After months of drought, many were glad for the predicted heavy rain on Saturday, December 16th. However, that was the day of the Bradenton Circle Christmas Bird Count (CBC). Thankfully, the heavier rain didn’t start until mid-afternoon, which allowed 31 teams comprised of 64 individual birders to survey their territories within the 15-mile Bradenton Circle.

While the weather didn’t stop our team members, it did impact the number of species (149 vs 159 in 2022) and the number of individual birds (31,398 vs 44,345 in 2022). However, several new species were identified during this year’s count: Marbled Godwit, Long-billed Dowitcher, Crested Caracara, Tree Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, AND American Flamingo. Yes, of the many American Flamingos dispersed during Hurricane Idalia, one or two remained in Manatee County. This was the first record of an American Flamingo for the Bradenton CBC. The Carolina Chickadee has been seen at a nearby feeder for 264 days and is only the third record of this species for the Bradenton CBC. The Crested Caracara is the second record for this species.

Other highlights were the high numbers of these species: Wood Duck, Red-breasted Merganser, Black Skimmer, American Robin, and Brown-headed Cowbird.