After a morning spent in the fields and woods looking for birds, calling birds, peering through binoculars and wishing for birds, about 20 participants in the annual Webster County Christmas Bird Count gathered at the Tom Thumb Drive Inn to tabulate the results over lunch.
The event began sounding a bit like an auction.
"Bald eagles," she called.
"Seven," one group replied, then the next, "We had four."
"Bald eagles," she called.
"Seven," one group replied, then the next, "We had four."
As she went through the list, some species generated silence, others, big numbers,
"Dark eyed junco?" she asked.
"One hundred," from the first group. "Forty," from the second group. "Fifty-four," from the last.
Breck and Jenny Johnson, of Fort Dodge, have been organizing the annual event for the past five years after a previous count event had withered on the vine. They explained that the results of Saturday's efforts will go to the National Audubon Society which has been keeping track of bird numbers for more than a century. Wanting to see Webster County represented was their motivation for starting it back up again.
"Dark eyed junco?" she asked.
"One hundred," from the first group. "Forty," from the second group. "Fifty-four," from the last.
Breck and Jenny Johnson, of Fort Dodge, have been organizing the annual event for the past five years after a previous count event had withered on the vine. They explained that the results of Saturday's efforts will go to the National Audubon Society which has been keeping track of bird numbers for more than a century. Wanting to see Webster County represented was their motivation for starting it back up again.
For Saturday's count, Breck Johnson went into the field and Jenny Johnson counted birds at their home feeder which netted her an interesting sighting,
"I saw an immature northern shrike that flew off with a mouse in its claws," she said.
"I saw an immature northern shrike that flew off with a mouse in its claws," she said.
Breck Johnson explained that watching a feeder contributes just as much important information as going into the field. The bird count always welcomes those observations.
After a quick breakfast and some strong coffee before the sun came up, Evans McWilliam, of Paton, and Tom Johnson, of Centerville, headed into the field looking for birds. McWilliam, an avid bird watcher who said he got serious about it in his 40s has been participating in various bird counts for 15 years. Johnson, is also an avid watcher who brought along several tapes of bird songs to play in the woods.
The tape recorder, almost didn't make it back. Perhaps concentrating on the birds got the better of him. It got left once, on top of a bridge railing, and a second time, on top of the minivan where it was still playing at the next stop.
"I put it on the windshield after that," he joked afterward.
The pair did have an unusual sighting - a mockingbird.
"It's pretty unusual for here," Johnson said. "It's a Southern species that breeds in southern Iowa, it's sporadic in other parts of the state."
At the end of the tally, the volunteers had counted sightings of 47 species, up from 45 last year. These are low numbers for Iowa, many counties are in the 60 species range and a few are in the high 70s or low 80s.
Johnson explained that bird numbers and species diversity are both in decline due to habitat loss, mostly from agriculture,
"They don't have a place to live and feed," he said.
They also explained that Webster County has an unusual count, most of the species diversity in the area is clustered in Dolliver Memorial State Park, Brushy Creek State Recreation Area and along the Des Moines River with much less elsewhere.
Some things do help the birds, such as food plots on land and there is one success story among the decreases, the bald eagles along the river, once rare or absent, are now commonly seen as they hunt for fish.
"It's a success story," he said.
After a quick breakfast and some strong coffee before the sun came up, Evans McWilliam, of Paton, and Tom Johnson, of Centerville, headed into the field looking for birds. McWilliam, an avid bird watcher who said he got serious about it in his 40s has been participating in various bird counts for 15 years. Johnson, is also an avid watcher who brought along several tapes of bird songs to play in the woods.
The tape recorder, almost didn't make it back. Perhaps concentrating on the birds got the better of him. It got left once, on top of a bridge railing, and a second time, on top of the minivan where it was still playing at the next stop.
"I put it on the windshield after that," he joked afterward.
The pair did have an unusual sighting - a mockingbird.
"It's pretty unusual for here," Johnson said. "It's a Southern species that breeds in southern Iowa, it's sporadic in other parts of the state."
At the end of the tally, the volunteers had counted sightings of 47 species, up from 45 last year. These are low numbers for Iowa, many counties are in the 60 species range and a few are in the high 70s or low 80s.
Johnson explained that bird numbers and species diversity are both in decline due to habitat loss, mostly from agriculture,
"They don't have a place to live and feed," he said.
They also explained that Webster County has an unusual count, most of the species diversity in the area is clustered in Dolliver Memorial State Park, Brushy Creek State Recreation Area and along the Des Moines River with much less elsewhere.
Some things do help the birds, such as food plots on land and there is one success story among the decreases, the bald eagles along the river, once rare or absent, are now commonly seen as they hunt for fish.
"It's a success story," he said.
