Observers: 34 observers
Email: tjheindelataoldotcom
Remote Name: 207.200.116.68
Date: 05/22/2006
Time: 11:46 AM -0400
On 13 May thirty-four observers spread throughout Inyo County from Death Valley to the high Sierra and from Birchim to Wyman to Amargosa to Ninemile Canyons to see how many birds could be found. This is the tenth time birders have spent the second Saturday of May celebrating the birds who migrate through our area. The final count was 207 species which is remarkable for an inland county without an ocean. Twenty-eight of the species were seen by only one team/one person indicating that the advanced planning paid off. The intrepid group managed to bird a total of 348 hours (14.5 days!) averaging almost 10 hours per person. The total individual bird count was 17,322 which is the penultimate high seen in the county in one day. Almost 75% of the species were neotropical migrants providing more evidence of the significance of the county as a major migratory flyway. Almost all of the birders commented that based on past counts birds did not seem to be migrating on International Migratory Bird Day. This reflects that the birds were well spread out because it appeared like a 'slow' day but the numbers show that migration was well underway. A species never before reported during an IMBD count was the Northern Parula, a stunningly beautiful warbler from back East. Surprisingly two were found; one by Andy Zdon and another by Claus and Connie Engelhardt. One new maxima was tallied with 18 Cactus Wrens found but the most numerous species was California Gull with over 6000 seen. Congratulations to all the birders who committed a substantial amount of time and effort towards IMBD and to the birds who commit far more every day.