Field Report: The Great Backyard Bird Count at the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove, Feb. 16, 2013

On Saturday, February 16, 2013, Valley Forge Audubon Society held a Great Backyard Bird Count event at the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove. The day started out with a bird walk lead by Vince Smith which saw 32 bird species, the highlight being a Peregrine Falcon. The complete list of those birds follows: 

Canada Goose  250
Common Merganser  4
Great Blue Heron  1
Turkey Vulture  4
Cooper's Hawk  1
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Mourning Dove  2
Red-bellied Woodpecker  3
Downy Woodpecker  2
Hairy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)  2
Pileated Woodpecker  1
Peregrine Falcon  1
Blue Jay  4
American Crow  4
Carolina Chickadee  4
Black-capped Chickadee  2
Tufted Titmouse  3
Red-breasted Nuthatch  1
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
Carolina Wren  3
Eastern Bluebird  2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)  2
Song Sparrow  3
White-throated Sparrow  22
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored)  5
Northern Cardinal  5
Red-winged Blackbird  6
Common Grackle  1
Purple Finch (Eastern)  1     Female
House Finch  14
American Goldfinch  2


After the walk, a feeder watch was conducted at the cottage. This gave the walk attendees a break from the cold where they were treated to hot chocolate, courtesy of the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove. Through the large picture window, 18 species of birds were seen attending the feeder and in the immediate area. The feeder watch gave us a great opportunity to see the difference between Carolina Chickadees and Black-capped Chickadees, as both species were visiting the feeder at the same time. A list of those birds follows:

Canada Goose  8     Flying overhead
Red-tailed Hawk  1     Soaring overhead
Red-bellied Woodpecker  1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  1
Downy Woodpecker  3
Blue Jay  1
Carolina Chickadee  5
Black-capped Chickadee  3
Tufted Titmouse  3
Red-breasted Nuthatch  1
White-breasted Nuthatch  2
Carolina Wren  1
Song Sparrow  2
White-throated Sparrow  1
Dark-eyed Junco  9
Northern Cardinal  3
House Finch  1
American Goldfinch  1


The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual citizen science event held every February that gives researchers a clear view of bird populations prior to Spring migration through the observations of birdwatchers from around the world.