Where are the ducks? Preliminary numbers from Hilton Head Island 'Christmas Bird Count' in
The preliminary results for this year's annual Christmas Bird Count are in and it may be what people aren't seeing that has everyone talking.
"Some of our winter birds just haven't arrived yet," Robert Rommel, president of the Hilton Head Island Audubon Society, said Tuesday.
Held around the country every year, the annual count is the longest running citizen science survey in the world and provides critical data on bird population trends.
While the Hilton Head group, and other "circles" as the individual count areas are called, haven't submitted their data as part of the national review process yet, volunteers with the project are already seeing some interesting things.
Specifically, volunteers saw fewer ducks and shorebirds than in previous years, the preliminary numbers indicate.
Rommel said ducks typically arrive in December but the group has noticed their arrival has been coming later with each passing year.
"I don't know if that's because of the weather or because they are following a food source somewhere else," he said.
For example, those who participated in the Hilton Head count spotted only 357 hooded mergansers as opposed to 705 of the extravagantly crested ducks counted last year.
In addition, the same participants spotted only 394 bufflehead ducks this year as opposed to 736 of the large-headed species counted last year.
While the number of winter birds in particular were down, the number of birds cited overall were slightly up for the Hilton Head area, the count showed.
The Hilton Head group counted a total of 32,300 birds -- up from last year's 28,405 total or close to 14 percent, according to Susan Murphy who keeps the group's numbers on various spreadsheets.
In addition, the group counted more than 140 separate species, roughly the same number as last year, she said.
While those in the Bluffton area did not have all of their numbers in yet from volunteers, those who participated tended to agree with Rommel's observations.
"He's right," said Paula Smith, who, along with her husband Dale, organizes the count for Sun City. "I think we're not seeing the winter birds we used to see."
Overall, the number of different types of ducks the group usually sees are down, she said.
"We did not see any mergansers at all, and again we usually see quite a few of those," she said.
So what did volunteers see?
The top three species spotted by the Hilton Head group were red-winged blackbirds, yellow-rumped warblers and double-crested cormorants.
The blackbirds in particular seemed to amaze both groups who reported seeing the bright-winged birds in huge flocks.
And one thing that was a bit unusual to see?
Birders said they were spotting Baltimore orioles, not so unusual if it weren't for the fact that this is December.
"Usually those birds winter further south," Rommel said. "I'm seeing some on my feeder right now."
Related content:
Dec. 28, 2014 On the occasion of Audubon’s 115th annual Christmas Bird Count in 2014, we tired to discover what makes a birdwatcher tick. | READ
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This story was originally published December 22, 2015 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Where are the ducks? Preliminary numbers from Hilton Head Island 'Christmas Bird Count' in."