Winter Bird Watching on the Highlands Cashiers Plateau

Written By: William McReynolds - Highlands Plateau Audubon Society | Issue: Winter 2022

We know about the birds that go through the winter here on the Plateau because we count them. 

Every year. 

In December the National Audubon Society sponsors the Christmas Bird Count or CBC that mobilizes local Audubon chapters and volunteers into an international “count your birds” event. 

Yes, the Audubon Society counts our North American birds every year. It’s serious ornithology in the form of citizen science. 

These Christmas Bird Counts have occurred every winter since 1900. CBCs now take place across the U.S., Canada, Latin America, and beyond. Counters include upwards of 2,400 counting groups including over 60,000 individuals whose counts total over 68 million birds. These yearly bird counts feed what is perhaps the largest citizen science database in the world.

Our local Highlands Plateau Audubon Society participates in these bird counts every year and, as a result, we know what birds winter with us. Looking across years, we see upwards of 50 species and 2,000 birds every year. 

Some years we see over 500 Slate-Colored Juncos, for instance, making this our most abundant winter species. These precious little birds have white bellies and skitter about at ground level in a manner reminiscent of pigeons. They eat seeds and are friendly with other birds.

Another common winter bird is the Carolina Chickadee. This namesake bird is often the first to come to a winter feeder, ahead of the mixed winter flock soon to follow. Our Chickadees, like our high-count Song Sparrows and Carolina Wren, puff themselves up in a down blanket for warmth. The normally sleek Wren can look like a brown-feathered tennis ball on a frigid winter day. 

Our winter birds benefit greatly from backyard feeders. Their favorite seed is black oil sunflower. Winter birds such as Downy Woodpeckers and Nuthatch will also come to a suet feeder. Bird feeders are sold in many places, local shops, and big box stores. 

If you decide to join the ranks of those who feed the birds, remember  that you should provide a bird feeder with perching posts of some sort that keep birds from standing in the seed they are feeding on, and you must bring the feeders in at night to avoid attracting racoons and bears. Cats behind glass, always. 

Wash your hands after tending your feeder.

Locate your feeder such that you can watch it, glancing at it as you move about. Binoculars will greatly enhance the experience of watching the birds come and go. 

Happy winter bird watching from the Highlands Plateau Audubon Society. Find us at highlandsaudubonsociety.org.