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Description

For 40 years Wayne Mollhoff conducted a personal bird census every January. He explains: "After having run several Breeding Bird Survey routes, and participated in several Christmas Bird Counts, I became curious to see what might be found on a winter count under the more tightly controlled parameters of a census, as contrasted with Christmas counts done with variable numbers of observers."

The count was set up similarly to the USGS Breeding Bird Survey routes with 50 stops, one-half mile (800 meters) apart, all birds counted for 3 minutes, with birds counted at one stop not counted again at following stops. The census route ran from the northwest corner of Boone County, along Beaver Creek, to a point outside Albion. Counts began at local sunrise.

A total of 73 species were recorded during the 40-year census. This paper records those results and offers observations on patterns of occurrence or absence and changes in frequency.

ISBN

978-1-60962-302-9

Publication Date

9-15-2023

Publisher

Zea Books

City

Lincoln, Nebraska

Keywords

birds, counts, Nebraska, ornithology, census

Disciplines

Behavior and Ethology | Ornithology | Population Biology

Comments

Copyright © 2023 Wayne J. Mollhoff

Observations on a 40-Year January Bird Census in Boone County, Nebraska, 1978–2017

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