KISSIMMEE VALLEY CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT
KISSIMMEE VALLEY CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT
The 2024 Kissimmee Valley Christmas Bird Count is underway!
This year's KVCBC is up and running. The count began on December 19th and will run through 11:59pm on December 25th.
This year we set up an eBird account and trip report for the KVCBC. The trip report will publish all shared checklists.
To ensure your eBird checklist is tallied in the combined trip report for the count, please share each checklist or trip report with the eBird username: kvcbc1 . So if you are using the eBird app, simply click SHARE CHECKLIST WITH... (located under Observers, Minutes and Miles) and then type in kvcbc1 . If you are the only observer, you will need to increase the number of observers by 1 in order to share the check list or trip report with kvcbc1 .
Just like last year, once we receive all trip reports and checklists (including paper lists) , the collated results will be published in a PDF to this page. Check back after the count for results.
The count circle is centered in Lake Tohopekaliga (Lake Toho for short). Lake Toho remains a popular Bass fishing destination. The count circle is broken up into 10 sections, with boaters and kayakers covering the lake. Birding while swimming is not recommended as Lake Toho has a healthy population of American Alligators.
Our 10 sections cover a wide area of habitat:
The South end of the circle has Disney Wilderness Preserve, a large area of Pine Woods. This area is covered by the staff/volunteers of the preserve. They generally pick up Brown-headed Nuthatches, Bachman's Sparrow, Red-cockaded Woodpecker and Osceola County's only Florida Scrub-Jays. Other sections cover the lower Poinciana area.
The West side of the circle gets into the upper Poinciana and Kissimmee area with traffic and sub-divisions; however, Shingle Creek runs along the West side and there is a large area of wetlands with some isolated fields and canals. Teams have come up with: Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, several warbler species, Hermit Thrush, Tropical/Couch’s Kingbird, and shorebirds. For a couple years a retention pond was the nightly roost for Hooded Merganser where 100 were counted!
The North portion of the circle is primarily Kissimmee; but all along Lake Toho, parks like Brownie Wise, Lake Front, and Brinson can hold great birds. Brownie Wise had Osceola’s only documented Vermilion Flycatcher one winter. Twin Oaks Conservation area covers a huge prairie area and Goblet’s Cove. Le Conte’s, Henslow’s, and Grasshopper Sparrows have all been recorded at Twin Oaks. This section also has Osceola's only parrot species: Monk Parakeets at the Rose Hill Cemetery. Summer Tanager was found in the cemetery one year as well. There are many retention ponds, wet pastures (though declining rapidly) and canals in this region. Black-bellied Whistling Ducks are regular, Limpkins, Purple Gallinules, Least Bitterns, Roseate Spoonbills and Wilson’s Snipe can all be found in these habitats.
The East side of the circle gets into St. Cloud, where Baltimore Orioles, House Finches and White-winged Doves can all be found. South of Saint Cloud gets back into Pine Woods and developments. Eastern Bluebirds, Red-headed Woodpeckers, Eastern Meadowlarks, Loggerhead Shrikes and American Kestrels can all be found in these areas.
The Lake itself is covered by boaters including Deborah Green and her husband who have been boating the lake for us for years. They have pulled out some awesome waterfowl numbers - one year 176 Canvasbacks were recorded as were Redhead, Scaup, Ruddy Ducks, Horned Grebes, and huge numbers of Purple Gallinules.
All along the lake, counters should look for: Crested Caracara, Snail Kite, Limpkin, Bald Eagles, Terns, Gulls, waterfowl and all your favorite wading birds.