Nobody thought we could do it! Up until now, the record high number of species sighted on Santa Barbara Audubon's Christmas Bird Count was 219 in 1982. That was the gold standard. The good old days. . , right?

Wrong!! We beat that total handily this year, and we tied the record for the highest number on any California CBC in history: San Diego in 1969 with 224. What a triumph for Santa Barbara Audubon, participants from far and near, and all of you who worked so hard to make this the most successful Count ever!

Midday gathering on Count Day to check to see what birds have been found and what still needs to be found. Photo courtesy Callie Bowdish.	Everything came together and the day, December 30, was perfect. Excellent weather (at last!), high observer participation resulting in more coverage of our Count circle, a quantity of skilled observers, and plenty of pre-Count scouting added up to a winning situation.
This year highlighted the fact that Santa Barbara still has a diversity of habitats, which hold a wonderful array of birds. In addition, there was somewhat of a montane influence. Several species such as White-headed Woodpecker, Red Crossbill, and Mountain Chickadee, which are normally found in the high mountains, made an appearance within the Count circle, being spotted on La Cumbre Peak.

The Chestnut-collared Longspur, a first for the Santa Barbara CBC, was counted on the hang glider field at Elings Park. An assortment of warblers showed up, including a Black-throated Green Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Painted Redstart, and American Redstart. Orioles were everywhere: 3 Orchard Orioles, two Hooded Orioles, and a Scott's Oriole all appeared.

The venerable Zone-tailed Hawk, most frequently seen at the intersection of North Fairview Avenue and Cuesta Verde, was counted for her 14th year of returning to winter in Santa Barbara. A tiny Hammond's Flycatcher, a repeat for its second year, was seen perched at Bohnett Park on the west side of downtown Santa Barbara.

From the early hours of Saturday morning until darkness fell, we found approximately 41,000 individuals. That is a handsome number and well above recent years when we were plagued by rain and wind.

My thanks go to the following wonderful volunteers without whom this would never have happened: Dave Compton and Karen Bridgers, who keep track of all the birds sighted up until Count Day; Joan Murdoch, who is a fabulous assistant and spends much time organizing the sign-ups; the "scouters", those birders who help by going out birding in all the Count areas before the actual Count Day to get "stake-outs", birds that we can then return and count for the CBC; the Compilation Committee led by Bill Pollock and staffed by Dave Compton, Rebecca Coulter, and Jared Dawson; the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History who lets us have our Compilation Potluck there for a minimal fee; and Santa Barbara Audubon and Darlene Chirman, who totally support the CBC effort.

How did we do nationwide?

Besides being Number 1 in California, Santa Barbara was Number 3 in the nation, behind two Texas Counts -- Corpus Christi with 235 and Mad Island Marsh with 232. At least we can say we bested our old rival Freeport, which counted 214 this year.

All in all, it doesn't get any better than this. Let's celebrate our incredible bird diversity and lovely climate by going out birding every day of the year - not just for the Christmas Bird Count!

Additional Count Week Sightings