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Will Cook/Chatham county bird counts...



Did anyone else note the fact that the total count for Wood Thrushes (1)
was a record low?  Is that what others have noticed this year, as I did
in my yard (25 acres in deep woods)...where I had a very, very limited
number of Wood Thrushes breeding?

The numbers have been declining for several years, and I have read
elsewhere about acid rain and Wood Thrush declines...I wonder if the
county, which is part of the Triangle and it's air pollution problems
well noted by EPA, is possibly related.

Last year, as many others probably did, I used a hose for a daily large
scale misting from my well of a sourwood tree, and surrounding area.  I
have found that this tree in particular is very well loved by both
hummingbirds when it has its little flowers (sourwood honey in the
mountains of NC is one of life's great pleasures) and other birds
because of the barks being so deeply fissured that it's a great place
for birds to find bugs, and drink water when it rains a little. Anyway,
last year was the year of the drought, and it had apparently gotten so
bad that my deep woods thrushes would actually come up to the tree while
we were outside and poke around in the detritus for bugs brought up by
the mist.  I have never observed them being so bold, and I think that
the drought may have been the reason.  I also think that it was a
terrible year for breeding, and that this cold, wet one, may have been
worse.

I also had far, far fewer cowbirds this year, which may or may not have
been related.

Anyway...any theories about the Wood Thrush drop off in the bird count?

Thanks

Fred Houk
Chatham county, NC (near Chapel Hill)