Every Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is different. We enjoy the counts because you never know what observations you will have: your favorite winter bird, high numbers of a common bird, a bird that is out of place in late December, or even a rare bird.
During the 54th Poynette CBC on December 27, 2025, 35 observers in 13 parties counted in the field while feeders were counted at six residences. Two parties spent two and a half hours counting owls. Sixty-four total species were recorded, with each group averaging in the low 60s. The field observers walked 18 miles and drove 492 miles!
It is not easy to find high numbers of individual species during this particular CBC since it has been running for so long. Two species with high count numbers were found in 2025: Eurasian Collared-Doves (119) and Northern Flickers (36).
Dory Owen and Fred Clark found the majority (115) of the Eurasian Collared-Doves. Their single checklist count of 75 collared-doves on eBird is a new state record. The eBird reviewer even asked them if they were sure that they were not Morning Doves, but Dory’s photos quickly convinced them. Near the collared-doves they saw six more doves sitting close together on a wire. Dory said, “I bet Fred $100,000,000 they would also be Eurasian Collared-Doves, based on how many we’d seen already. . . . I owe Fred $100,000,000.” Fred is hoping that Dory wins big in the lotteries.
Large flock of Eurasian Collared-Doves during the 2025 Poynette CBC (photo by Dory Owen).
The record high number of Northern Flickers were found by seven parties, with 21 found by Jane Furchgott, Bill and Corbin Smith. They found most of the flickers in two flocks high on a ridge feeding in grasses along a roadside. Flickers have only been found in 11 of the Poynette CBCs with the previous high count being 22 in 1998.
Goose Pond land steward Graham Steinhauer also found a new county eBird record: six Brown Creepers at the Rowan Creek Fishery Area. Decades ago, Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance contributed funds to the Wisconsin DNR to support constructing a boardwalk trail through these wetlands. He found them in an area of shrubby floodplain with conifer and deciduous trees, remarking, “By far my best looks at this species, one of them at less than 15 feet.”
Brown Creeper (photo by Kelly Colgan Azar).
Overall, Graham summed up the lower-than-usual numbers in the 2025 count as a likely result of the weather—early December had 10 inches of snow with temperatures below normal. Warmer weather arrived on December 23 (41 degree high), so the snow had melted by the time the CBC was held. Winter birds that probably were enjoying the mild conditions just a bit north of us included Snow Buntings and Lapland Longspurs.
On December 8, Graham, Emma Raasch (Goose Pond ecological restoration technician), Logan Bahr, and Mark Martin (Goose Pond sanctuary manager) conducted an eBird count at Goose Pond Sanctuary concentrated on our food plots. Highlights included 149 Ring-necked Pheasants—a state record, 345 Mourning Doves, and 415 American Tree Sparrows. On the December 27 count day, we searched the food plots but found that many of the birds were in the surrounding prairies due to the mild conditions. However, we still found 93 Ring-necked Pheasants, 200 Mourning Doves, and 131 American Tree Sparrows.
The 2025 Poynette CBC and this feature is dedicated to honor Mary Ann Schultz. Mary Ann began counting birds with us at her feeders in 1989 and counted for 36 years. We always enjoy talking to Mary Ann after the count and during the year when she has a great bird observation. Her favorite birds are the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and Baltimore Orioles. It would be nice to know how many species and numbers have visited her feeders throughout the years. Mary Ann loves birds and the birds love Mary Ann.
We are looking forward to this year's CBC on December 26, 2026. Stay tuned for more details this fall and let us know if you would like to join us!
To find the full results of our data as reported to the National Audubon Society, visit the link for 2025 results, then highlight “Current Year”, then click on “Results by Count”, next fill in Country, State, and WIPO for the count. When it opens, you can click on PDF or other formats.
Written by Mark Martin and Susan Foote-Martin, Goose Pond sanctuary managers, and Graham Steinhauer, Goose Pond land steward
Cover image by Courtney Celley/USFWS. A Northern Flicker perched in branches of an evergreen.
Read our previous features about the Poynette CBC: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2024
