Christmas Bird Count at Sweetwater Marsh
and the Living Coast Discovery Center
The Living Coast Discovery Center — along with some intrepid volunteers — participated in the Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count on December 20, 2014.
Some of the most notable sightings included a Tundra Swan, an adult Reddish Egret and adult Little Blue Heron, which is the first recorded on the refuge. Unfortunately, some species continue to decline, including Costa’s Hummingbird which used to breed around the Living Coast, but now appears to have vanished, and Loggerhead Shrike was missed again after being recorded for several straight years, a sign of its serious decline throughout the county.
Here at LCDC, three birders headed out at 11am and finished at 2pm. Living Coast volunteers Jeanne Raimond, Judy McIntosh and Lura Cox took the refuge road and walked for a mile and a half on the trails surrounding the exterior of the center. Here’s what they saw.
