The 7th (1906) CBC in Michigan

Following a two-year hiatus, Michigan once again participated in the Christmas Bird Census in 1906. While the 1906 CBC was just Michigan’s 3rd, it was the 7th conducted under the sponsorship of Frank Chapman’s Bird-Lore. The introductory paragraph of Bird-Lore’s presentation of results reads as follows:

EACH year an increasing number of observers take part in BIRD-LORE’S Christmas Census. Established primarily as a means of arousing interest in field work and of encouraging definite methods of recording one’s observations, we are now gradually accumulating a mass of exact information, interesting in itself and, in the aggregate, affording a definite basis for comparison with results obtained in other years. It, therefore, has true scientific value. Source: Bird-Lore 9:16 (1907).

Here are the published results for the two Michigan counts:

          Port Sanilac, Michigan.—December 28; time, 10.30 A.M. to 12.30 P.M. Cloudy; two to six inches snow; southwest wind, light; temp., 32° to 34°. American Merganser (?), 2; Crow, 6; White-winged Crossbill, 22; Chickadee, 4. Total, 4 species, 34 individuals.—ETHEL B. CHASE, HERBERT T. THOMSON, HARRIET W. THOMSON.

            Detroit, Mich.—Time, 10.15 to 11.45 A.M. Cloudy; three inches of snow; wind northwest, light; temp., 20°. Location, Belle Isle in Detroit River. White-breasted Nuthatch, 24; Chickadee, 14; Red-headed Woodpecker, 4; Goldfinch, 5; Crow, 2; Herring Gull, 7; Pied-billed Grebe, 2 (flying southward). Total, 7 species, 59 individuals [actually, the figures add to 58 individuals].—JEFFERSON BUTLER.

            Source: Bird-Lore 9:30 (1907).