Christmas bird count by National Audubon Society draws birders to Bodega Bay

A cormorant stretched out its wings and held still as waves crashed into the crags at Bodega Head on Sunday morning. The little black bird was one of many that would be counted by local bird-watchers as part of the National Audubon Society's 119th annual Christmas bird count.

Dan Nelson and Mike Parmeter brought two telescopes, two pairs of binoculars and nearly 100 years of birding experience between them to Sunday's bird count on the Sonoma Coast. Gusts of wind notwithstanding, the bird-watchers' perch on Bodega Head was about as good as it gets once the sun was out, Nelson remarked.

'There couldn't be a better place to show up and be doing what I do,' Nelson said, adding that each outing offered 'the anticipation of magic.'

Bodega Head is in one of 21 bird-watching circles overseen by the Madrone Audubon Society for the 52nd annual Western Sonoma County Christmas Bird Count. Birders keep a running count through Sunday and submit a form that includes about 300 possible species. Parmeter said he had participated in Christmas bird counts of up to 190 different species and thousands of birds. The nonprofit's Christmas count provides a major and regular source of data that allows avian researchers to spot trends over time. The winter census is conducted over several weeks by Audubon chapters across the country.

Bird-counters are asked to fill out a special form to document any rare birds and to describe any unusual fowl sightings in additional written detail. Parmeter and Nelson had counted a good deal of common western gulls, some cormorants, at least one surf scoter and a harlequin duck that had been spotted in and around the bay in recent weeks.

As Parmeter can tell you, it's not easy to show up and identify a bird with a glance — particularly when many similar birds congregate in tight quarters along the coast.

'It takes a while to learn the gulls,' he said. 'They're tough.'

As Nelson and Parmeter trained their eyes over whitecaps whipped up in the Pacific Ocean they watched not only the birds that zipped above the rocks but those that rested in the troughs of waves. Nelson earned an attaboy from Parmeter for spotting a trio of specks bobbing past the breakers: three marbled murrelets, a small endangered seabird occasionally seen off the Sonoma County coast.

The Western Sonoma count is one of several in the region for the 2018-2019 winter, including two upcoming counts targeted toward children.

A Christmas bird count for kids sponsored by the Petaluma Elks lodge will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday at Shollenberger Park.

On Jan. 21, the Sonoma Valley Christmas Bird Count for kids will be held at 10 a.m. at the Fairfield Osborn Preserve.

You can reach Staff Writer Will Schmitt at 707-521-5207.