Birds - December Count

The Wind Cave December Bird Count centers on the Rankin Ridge Lookout and goes out 5 miles. This covers the entire National Park plus parts of Custer State Park and adjoining National Forest Service and private lands. In 2011 the decision was made to adjust the 15 mile diameter area particpants cover in order to include the Casey addition to the park.

The next December bird count will take on Sunday, December 16, 2012. Meet at the park visitor center at 8:00 a.m. For more information contact the park by email or by phone [phone].

 

Species	2010	2011	2012	2012	2013	2014
Canada Goose	0	0	0	0	0	0
Mallard	6	0	0	0	0	0
Bald Eagle	12	5	0	0	0	0
Northern Harrier	1	4	0	0	0	0
Northern Goshawk	0	0	0	0	0	0
Cooper's Hawk	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0	0	0	0	0	0
Rough-legged Hawk	1	0	0	0	0	0
Ferruginous Hawk	0	0	0	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	2	6	0	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	9	5	0	0	0	0
Merlin	0	0	0	0	0	0
American Kestrel	0	0	0	0	0	0
Prairie Falcon	0	0	0	0	0	0
Gray Partridge	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ring-necked Pheasant	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sharp-tailed Grouse	52	51	0	0	0	0
Wild Turkey	127	33	0	0	0	0
Common Snipe	0	0	0	0	0	0
Rock Pidgeon (Dove)	8	0	0	0	0	0
Eastern Screech Owl	0	0	0	0	0	0
Long Eared Owl	0	0	0	0	0	0
Great Horned Owl	0	0	0	0	0	0
Northern Saw-whet Owl	0	0	0	0	0	0
Northern Flicker	2	6	0	0	0	0
Belted Kingfisher	0	0	0	0	0	0
Downy Woodpecker	9	3	0	0	0	0
Hairy Woodpecker	13	5	0	0	0	0
Black-backed Woodpecker	1	0	0	0	0	0
Horned Lark	0	2	0	0	0	0
Gray Jay	8	0	0	0	0	0
Blue Jay	2	1	0	0	0	0
Pinyon Jay	0	0	0	0	0	0
Clark's Nutcracker	0	0	0	0	0	0
Black-billed Magpie	26	35	0	0	0	0
American Crow	88	34	0	0	0	0
Black-capped Chickadee	118	167	0	0	0	0
Red-breasted Nuthatch	65	17	0	0	0	0
White-breasted Nuthatch	40	25	0	0	0	0
Pygmy Nuthatch	0	0	0	0	0	0
Brown Creeper	3	1	0	0	0	0
Canyon Wren	2	3	0	0	0	0
Winter Wren	0	0	0	0	0	0
Golden-crowned Kinglet	3	0	0	0	0	0
Townsend's Solitaire	15	9	0	0	0	0
American Robin	27	4	0	0	0	0
Mountain Bluebird	1	0	0	0	0	0
Cedar Waxwing	0	0	0	0	0	0
Northern Shrike	5	4	0	0	0	0
European Starling	0	20	0	0	0	0
American Goldfinch	18	22	0	0	0	0
House Sparrow	10	24	0	0	0	0
Lincoln Sparrow	0	0	0	0	0	0
Song Sparrow	0	0	0	0	0	0
American Tree Sparrow	1	16	0	0	0	0
White-crowned Sparrow	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dark-eyed Junco	155	181	0	0	0	0
House Finch	1	0	0	0	0	0
Brewer's Blackbird	0	0	0	0	0	0
Red-winged Blackbird	28	0	0	0	0	0
Snow Bunting	0	0	0	0	0	0
Western Meadowlark	0	0	0	0	0	0
Rosy Finch	0	0	0	0	0	0
Purple Finch	0	0	0	0	0	0
Cassin's Finch	0	0	0	0	0	0
House Finch	1	0	0	0	0	0
Red Crossbill	125	5	0	0	0	0
Common Redpoll	0	0	0	0	0	0
Pine Siskin	16	3	0	0	0	0
Evening Grosbeak	0	0	0	0	0	0
Spotted Towhee	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals
Species	35	29	0	0	0	0
Number of Birds	1000	699	0	0	0	0
Number of Participants	8	14	0	0	0	0
Vehicle Miles	167	216	0	0	0	0
Foot Miles	19.5	30	0	0	0	0
Weather	Sunny turning cloudy 6-39 F Winds 4-6 mph	Sunny 30-52 F Winds 5-15 mph Great Day	0	0	0	0

 

