- November 12, 2024
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Max and Lucas take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count's hummingbird challenge on Saturday, Feb. 19. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Karrie Hernandez, with the Environmental Discovery Center, teaches Selah about bird migratory patterns with a game. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Luca and Finn learn more about birds during the Great Backyard Bird Count event at the EDC on Saturday, Feb. 19. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Suzie Shaeffer, Joan Tague, Rob Bird and Melissa Lammers. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Maren tries the Great Backyard Bird Count's hummingbird challenge on Saturday, Feb. 19. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Instead of counting sheep, how about counting birds?
The Environmental Discovery Center held its annual Great Backyard Bird Count celebration on Saturday, Feb. 19, an annual global initiative that encourages people to watch and count as many birds as possible during a four-day period in February. By reporting their findings, scientists can work to better understand global populations before a species' annual migration, according to the Great Backyard Bird Count website, sponsored by the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.
In Ormond Beach, the EDC, in partnership with the Halifax River Audubon, only one day of official observations was held, but in the 222 minutes of bird watching tours through Central Park, a total of 37 different species — and 175 birds — were spotted. Edgewater resident Danny Young led the bird walks this year, and as an environmental consultant who has been involved with Central Park for about 15 years, he knows the hiking trails well.
"Bird-wise, it was pretty much what we expected," Young said. "We had the typical winter tesidents that migrate down here and our all-year residents, and just a handful of very early spring migrants."
But, seeing two Limpkins was definitely the highlight of the 2.41-mile tours, Young said, as the bird is only found in Florida in the U.S.
"So that's sort of our specialty," said Young, who is also a member of the Pawpaw Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society. "And there's a story that goes with that about snails and invasive species and habitat changes. So now it's a good single species to weave a whole tale around about how ecosystems work, how invasive species can impact ecosystems, hydrology changes can impact species and so on."
Spotting two Egyptian geese was unexpected though. The geese, found at the corner of Fleming Avenue and Parkview Lane, are native to Africa, and Young said he would prefer not to see them because they are escaped exotic pets. Not actually a goose, but a relative of the shelducks, the Egyptian goose is considered a pest in its native and adopted ranges; Florida, Texas and southern California have established breeding populations, likely as a result of escaped birds, according to iBird.
The number is species seen at this year's count did drop this year compared to 2021, but that's because the EDC only hosted one day of observations, said Ormond Beach master naturalist Joan Tague in an email. In 2021, a total of 49 species were seen in Central Park, per a four-day observation period.
"Last year we counted under the constraints of the pandemic," Tague said. "That meant no fun community event, but rather a call for individuals to get out there and count."
Worldwide, the Great Backyard Bird Count reported 7,037 species observed in 253 countries. The most species, 1,228 were reported in Colombia. The U.S. reported 688 species, but turned in the most checklists at 190,102 out of the estimated total 287,000.
