Eyes & Ears Add to Avian Count

It was sunny and slightly warmer than average for December, as Knox College biologists joined a group of about 10 volunteers taking part in the National Audubon Society's annual Christmas Bird Count. 

In all, the volunteers counted 7921 birds of 69 species in the Illinois Eastern Knox County (ILEK) area.

Jim Mountjoy, associate professor of biology, was up before the sun to search for owls on December 18. Among the birds that he recorded were three Pileated Woodpeckers at Green Oaks, Knox College's 700-acre biological field station, about 20 miles east of Galesburg in eastern Knox County.

"Pileated Woodpeckers are always present at Green Oaks but not always easy to find," Mountjoy said. "They're big woodpeckers that need big trees, and Green Oaks has extensive old woods. They're increasing in numbers somewhat, but for a long time, Green Oaks has been the prime location for them."

After working a large territory in and around Green Oaks, Mountjoy hosted a dinner for the volunteers at the end of the day. 

Winds as high as 35 miles per hour kept a lot of birds from flying, especially in the flat, open terrain north of Victoria—the territory worked by Stuart Allison, professor of biology.

While hiking along a dirt road to check a stand of trees surrounded by farmland, Allison was surprised to hear, then see, a Killdeer—"Normally it should have migrated by this time of year." 

Also, this was first time in 14 years that a Turkey Vulture was recorded for the eastern Knox County census.

Mountjoy coordinates the ILEK total and submits it to The National Audubon Society, which posts historical data on its website, with current data after the reports have been evaluated. This was the 116th annual bird count, described by the National Audubon Society as "the nation's longest-running citizen science bird project."

Top of page, professor James Mountjoy scans the sky for birds, while professor Stuart Allison checks the map of his territory; below, Mountjoy and Allison gather and record data...

• More photos on Flickr from the annual bird count in Eastern Knox County