Every year on the first Saturday of May that falls between the 4^th and the 10^th, volunteer members of Kane County Audubon join with birders across the state to participate in a statewide bird count.  2013 marked the 42^nd consecutive year that Kane County Audubon (and state birders) has conducted a Spring Bird Count.  This year, forty-nine birders fanned out to cover the county in 23 groups, attempting to count as many birds as possible on May 4^th. The first birder began "owling" at 4 AM and the last person birding hung up their binos at 8:25 PM!

Over the 42-year history of the Kane County spring count, 248 species have been counted with more than one-half million total birds. Although this year's count of birds (16,477) was the lowest in the last six years, the species count (170) tied for our second best ever. Some would attribute the low overall numbers to what many would call a later-than-normal arrival of spring temperatures. The high species count likewise could be a function of trees that were not "leafed out," allowing for easier spotting and identification.

Bemoaning the "low" count totals for the year obscures the reality that the total birds counted represents a nearly 30% increase over the 42 year average count. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that of the 170 species counted this year, 121 posted numbers at or above their yearly average. 

Yet again, the Red-winged Blackbird took honors as the most-counted species with 3,352 birds tallied. Here are the top 10 most populous birds in the county as of May 4^th:

And the following 17 species set or tied record highs:

The details for this year's count are presented below. The complete 42 year record in spreadsheet form (.xlsx) can be downloaded here.