My Second Christmas Bird Count At The Montour Preserve
I returned to the Montour Preserve early Sunday morning to participate in my second National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count. The Montour Preserve, obviously, is located in Montour County, and is part of the Bloomsburg Circle of the National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count. A circle is an area where participants work under the supervision of a Compiler to count birds in specific areas of the circle. A day is chosen every year between December 14 and January 5 for the count. A friend asked me to join the group assigned to the Montour Preserve where he has volunteered for many years.
It was cloudy and cold when I arrived at the Visitor Center at the preserve around 8 a.m. I met a few folks from the group. A lot of the participants where going to different areas around Lake Chillisquaque, which is in the center of the preserve. The 640 acre preserve and 165 acre lake were created in 1071 when the PPL electric company needed a water source for a coal fired power plant. I was going to hike the five mile trail around the lake myself and hopefully see a lot of birds to add to the count. 
I left the Visitor Center and walked passed the historic farm homestead. I s aw my first bird here a northern cardinal. I walked along Sportsmans Road on my way to the lake. 
In a stream along the road I saw 6 mallard ducks but couldn’t get a photo before they took off, quacking loudly as they did. 
On my past visit, I have seen a lot of sparrows, chickadees, titmice and woodpeckers in the wetlands and shrubs along the road.
It was quiet on the cold and cloudy Sunday morning. I only saw a few American crows and a couple of noisy blue jays 
I walked above the lake and saw this white tail deer watching me watch it. 
I took a path down to the Heron Cove.
The bare branches of the oak trees along the lake made for an even more dreary scene,
as the clouds obscured the rising sun. 
I did see a bright spot, a pair of golden crowned kinglets were feeding in one of the trees and I was able to get a photos of this elusive bird. 
Most of the waters of the lake were covered in ice. I heard Canada geese and wood ducks in the distance so I knew there must be some open waters along the shore across the lake. 
I followed the Chillisquaque trail along the lake,
and near it’s intersection with the Blue Bird Trail,
I saw some white -throated , swamp and song sparrows.I was only able to photograph a few of the song sparrows. 
The trail took me on a bridge over the Chillisquaque Creek, which was damned to create the lake. 
It then took me up a ridge through a hardwood forest. 
Here I saw a few tufted titmice, a white breasted nuthatch and a small flock of black-capped chickadees. I usually see a lot of woodpeckers in these woods but there were none on Sunday. 
It was a dreary walk under the cloudy skies and through the , bare brown and gray woodlands. The only green I saw were some garlic mustard plants
and these ferns growing along the trail.
The trail took me back down to the lake where I hoped to see the wood ducks or possibly some other water fowl. However there was ice on the waters of the lake and no water birds. 
The Chillisquaque proceeded up the ridge but I followed loop that took me through a pine forest. I hoped to see some red breasted nuthatches, pine siskins or maybe an owl in the pine trees, but again it was quiet and there was no bird activity here. 
I did see a few gray squirrels,
and this red squirrel scurrying through the trees
probably searching for the many pine cones scattered along the trail.
The trail took me back to the lake,
where I heard some more wood ducks and saw a great blue heron fly overhead.The trail followed the lake and then took me back to the Chillisquaque Trail and up a ridge. I usually see a lot of woodpeckers here, on the many dead trees in the older woodlands along the trail. Again. I saw none on Sunday. 
I did see another white tail deer.
The trail took me up and down a few ridges, through a second growth woodland that was once logged, 
and then through a wetlands and over a few streams,
before following a trail back toward the 
lake and Visitor Center.
Here, I finally saw some woodpeckers, a couple of red headed woodpeckers were searching for food in the trees. 
I also saw a small flock of American goldfinches, a few tufted titmice,
and this eastern bluebird. I thought it was a sparrow when I took the photo and only realized it was a blue bird when i edited the photos a few days later. I hope they can still include in in the bird count. 
I also saw another white breasted nuthatch,
and a flock of American robins in one of the fields along the road. Here is a link to a gallery in my blog website with the few birds I was able to photograph on my five mile hike around Lake Chillisquaque. Montour Preserve. birds December 15 2024. 
I finished my five mile hike back at the parking lot around 11 a.m. Most of the participants in the group would remain all day. I wish I could have too. . I was a little disappointed in seeing only 17 species of birds and hearing 5 others. The group observed 46 species of birds on Sunday. I was glad to play a small role in this important project. The information is vital to study and protect the diminishing bird populations. And, although it was cold, dark and dreary, I enjoyed my hike in the Montour Preserve. Here is a link to a gallery in my blog website with some more photos from my five mile hike around Lake Chillisquaque. Montour Preserve. birds December 15 2024. 
“In order to see birds, it is necessary to become a part of the silence.” -Robert Lynd
”How can you expect the birds to sing when their groves are cut down?”- Henry David Thoreau
“… I had also started to recognise just how positive I felt when I was immersed in the world of birds. My worries seemed to fade into insignificance and when I was feeling stressed, if I counteracted it with some time outside, watching them, it drifted off like birds do, in a stiff breeze.”― Joe Harkness
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