Species	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005
Canada Goose	0	Canceled	0	0	0
Mallard	0	due to	0	0	0
Bald Eagle	7	weather	6	11	8
Northern Harrier	0		0	0	2
Northern Goshawk	0		0	0	0
Cooper's Hawk	0		1	0	0
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0		0	1	1
Rough-legged Hawk	2		0	0	0
Ferruginous Hawk	2		0	1	2
Red-tailed Hawk	2		4	2	2
Golden Eagle	2		8	4	9
Merlin	0		0	0	0
American Kestrel	0		0	0	0
Prairie Falcon	0		0	0	0
Gray Partridge	0		0	0	0
Ring-necked Pheasant	0		0	0	0
Sharp-tailed Grouse	5		0	6	8
Wild Turkey	193		183	36	52
Common Snipe	2		1	0	0
Rock Pidgeon (Dove)	3		19	3	9
Eastern Screech Owl	0		0	0	0
Long Eared Owl	0		0	0	0
Great Horned Owl	0		0	3	1
Northern Saw-whet Owl	1		1	1	1
Northern Flicker	3		1	1	4
Belted Kingfisher	0		0	0	0
Downy Woodpecker	1		5	9	9
Hairy Woodpecker	2		16	12	12
Black-backed Woodpecker	0		0	1	0
Horned Lark	40		122	0	0
Gray Jay	1		0	1	0
Blue Jay	0		0	0	0
Pinyon Jay	0		0	0	0
Clark's Nutcracker	0		0	0	0
Black-billed Magpie	20		25	19	24
American Crow	84		92	163	235
Black-capped Chickadee	28		145	150	189
Red-breasted Nuthatch	28		47	43	133
White-breasted Nuthatch	2		42	40	43
Pygmy Nuthatch	0		0	9	0
Brown Creeper	0		4	0	2
Canyon Wren	2		4	0	3
Winter Wren	0		1	0	0
Golden-crowned Kinglet	0		3	0	10
Townsend's Solitaire	4		27	8	15
American Robin	14		219	21	31
Mountain Bluebird	0		0	0	0
Cedar Waxwing	0		20	0	0
Northern Shrike	0		1	2	4
European Starling	14		2	2	14
American Goldfinch	1		5	0	13
House Sparrow	16		20	0	16
Lincoln Sparrow	0		0	0	0
Song Sparrow	0		0	0	0
American Tree Sparrow	0			3	5
White-crowned Sparrow	0		0	0	0
Dark-eyed Junco	144		167	309	444
House Finch	0		0	0	0
Brewer's Blackbird	0		0	0	0
Snow Bunting	0		0	0	0
Western Meadowlark	0		0	0	0
Rosy Finch	0		0	0	0
Purple Finch	0		0	0	0
Cassin's Finch	0		0	0	0
House Finch	16		0	0	0
Red Crossbill	41		0	32	123
Common Redpoll	0		0	0	0
Pine Siskin	0		1	0	41
Evening Grosbeak	0		0	0	0
Spotted Towhee	0		0	0	0
Totals
Species	28		31	30	32
Number of Birds	665		1194	914	1465
Number of Participants	9		12	8	14
Vehicle Miles	172		165.5	168	187
Foot Miles	10		22.9	9.5	21
Weather	snowy -2 to 3 F Winds 5-22 mph drifting snow		sunny 28-42 F Winds 5-9 mph	clear 20-35 F Winds 0-5 mph	clear 29-45 F Winds 5-13 mph gusting to 22

 

Species	2004	2003	2002	2001	2000
Canada Goose	0	0	0	0	0
Mallard	4	7	3	24	9
Bald Eagle	20	14	6	10	4
Northern Goshawk	0	0	0	0	0
Cooper's Hawk	0	0	0	0	0
Sharp-shinned Hawk	2	1	0	1	0
Rough-legged Hawk	1	4	2	1	1
Ferruginous Hawk	0	0	1	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	1	0	1	2	0
Golden Eagle	23	18	9	26	11
Merlin	0	0	1	0	0
American Kestrel	0	0	0	0	0
Prairie Falcon	1	1	0	1	1
Gray Partridge	0	0	0	0	0
Ring-necked Pheasant	0	0	0	0	0
Sharp-tailed Grouse	0	7	15	0	65
Wild Turkey	55	97	64	93	49
Common Snipe	0	0	2	2	0
Rock Dove	14	13	30	22	8
Eastern Screech Owl	0	0	0	0	0
Long Eared Owl	0	1	0	0	0
Great Horned Owl	2	0	0	1	0
Northern Saw-whet Owl	2	0	0	2	0
Northern Flicker	3	3	3	5	3
Belted Kingfisher	0	0	0	0	0
Downy Woodpecker	27	6	2	20	3
Hairy Woodpecker	33	3	2	15	5
Black-backed Woodpecker	0	0	0	1	0
Horned Lark	8	0	0	0	0
Gray Jay	9	3	4	3	2
Blue Jay	0	0	0	0	0
Pinyon Jay	0	0	0	0	0
Clark's Nutcracker	1	0	0	0	0
Black-billed Magpie	64	10	5	16	9
American Crow	185	142	366	299	250
Black-capped Chickadee	180	154	69	121	137
Red-breasted Nuthatch	148	31	33	87	12
White-breasted Nuthatch	48	22	15	15	11
Pygmy Nuthatch	3	2	8	0	0
Brown Creeper	2	7	2	6	2
Canyon Wren	1	3	2	1	2
Golden-crowned Kinglet	1	3	0	3	1
Townsend's Solitaire	22	17	8	27	10
American Robin	1	1	4	1	0
Mountain Bluebird	0	0	0	0	0
Cedar Waxwing	0	0	0	0	0
Northern Shrike	2	0	0	5	5
European Starling	100	96	58	209	21
American Goldfinch	50	2	19	42	2
House Sparrow	8	6	14	3	12
Lincoln Sparrow	0	0	0	0	0
Song Sparrow	0	0	0	0	0
American Tree Sparrow	16	1	9	5	0
White-crowned Sparrow	0	0	0	0	0
Dark-eyed Junco	483	120	473	249	140
House Finch	4	0	0	0	0
Brewer's Blackbird	0	0	0	1	0
Snow Bunting	0	0	0	0	0
Western Meadowlark	0	0	0	0	0
Rosy Finch	0	0	0	0	0
Purple Finch	0	0	0	0	0
Cassin's Finch	0	0	0	0	0
House Finch	0	0	0	0	0
Red Crossbill	634	34	0	175	0
Common Redpoll	0	0	0	0	0
Pine Siskin	5	1	0	15	0
Evening Grosbeak	0	0	0	0	0
Spotted Towhee	0	0	0	0	0
Totals
Species	37	32	30	36	27
Number of Birds	2164	831	1231	1510	777
Number of Participants	9	14	13	17	21
Vehicle Miles	209	156	219	240	181
Foot Miles	26	31	22	40	28
Weather	clear 15-32 F winds 5-15 mph	clear 35-49 F winds 10-50 mph	clear 46-57 F winds 20-40 mph	mostly sunny 21-38 F winds 8-18 mph	partly cloudy 39 F winds 23-46 mph

