When the weather forecast came out several days before the Christmas Bird Count - held January 5, 2008 - most of us simply could not believe it. A series of severe rainstorms accompanied by high winds were set to pummel Santa Barbara County's South Coast, and there was nothing birders could do but watch the Weather Channel and wring our hands.

Miraculously, Count Day dawned - not clear - but at least not pouring the buckets of rain which had come down the day before and were to come down the day after! Snatching victory from a "draconian" forecast, Santa Barbara birders totalled 206 species in what can only be described as one of the best efforts ever made by our dedicated group of locals and out-of-towners.

Two views of the same Gray Flycatcher found at the Goleta Cemetary during the Christmas Bird Count. Note the bi-colored bill with the orange lower mandible. Photo courtesy Roger Millikan.

Despite the fact that the boat had to be cancelled, and two other areas of the Count were inaccessible due to high water, some interesting birds were found. Waterbirds and some seabirds were good finds: a Red-necked Grebe floated off More Mesa; White-winged and Black Scoters were seen in Goleta Bay and the Santa Barbara Harbor. Also in the harbor was a Long-tailed Duck. At Devereux Slough, a Eurasian Wigeon was seen, and at Goleta Beach, a Glaucous Gull, very rare this far south, flew in at the end of the day.

Black-necked stilts and one Blue-winged Teal at Goleta Sanitation Plant. Photo courtesy Callie Bowdish. One Ross's goose with Canada Geese at Ocean Meadows Golf Course. Photo courtesy Callie Bowdish.

For landbirds, we were really hurting prior to the Count. There were just not many "stake-outs," those rarities that we know are here, and that we can then go and tally on Count Day. One of the few stake-outs was a Pine Warbler, found feeding in small conifers in a Goleta business park. The other was a Green-tailed Towhee found on private property in Montecito.

Alas, the female Zone-tailed Hawk, which had been present for 14 straight winters, was not seen this year. Perhaps she is in "hawk heaven" - but we surely do miss that bird, a fixture on the CBC.

The new birds, those we didn't know were around, are always exciting. These included a Gray Flycatcher at the Goleta Cemetery, a Western Kingbird in Hope Ranch, a Summer Tanager and a Tennessee Warbler in Montecito, and four Cassin's Finches on the Riviera.

As we all walked into the Countdown Dinner at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, and the rain began to fall once again heralding the next storm, everybody heaved a sigh of relief. We'd snatched victory and a fun Bird Count from what might have been a really hard day!

Hearing the news at the Count Day Potluck. Photo courtesy Callie Bowdish.

A special thanks to Bill Pollock and Joan Murdoch. The former has completely digitized the SBAS bird count data, so that it can be quickly and easily assembled every year. And Joan Murdoch handled all the participants sign-ups with graciousness and good humor.

And how did the total of 206 stack up against other CBCs nationwide? We tied for second in California with Coastal Orange County (San Diego got 214 for the winning spot), and the Texas Counts were way above us, as they traditionally have been now for several years.

Not to worry. There wasn't a single birder on our Santa Barbara Count that had even dared to expect we'd tally this many wonderful birds in the midst of all that forecasted rain and wind!

Additional Count Week Sightings