Up before dawn to divide and conquer, regional birders from Rockport, Victoria, Houston and Austin spread out across the 15-mile diameter circle of the first annual Powderhorn Christmas Bird Count. Listening for owls and rails before day break, then walking through marshes, running live oak mots and coastal prairie throughout the long day, these sixteen experienced birds searched for any and all birds they could find. Two boats set out in search of birds; one team scouting on Matagorda Island. By the end of the day 166 species had been counted totaling over 63 thousand birds! No surprise to area hunting guides, there were over 28,000 redhead ducks as well as nine other duck species and three types of geese. No huge surprises found but a few gems included a family of Whooping Cranes, an Aplomado Falcon and Nelson’s Sparrow.

While this was a first for the Port O’Connor area, Audubon Christmas Bird Counts have been happening for 117 years. Last year 1,902 counts were conducted across the United States. All told, 2,505 counts were held within the western hemisphere including Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Bermuda, and the Pacific Islands. Because of the habitat diversity and it’s latitude which wintering birds favor, the mid-Texas Coast boasts not only a large number of CBCs but these local counts produce some of the highest number of species across the country. Just across the bay from POC, the Matagorda County Mad Island Marsh CBC has had the highest species count nationally for 18 of the past 19 years.

While the Powderhorn CBC produced favorable results for its inaugural count, it holds great promise for the future. As we recruit more volunteers and become more familiar with the local habitats and the bird species found within, we feel certain that the Powderhorn CBC can rank among the nation’s highest as well. Next year we’d love to have residents from Port O’Connor, the Sanctuary & Indianola count the birds within their yards and neighborhoods. If you are interested in helping with next year’s count, contact Brigid Berger brigidberger@comcast.net