Yellow-billed Magpies were observed in 24 of California’s 58
counties during a recent volunteer survey sponsored by Audubon
California to help support the conservation of this dynamic
species. The survey
– held June 3-6 – was the third annual effort to rally birders
all around the state to venture outside in search of the
Yellow-billed Magpie.
Yellow-billed Magpies were observed in 24 of California’s 58 counties during a recent volunteer survey sponsored by Audubon California to help support the conservation of this dynamic species. The survey – held June 3-6 – was the third annual effort to rally birders all around the state to venture outside in search of the Yellow-billed Magpie.
“In a lot of ways this survey is a great celebration of this California bird,” said Andrea Jones, Audubon California’s director of Important Bird Areas. “Even though the rain made the birds hard to find, we had more people out in the field than ever before, and even added two additional counties over last year.”
About 260 volunteers submitted checklists to the survey this year, more than double the number of the first survey in 2009. Given that many people worked in teams, about 500 people in total participated, the society said in a news release.
Popular among birders and compelling for conservationists, the Yellow-billed Magpie lives only in California’s Central Valley and Coastal Ranges, and may be may experiencing a comeback after major declines due to habitat loss, West Nile Virus and pesticide use. Voters in an online poll named the Yellow-billed Magpie Audubon California’s Bird of the Year for 2009.
Volunteers in the June survey counted 3,200 birds across 24 counties (up from 18 counties in 2009), with the most birds counted in Sacramento, Yolo, and San Luis Obispo counties.
There were 18 of the birds in San Benito County – the 19th most of the 24 counties.
The highest count of birds from a single checklist was 73 observed in east Oakdale in Stanislaus County and many flocks of 40+ in Merced, Yolo, Sacramento, and Solano counties. The northernmost Yellow-billed Magpies were observed in Shasta, Shasta County, east of I-5. The southernmost birds were also observed again at Lake Cachuma and Solvang, in Santa Barbara County.
A breakdown of the birds sighted by county is below.
Audubon California’s Yellow-billed Magpie survey is notable for its simplicity and for how easy it is to participate. People were asked to look for the bird anytime during the survey period and then go online to eBird (www.ebird.org/california) to register their findings. Participants don’t need to be bird experts and they don’t need to look for birds during the entire survey period.
Data from the survey will be shared with researchers at UC Davis and elsewhere, who are monitoring the Yellow-billed Magpie and identifying ways to help grow the population. Using eBird for data collection ensures that information about the bird is fed directly to bird researchers and conservationists around the world.
Breakdown of magpies seen by county:
County Number of Birds Sacramento 1118 Yolo 486 San Luis Obispo 293 Santa Barbara 179 Merced 165 Stanislaus 151 Solano 140 Santa Clara 130 Shasta 113 Butte 63 Monterey 58 Placer 55 Alameda 50 Colusa 49 Tehama 33 Fresno 24 Nevada 21 San Benito 18 Glenn 14 Amador 12 San Joaquin 11 Madera 8 El Dorado 7 Calaveras 2 TOTAL BIRDS COUNTED 3,200
