As the month of December wraps up, Bird Counts throughout the area continue from now until the middle of January. With the ongoing drought, many individuals are interested in finding out how the lack of water impacts birds in our local area. Avian Programs Manager for the Nature Conservancy Robert Penner says that last week’s Christmas Bird Count at the Cheyenne Bottoms yielded some interesting results.

Penner says that in past years, the total number of different species runs in the 80’s or 90’s, and only 76 different species were identified this year. Additionally, the lack of water impacted waterfowl numbers, which showed a total number of individuals less than usual. In contrast, record numbers were seen for raptors such as red tail hawks, northern harriers, and rough legged hawks.