114th CBC Arkansas Regional Summary

By Leif Anderson

The 114^th CBC in Arkansas was a rough year for counting with over half the counts being directly weather impacted.  Weather heavily impacted several counts; 4% by drought, 4% by rain, 4% by flooding, 4% by ice, and 8% by wind.  Weather moderately impacted 4% by rain and 24% by wind.  The rest of the story… The early December winter storm shifted many birds south to better climates and they didn’t return by the start of the counts.  Overall there were notably fewer species and individual numbers in the first half of the count period.  Numbers and species continued to be low into the second half of the count period in the northern portion of Arkansas.  Number of individuals (913,374) was 92% below average, with declines from 18-20 million birds in the 1960s & 70s to 1.2 million in the 2000s & 2010s.

All told, 25 counts were submitted with 10 counts having more than 90 species, including Arkadelphia with the species high of 121. Lonokehad the most new or unusual species (8) and Mississippi River S.P. & Wapanocca N.W.R. tied with the most new high counts (5).  Fayetteville had the most hours and Hot Springs Village had the most observers. Two new counts are included this year, Mount Magazine, the highest point in the state, with potential for Rufous-crowned Sparrow and Townsend’s Solitaire, and Lake Dardanelle, famous for diving ducks and unusual gulls.  The total number of species in the state was 165, in the normal range of 164-167.  The numbers for the following bird highlights are normalized by party hours.  In broad groups, geese were 427% above average (two times the 2000s and four times the 1990s) and semi-hardy waterbirds were up 281% (two times the 2000s and four times the 1980s).  Irruptives were -67%, blackbirds were -96% and frugivores -92% below average.     

Setting new 61-year highs were Bufflehead with 59% at the new Lake Dardanelle CBC, Horned Grebe, Eurasian Collared-Dove (3 years in a row), and White-winged Dove.    

Gadwall was 276% above average (biggest jump in 14 years),  Horned Grebe 495% (averaged zero per year in the 1950s, now 91 per year),  Great Egret 194% (averaged one per year in the 1950s, now 516 per year),  Black Vulture 215% (averaged 11 per year in 1950’s, now 783 per year),  Eurasian Collared-Dove 240% (in 16 years has gone from 4 per year to 1384 per year)  and Cedar Waxwing 127% (fourth best flight in 61 years). 

Meanwhile, 61-year lows were set by Purple Finch.  This season, Golden Eagle was the only “missed” regularly occurring species. American Black Duck was -98% below average (peaked in the 1960s at 187 per year, now 4 per year), Northern Bobwhite (-91%) (averaged 265 per year in the 1960s, now 33 per year), Red-breasted Nuthatch (-81%, the tenth worst flight in 61 years), Bewick’s Wren (-81%, only finding 1-3 birds per year for the last ten years), Field Sparrow (-81%, sixth worst in 61 years, with a downward trend the last nine years), Lapland Longspur (-95%, peaked at 2117 per year then dropped to 362 per year in the 1990s, then climbing to present 1125 per year) and Rusty Blackbird (-91%, peak in the 1960s of 69,000 per year, dropped to 364 per year in the 1990s, now 1011 per year).

Species found only on one count included  Green Heron, Sandhill Crane, Short-eared Owl, and Blue-headed Vireo (Arkadelphia); Krider’s subspecies of Red-tailed Hawk, Sora, and Western Sandpiper (Bayou DeView); Osprey (Conway);  Red-breasted Merganser and Inca Dove (Fort Smith - Moffett); Barrow’s Goldeneye and Palm Warbler (Holla Bend N.W.R.); Common Merganser (Jonesboro); Western Grebe, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Caspian Tern, and Peregrine Falcon (Lake Dardanelle); Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Lake Georgia Pacific-Felsenthal N.W.R.); Spotted Towhee (Little Rock); Cattle Egret, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Say’s Phoebe, and Tree Swallow (Lonoke); Mute Swan (Mountain Home); Oregon subsp of Dark-eyed Junco (Mount Magazine);  Lark Sparrow (North Fork of Illinois Bayou); “Blue Morph” Ross’s Goose (Pine Bluff); and White Ibis, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, and Great-tailed Grackle (Texarkana).

And the bird-of-the-year was the first Arkansas Count Week CBC record of Snowy Owl at Little Rock.

This year’s sponsors were the Audubon Society of Central Arkansas, Buffalo River Partners, Inc., Friends of Felsenthal N.W.R., Friends of Holla Bend N.W.R., North Central Arkansas Audubon Society, NorthWest Arkansas Audubon Society, Ouachita-Caddo Bird Club, Ozark-St. Francis National Forest, Tennessee Ornithological Society, Texarkana Audubon Society, Three Rivers Audubon Society, and Village Creek S.P.

It can never be said frequently enough—all the compilers and volunteers deserve a big “thank you” for your hard work!