BOONE, Iowa—The 40th annual Boone County Christmas Bird Count took place on January 3rd, 2026. Results are in! 62 different bird species were recorded within a 15-mile-wide circle centered on the city of Boone. A total of 10,693 birds were spotted for the day. The 62 species ties for the 3rd highest species total for the count, owing to quiet weather good for finding birds, and a whopping 42 people who helped search out and count those birds.
Counters found solid numbers of favorite birds like Bald Eagles (106), Eastern Bluebirds (90), the large Pileated Woodpeckers (20) and small Red-breasted Nuthatches (10). On the flip side, lower than normal numbers of bird feeder favorites were seen, like Black-capped Chickadees (129), Tufted Titmouse (14) and Northern Cardinals (170). Likely due to the lack of snow cover, there were no sightings of Horned Larks, Lapland Longspurs and Snow Buntings in the farm fields of Boone County, and only 14 Ring-necked Pheasants.
Birds not often seen on the Boone County count included a Red-shouldered Hawk in Moingona, a Merlin (small falcon), Eurasian Tree Sparrows (numbers are increasing in rural Iowa), a Redpoll, and a couple of Yellow-rumped Warblers.
Overall, above average numbers of the following were seen: Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Northern Harrier, Red-headed Woodpecker (49), Red-bellied Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, American Kestrel, Blue Jay, Winter Wren, European Starling, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, House Finch, Purple Finch (164 is a record for the count by a wide margin), and White-throated Sparrow (62 is another record high by a large margin).
Low numbers of Pheasant, Turkey, Black-capped Chickadee (129 being the lowest number ever recorded on the Boone County CBC by a wide margin), Tufted Titmouse (also the lowest number ever), and Northern Cardinal were recorded.
Count results were reported to the National Audubon Society and to the Iowa Ornithologists Union, where, after review, they can be viewed at christmasbirdcount.org or iowabirds.org/Connections/CBC.aspx.
For more information on the Boone County Christmas Bird Count, contact Karl Jungbluth weatherbird58@gmail.com. Next year’s count will be on January 2nd, 2027
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