannah Sparrow – 148
Fox Sparrow – 166
Song Sparrow – 134
Lincoln’s Sparrow – 8
Swamp Sparrow – 1
White-throated Sparrow – 2
White-crowned Sparrow – 1734
Golden-crowned Sparrow – 462
Dark-eyed Junco – 328
“slate-colored” Junco – 1
Red-winged Blackbird – 1377
Tricolored Blackbird – 35
Western Meadowlark – 1004
Brewer’s Blackbird – 2786
Great-tailed Grackle – 3
Brown-headed Cowbird - 1308
Purple Finch – 28
House Finch – 600
Pine Siskin – 4
Lesser Goldfinch – 156
American Goldfinch – 317
House Sparrow – 513