Twenty-two volunteer counters braved the 14-degree weather to tally as many birds as they could during the 2025 Great Christmas Bird Count in the Upper Susitna Valley. The count covers a circular area over Trapper Creek and Talkeetna and this is the 30th year for the event.
Hundreds of redpolls returned this year after being completely absent from the count last year. Local birder Amber Langley says that could be due to food availability. The largest flock of redpolls, she says, was 85 individuals, but birders counted multiple flocks during the day.
A belted kingfisher spotted along Birch Creek seemed to be the highlight of the count. Some birders count at their home feeders, which brings in different species, like downy and hairy woodpeckers. Birders counted a total of 17 hours at their feeders and others tallied for 15 hours and traveled 24 miles in the field.
The saw-whet owl spotted last year returned for the count this year. And while last year two boreal chickadees were tallied, only one showed this year. Local birder Kathy Ernst noted last year that boreal chickadee numbers seemed to be declining in the area.
With 1,057 birds, this year’s tally was about four times as many as last year. That’s due mostly to the large flocks of redpolls. But there also were flocks of black-capped chickadees and bohemian waxwings adding to the tally.
The local birders will gather again the first weekend in May for their annual Birdathon covering the same area. That event captures different species as they migrate through the Upper Susitna Valley.
