BATES HOLE CBC

      The Bates Hole 2009 Christmas Bird Count was taken on January 1, 2010.  The following birds were seen.

      Mallard 103, Pintail 5, Common Goldeneye 110, Common Mergansers 4, Ring-necked Pheasant 9, Sage-grouse 251, Wild Turkey 169, Bald Eagle 12 (3 adult, 9 immature), N. Harrier 1, Sharp-shinned Hawk 1, Goshawk 1, Red-tailed Hawk 4, Rough-legged Hawk 22, Ferruginous Hawk 4, Golden Eagle 13 (8 adults, 5 immature), Rock Pigeon 60, Great Horned Owl 10, Belted Kingfisher 1, Hairy Woodpecker 1, Red-shafted Flicker 4, Horned Lark 120, N. Shrike 2, Pinyon Jay 4, Clark’s Nutcracker 7, Magpie 207,  Amer. Crow 2, Common Raven 26, Black-capped Chickadee 14, Mountain Chickadee 1, Bushtit 14, White-breasted Nuthatch 1, Dipper 2, Townsend’s Solitaire 16, Amer. Robin 5, European Starling 202, Amer. Tree Sparrow 97, Song Sparrow 15, Dark-eyed Junco 67 (Slate-colored 26, Oregon 8, Pink-sided 16, undifferentiated 17), Red-winged Blackbird 23, Gray-crowned Rosy Finch 300, House Finch 102, Pine Siskin 62, Amer. Goldfinch 4, Evening Grosbeak 14, House Sparrow 68.

      13 observers and 2 feeder watchers identified 45 total species and 2,160 individual birds.

      The highlight of the count was the 251 Sage-grouse, a good showing for a bird some consider as possibly threatened.  The thirteen Golden Eagles seen were fewer than are often seen on the Bates Hole CBC.  The Bates Hole rabbit population is currently at a cyclical low and the rabbits are a principal food for the Golden Eagle.

      No Canada Geese were seen which is unusual.  The Casper CBC had a large goose count.  It would seem that the local Canada Geese have moved to town for the winter.

      Noticeably absent were warmer season birds like Meadowlarks and Gulls that stay during our milder winters but move south when the winter turns cold as this one has.  On the other hand, there was a relatively high count of Rough-legged Hawks, an Arctic bird that migrates south to Wyoming for the winter.

      The Count was sponsored by the Murie Audubon Society of Casper and is part of the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count.   The count is an attempt to count all the birds in a 15 mile diameter circle.  Points on the circle include Government bridge, the junction of highways 220 and 487, the Freeland Cemetery on the flank of Muddy Mountain and a point slightly north of where highway 487 crosses Lawn Creek.  The count has been taken annually in the same area since 1977.

      Participants in the count include from Casper Tom Heald, Robin Kepple, Chris Michelson, Wanda Peters, Hustace Scott, Karen Snyder and Dwaine Wagoner, from Riverton Jessica and Andy Anderson, and from Bates Hole Harry and Tony Martin, and Charles and George Scott with Milcey Scott and Susan Martin watching feeders.  Charles Scott—Compiler