LISLE ARBORETUM CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT
2002 Count Summary

Here are the results of the Lisle-Arboretum CBC that took place Sunday, December 15, 2002. This was the 53rd Lisle Count (54th if you include the 1978 count, whose numbers were never recorded with National Audubon). Numbers reported below are the absolute numbers recorded, and have not been normalized by the number of party-hours effort put into the count.

The group of 62 participants recorded 71 species on the Lisle Arboretum CBC. The big news was that observers in the Morton Arboretum were successful in finding the first year female HERMIT WARBLER that had been present there since December 8, 2002. Given that this is the first Hermit Warbler recorded anywhere in Illinois at any time, it is clearly a first record for the count circle. It marks the sixth species of warbler to have been recorded on the Lisle Count (the other five are Yellow-rumped, Pine, Palm, Common Yellowthroat, and Yellow-breasted Chat).

Other highlights were the following.

  • An AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN observed flying over the Timber Trails Golf Course (2nd record for the count circle).
  • A flock of 29 SANDHILL CRANES seen flying through the count circle (it was seen by three groups). This is only the second year that Sandhill Crane has been recorded on count day, and sets a new record.
  • An EASTERN PHOEBE, only the 3rd record for the Lisle Count, was seen at the Hinsdale sewage ponds.
  • One MARSH WREN, at Hidden Lake Forest Preserve (4th year on the count), popped up when Joel Greenberg tried clapping for rails.
  • One NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD was seen in Justice (4th year on the count).
  • We tallied two PIED-BILLED GREBES: this is the 5th year in a row we've recorded Pied-billed Grebe with the only other years on record being 1970, 1974 and 1988.

Corvid numbers were way down. There were only 167 AMERICAN CROWS tallied. This is only about 20% of the average number over the last 15 years, and is the smallest number of crows recorded since 1957. We also had only 71 BLUE JAYS, only about 40% the average over the last 15 years and the lowest total since 50 were recorded in 1990.

In contrast, woodpeckers, creepers and nuthatches (well, White-breasted Nuthatches) had very strong numbers. The 297 DOWNY and 66 HAIRY WOODPECKERS were both count records, and the 143 RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS were the 2nd highest number recorded of that species (153 were seen last year). The 194 WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES broke the record set last year, and the 37 BROWN CREEPERS were one shy of the 1980 record.

Other record breakers included the 12 WINTER WRENS (previous high count was 5 in 1974 and 1992), the 1498 AMERICAN ROBINS (previous high of 1392 in 1998) in comparison with the 15-year average of 380, and the 35 GREAT BLUE HERONS (continuing a recent trend of good numbers of these herons).

A record number of 14 COOPER'S HAWKS were observed, beating by far the previous record of 8 from 1998. While Cooper's Hawks increased, numbers of AMERICAN KESTRELS remained flat at 23. During the early 1990s Kestrel numbers were pretty steady around an average of 50, but then dropped to an average of about 25 in the mid to late 1990s through today.

Most sparrows did well, with SONG SPARROW and SWAMP SPARROW having a healthy presence at 88 and 37, respectively. The 230 WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS was the highest total since 233 were recorded in 2000, compared to an average of 65 over the last 15 years. However, the 495 AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS was a low number compared to the average of 600 and was the lowest total since 1993.

Also a strong showing was the 34 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, which is quite a good year for this species in the Lisle Count.

Numbers of BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES, though down a bit compared to recent years, were within the range of variation seen over the last 15 or so years. GREAT HORNED OWL numbers were also pretty steady in comparison to what's been seen in the years just passed. Numbers of EASTERN SCREECH-OWLS were up, though some effort was put into finding a lot of these this year.

We missed four "Code 2" birds, birds that generally speaking we expect to have a good shot in tallying in most areas. The ones that we missed were Rough-legged Hawk, Red-headed Woodpecker, Common Grackle, and Pine Siskin. These also happen to be the only Code 2 birds that we've missed on three or more of the last 15 counts. They are candidates to be shifted to "Code 3".

Code 3 birds that we missed included five species of waterfowl (after all, we did have an early freeze before count week that moved a lot of waterfowl out), Ring-necked Pheasant, Horned Lark and Brown-headed Cowbird (though the Fisher's spotted a cowbird at their feeders during count week). That's 20 of 28 Code 3 species, a pretty good batting average. The zero RING-NECKED PHEASANTS marked the fourth miss in a row, after a string of 42 consecutive years of finding pheasants in the circle. Horned Larks have gotten really tough, too. The only years they've been recorded since 1990 are 1997, 1999 and 2000.

The 54th Lisle Count is scheduled for Sunday, December 14, 2003. Mark your calendars!

Last modified on 18 January 2016
by Geoffrey A. Williamson