 

Species	1999	1998	1997	1996	1995
Canada Goose	158	0	0	0	11
Mallard	17	6	2	0	0
Bald Eagle	4	14	2	5	2
Northern Goshawk	0	0	0	1	0
Cooper's Hawk	1	0	1	0	1
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0	1	0	1	0
Rough-legged Hawk	1	6	0	1	0
Ferruginous Hawk	1	0	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	1	2	1	1	1
Golden Eagle	8	18	12	6	4
Merlin	0	0	0	0	0
American Kestrel	1	0	0	0	0
Prairie Falcon	0	0	0	2	0
Gray Partridge	6	0	0	0	0
Ring-necked Pheasant	2	0	0	0	0
Sharp-tailed Grouse	57	60	79	21	5
Wild Turkey	129	9	55	23	18
Common Snipe	1	1	1	0	5
Rock Dove	8	15	0	22	2
Eastern Screech Owl	0	0	0	0	0
Long Eared Owl	0	0	0	0	0
Great Horned Owl	1	1	3	0	2
Northern Saw-whet Owl	1	1	1	0	0
Northern Flicker	5	5	1	0	2
Belted Kingfisher	1	1	0	0	0
Downy Woodpecker	10	8	6	1	3
Hairy Woodpecker	4	11	6	3	10
Black-backed Woodpecker	0	1	0	1	3
Horned Lark	0	0	24	4	0
Gray Jay	0	5	2	3	0
Blue Jay	0	0	0	0	0
Pinyon Jay	1	46	0	0	8
Clark's Nutcracker	0	1	4	0	0
Black-billed Magpie	16	25	10	5	9
American Crow	464	71	26	161	21
Black-capped Chickadee	213	236	188	115	146
Red-breasted Nuthatch	35	82	36	14	35
White-breasted Nuthatch	22	22	17	11	21
Pygmy Nuthatch	0	0	0	0	0
Brown Creeper	2	11	1	1	3
Canyon Wren	3	0	0	0	0
Golden-crowned Kinglet	16	14	1	0	0
Townsend's Solitaire	20	18	9	6	10
American Robin	12	0	9	0	1
Mountain Bluebird	0	0	0	1	0
Cedar Waxwing	0	0	0	0	0
Northern Shrike	8	1	3	1	2
European Starling	69	17	2	0	0
American Goldfinch	28	3	18	0	0
House Sparrow	4	10	4	0	0
Lincoln Sparrow	0	0	1	0	0
Song Sparrow	0	1	1	0	0
American Tree Sparrow	18	5	6	0	0
White-crowned Sparrow	0	0	0	0	0
Darl-eyed Junco	238	290	486	72	220
House Finch	0	0	0	0	0
Brewer's Blackbird	0	0	0	0	0
Snow Bunting	0	0	0	1	0
Western Meadowlark	2	0	0	0	0
Rosy Finch	0	0	0	0	0
Purple Finch	0	0	0	0	0
Cassin's Finch	0	0	0	0	0
House Finch	0	0	0	0	0
Red Crossbill	1	337	55	0	38
Common Redpoll	20	0	0	0	13
Pine Siskin	9	4	2	0	20
Evening Grosbeak	0	0	0	0	0
Spotted Towhee	0	1	0	0	0
Totals
Species	41	38	35	26	27
Number of Birds	1542	1362	1079	484	615
Number of Participants	17	18	15	19	15
Vehicle Miles	181	173	233	93	127
Foot Miles	26	26	18	13	16
Weather	clear 40 F winds 5-15 mph	clear 52 F winds 5-15 mph	clear 59 F winds 20-40 mph	clear 24 F winds 10-25 mph	foggy 24 F winds calm