• CELERY FIELDS: MONTHLY GUIDED BIRD WALK
  Saturday, February 14 at 8:00 a.m.
  
  
• MONTHLY MEETING: "Short-Tailed Hawks"
  Monday, February 9 at 7:00 p.m.
  Fellowship Hall, First Congregational Church, 1031 South Euclid, Sarasota. Click here for directions
  
  
  
  
• OTHER ACTIVITIES
  
  Clay Gulley and Sidell Roads
  Wednesday, February 11 at 8:00 a.m.
  Meet at McDonald's (Bee Ridge/Cattlemen) 
  BRING LUNCH
  Leaders: Owen Comora, 378-5166, and Rick Greenspun 284-2055
  
  Station 5, Hendry County
  Friday & Saturday, February 13 & 14
  Overnight Friday in Clewiston. RESERVATIONS REQUIRED.  Hotel at own expense. A donation of $5 to Hendry-Glades Audubon is recommended.
  Leader: Kathryn Young, 924-5565
  
  Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve, Ruskin
  Thursday, February 19 at 7:30 a.m.
  February Meet at Starbucks (University & I-75 next to Home Depot) BRING LUNCH
  Leader: Kathryn Young, 924-5565
  
  Venice Rookery, Manasota Scrub & Lemon Bay Park
  Monday, February 23 at 7:30 a.m.
  
  Meet at McDonald's (Bee Ridge/Cattlemen) at 7:30 a.m. BRING LUNCH 
  Leader: Mark Leggett, 925-7220
  
  

Well, another Christmas Bird Count is over with, and it was another very good one. We had 78 counters in the field and in backyards/neighborhoods, 17 watchers emailed in their sightings. We spotted 160 species with more than 36,000 individual birds. Here's how it went, patch by patch:

• Team 1: John Ginaven, Stu Wilson, David Manchester, and Peter Rice were the only ones to find Horned Grebes and an Orange-crowned Warbler.
  
  
• Team 2: Rick Greenspun, Kathryn Young, and Mark Davis found a few solo species: Peregrine Falcon, Piping Plover, Wilson's Plover, Western Sandpiper and Lesser Black-backed Gull.
  
  
• Team 3: Valeri Ponzo, Carolyn Primus, and Barbara Covey were one of only two teams to find Bufflehead and Dunlin-two hard to get species on count day.
  
  
• Team 4:  Lynn and Jake Jakubowicz, Jane Brandhorst and Sharon Stewart found the day's only Painted Bunting.
  
  
• Team 5: Edith Miller, Barry Rossheim, and Russ and Carol Hoffman came up with a number of goodies: Western Kingbird, Baltimore Oriole and Pine Siskin. 
  
  
• Team 6: Ellen Richardson and Ann and Tom Seidenkranz had a great day with the only American Bittern and the only Eastern Bluebirds.
  
  
• Team 7: Paul Lewis, Jane Shannon and Tom and Connie Plaskett beat their own record with 60 species on their patch.
  
  
• Team 8: Bill and Margaret Dunson, Nancy Edmondson, Greg and Lisette Voigt, Roxanne Williamson, Michael and Nancy Barnes, and Peter Salinas worked their very productive territory into 92 species, including the only Marsh Wrens, Soras, King Rails, and Brown-headed Cowbirds (!).
  
  
• Team 9: Tina Mosssbarger, Joni Gray and Jeff Carson covered their territory from top to bottom and lucked out on a nice little flock of Chipping Sparrows.
  
  
• Team 10: Alison and Mike Bishop and Lorrie MulDowney found the day's only Merlin while they tallied a nice 76 species.
  
  
• Team 11: David Williamson, Barbara Singer, Steve Black, Bob and Nancy Dean, Matt Holman, Kelley Berkey and two Daniel Somodis (Sr and Jr) came up with the only American Wigeons, one of only two Sharp-shinned Hawks and the Red Bug Slough resident Prairie Warbler.
  
  
• Team 12: Jeff Fisher, Lyn Atherton, Ken Allen and Jean Turner came up with a number of singles: Ovenbird, N. Parula, and N. Pintail.  They also got one of two Gadwalls.
  
  
• Team 13: Harriet Siegel, Wade and Betty Matthews, Judy Meksraitis, Ginny Tarika,  Sheila Markin, Sue Stamm and Sue Hamilton found a Solitary Sandpiper.
  
  
• Team 14: Jeff Palmer and Tommy Elliott scoured their territory and got the only Hermit Thrushes and Least Bittern for the count, and were one of only two teams to get a Gadwall.
  
  
• Team 15: Jim and Ann Eachus and Linda and Per-Anne Jonebring. This visiting team jumped right into the fray and found 36 species on their unfamiliar patch, including a House Finch.
  
  
• Team 17: Don and Karen Schneider covered their Palmer Ranch neighborhood and came up with 27 species.
  
  
• Team 18: Mark Leggett, Jim Kyle and Matt Smith did the same at Village Walk and found 45 species.
  
  
• Team 19: Rett and Priscilla Oren, Lou and Janet Kovach, Steve Freeman and Rick Kellam covered Historic Spanish Point for the first time and found 47 species.
  
  
• Owling: Jeff Palmer went owling at 3am and found 6 E. Screech-Owls and 8 Barred Owls. Jeanne Dubi roamed around helping here and there and was glad to add Grasshopper Sparrow and Barn Owl for Team 8 and 2 Screech-Owls and  a Barred Owl for Team 6, along with a few species for Teams 7 and 12.

Summary:
Overall numbers were higher than last year due to more than 6,000 Tree Swallows, although several species continue to decline steadily: N. Bobwhites, Eastern Meadowlarks, Eastern Towhees. Some species actually recorded the highest counts ever: Tricolored Heron, American Coot-and Mallard hybrids (grrr!).
 
Many thanks to all of you for contributing to our knowledge of birds in our area. We hope  that you will sign up for next year. It's a great day of birding. For a complete CBC bird list by teams check out www.sarasotaaudubon.org.