Each year between December 14 and January 5, birders set out to census birds for the nation’s longest-running community science bird project. The Christmas Bird Count is administered by the National Audubon Society and has been occurring yearly since 1900. Today the count occurs in over 20 countries in the western hemisphere and dozens of counts take place in Oregon.

On Saturday, December 18, Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory volunteer Sevilla Rhoads, conducted her own bird census in and around SNCO, in the spirit of the Christmas Bird Count. With partly cloudy skies, snow covering the ground, and temperatures in the mid-30s, Sevilla set out armed with binoculars, a camera, and her e-Bird checklist.

Over the course of 1.5 hours and covering just over half a mile, Sevilla and one other birder documented 149 individual birds comprising 14 different species. (See below for the full list.) Pine Siskin and Canada Goose made up the majority of sightings. Bird activity was found throughout Lake Aspen which was partially frozen. A Pied-billed Grebe was observed actively diving for food. A very active American Coot was found diving for food but also chasing the Grebe for food. At one point, Sevilla observe the Coot actually peck at the Grebe! Last but not least, a statuesque Great Blue Heron maintained a one-legged stance on the ice. Up in the canopy, Dark-eyed Juncos, Mountain Chickadees, dozens of Pine Siskins, and a Northern Flicker were observed.

Although the SNCO count was outside of the official areas for this year’s Christmas Bird Count, we are planning to participate in Audubon’s 2022 count. If you are interested in assisting with a Christmas Bird Count effort or would like to get more involved with birding in Sunriver, email us at programs@snco.org.

SNCO Christmas Bird Count Results

Canada Goose (45)
Pied-billed Grebe (1)
Mourning Dove (1)
American Coot (1)
Great Blue Heron (1)
Northern Flicker (1)
California Scrub-Jay (1)
Common Raven (2)
Mountain Chickadee (7)
European Starling (1)
House Finch (2)
Pine Siskin (75)
Dark-eyed Junco (9)
Song Sparrow (1)

  • Pine Siskins were plentiful
  • Dark-eyed Junco
  • Pied-billed Grebe with a fish
  • Great Blue Heron
  • American Coot
  • Mountain Chickadee preening

Photos: Sevilla Rhoads