Eddes follow the call of the Christmas bird count

IRONWOOD — Jerry and Christy Edde were out driving around the area Saturday looking for bird of this feather and that as part of the annual area bird count, held on a weekend near Christmas every year.

They took to the road around 7 a.m. and talked about their annual tradition. They made it their mission to drive up and down the roads of Wakefield, Ramsay, Plymouth Location, Bessemer, Ironwood and Hurley to survey the bird life for the annual Gogebic Range pre-Christmas Bird Count.

They estimated that they will drive over 80 miles on the day and go all day until sundown. “Or, unless I get too annoyed with Jerry,” Christy said.

While there were just two of them in the car, they weren’t doing this all on their own. Each year they enlist the help of volunteer counters across the area — some also get outside in search of fowl, while others participate by staying inside where it’s warm and counting the traffic at their bird feeders.

Jerry got hooked on birds when he was working as a U.S. Forest Service fisheries biologist. As he worked with other wildlife officials, they challenged him to look for and know the bird life.

“The Forest Service probably influences birds more than any other group, and I should probably know them,” he said.

He worked on a breeding bird census while working with the Forest Service. Over time, he learned the sounds and sights of the birds in the area. The survey continued into retirement and the Eddes have now done the bird counts for about 30 years.

One of the key places to find birds are at feeders or other food sources. “All animals have to eat,” he said.

As Christy drove, Jerry looked for feeders and birds associated with them, and stopped and checked the birds with binoculars. Often, they pulled over to the side of the road to view the birds and note them for the count.

The results of the area’s bird count are often published in the publication “Michigan Birds,” but this local count is not done in conjunction with the Audobon Society’s annual count, which also takes place in the winter.

The emphasis is on keeping the counting “simple and fun” for volunteer counters.

When the Eddes arrive back home in the late afternoon and they field calls from other volunteer bird spotters and compile their annual report.

Jerry emphasized that bird counting is pretty easy and can be done by anyone. In a home with bird feeders, the birds come to the counter and it just requires some patience to get a good count, he said, adding bird feeding has become popular because “people like to see wildlife.”

Among the species that have thrived over the past few years have been bald eagles and turkeys, said Jerry.

They stopped along Sunset Road in Ironwood Township to observe turkeys pecking away at a feeder trying to get food to drop to the ground to eat. “You never used to see turkeys,” Jerry said.

The Eddes have observed variations in what kind of birds are in the area. Some birds come down this way out of their normal range “because they have either had a really good year and need to expand their habitat, or have a bad year and need to go out of their normal range to find food.”

However, the vast majority of birds they see are among 12 to 15 species that are native to the area.

Editor’s note: Results of the 2018 Gogebic Range pre-Christmas Bird Count were not available at press time.