American Birds 2007-2008, Summary of the 108th Christmas Bird Count

John B. Spohrer, Jr.

Sprague's Pipit (Anthus spragueii) are skulkers of the grasslands, and it is often difficult to appreciate the subtle beauty of such birds given how hard they are to see. Normally found on CBCs in the southwest and Mexico, this beautifully photographed example was one of the two found this season at Apalachicola Bay -St. Vincent N.W.R., Florida. Photo/John B. Spohrer, Jr.

The 108th CBC season proved to be a challenging one for many observers weather-wise, but still all told a record high level of participation was reached. Additionally, an all-time high number of counts were included this season-2113. Rare birds galore were tallied, including the impeccable cover photo of a Sprague's Pipit from the Apalachicola Bay-St. Vincent N.W.R., Florida CBC. In addition to overall and regional CBC summaries, feature articles span the hemisphere on the history of Christmas bird counting in Panama, a first-ever CBC for kids in California, a look at 20 years of running the spectacular Point Reyes, California count, post-hurricanes Katrina and Rita recovery of birds and birders on CBCs in Louisiana, and the lore of running counts in Wisconsin and off the coast of Maine.

Note: all articles below require a recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing.

Pages 107-128 contain these items (349k):

Christmas Bird Count Editorial Codes and Database Flags Count Circles, Codes, and Compilers on the 108th Count

Summary of Highest Counts of Individuals for Canada, by Richard J. Cannings

Summary of Highest Counts of Individuals for the United States, by Brent Ortego