The Christmas Bird Count

Pileated!!!!

Martin yelled out, “Pileated!” with an enthusiasm I only muster for a hot slice of pizza oozing cheese, sauce, and pepperoni the way my mom’s pizza did. But Martin is not your average guy. And we were not at a pizza joint. We were tromping around in the cold, gray drizzle of the North Hills of Pittsburgh counting birds for the Christmas Bird Count, something I didn’t even know existed until last week when I read about it in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Martin knows just about every bird species in western Pennsylvania and was part of the group I was placed with for this year’s Bird Count. He carried a camera around his neck the size of a giant summer zucchini.

I am not a birder…so what in God’s name was I doing there? Well, last year a particularly noisy cardinal continually sang outside my apartment until I realized it was kind of fun recognizing his call, which sounds like boor-it boor-it, chew, chew, chew. This is either a sign I have lived alone too long, or am morphing nicely into an old person.

So I thought it might be cool to learn what other birds sound like, plus it was a way to exit my comfort zone, learn something new, and meet some interesting people. I had no idea people were so into it.

Our group leader, Mary was an experienced birder too, along with her husband Jim. They go on birding expeditions just to see different species of birds. And Dan, a retired nurse, was in our group too. He said he just liked watching the birds at his feeder.

So, there we were, trekking through the freezing sleet and muck of North Park trying to count birds. In reality, Mary and Martin did most of the counting. I was basically useless, but I learned a lot. There’s a whooshing noise (click on the highlighted words whooshing noise and see a video of Martin whooshing) you make when you approach an area where birds might be. Martin and Mary made the whooshing noise and birds came out just to see what all the fuss was about.

I thought you’d want to use a bird call, but learned that using a specific call might scare other birds away fearing competition. Who knew? And pileated means having a crest covering the pileum, which is the top of the head of a bird. I think Martin spotted a Pileated Woodpecker, which is a fairly common, cool looking red-headed bird in western Pennsylvania. I’m sorry I missed seeing it because I love a good looking redhead. They also mentioned a titmouse, which is a cute little bird with an unfortunate name.

Martin had an app he used to count birds, I think it was called eBird. There is also the Audubon Bird Guide App, and there is Merlin Bird ID, which tells you the different bird calls, and, yes I am going to download that because becoming a bird geek sort of appeals to me.

I learned the difference between ducks and geese. I know these are things first graders probably know, but I never paid much attention until now. Ducks are smaller with shorter necks, geese are larger with longer necks. Ducks quack and geese honk. Plus, geese can be nasty and try to scare you away, while ducks tend to avoid you.

Maybe I’m easily amused, but I did find it interesting. It was fun meeting such experienced, knowledgeable people and a great way to get my steps in for the day, plus now I can throw around words like pileated and titmouse with the smooth confidence of an Audubon Society member.

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