The results are in for the annual America’s Birdiest City and County contests, and the big winners for 2004 are Corpus Christi as America’s Birdiest City and San Diego County as America’s Birdiest County. The winners are determined on the basis of which city or county can record the most species of birds within the city or county limits in a designated 48-hour period.

In the city competition, Corpus Christi, Texas, repeated its 2003 victory as America’s Birdiest City by tallying 241 species this spring (as compared to 228 last year). It was followed by San Diego (the 2002 winner) with 207, New York City (the 2001 winner) at 199, Chicago with 168, and Duluth with 166. Corpus Christi will be hard to beat, given its strategic location on the Gulf flyway and on the North American – Tropical American interface.

San Diego County emerges this year as the champion in the county competition, with a total of 266 species identified. This is the highest species total yet compiled by any city or county in the contest. The competition for the title of America’s Birdiest County was spirited, with San Diego’s 266 being followed by Monterey, CA (the 2003 winner) with 248, Nueces, TX with 241, Los Angeles, CA with 240, Kern, CA with 232, Cameron, TX with 230, Orange, CA with 216, and Inyo, CA with 213. San Diego’s edge lies in its combination of coastline, estuaries, canyons, mountains, and deserts.

Because cities and counties come in greatly different sizes, and because some parts of the country (such as coastlines) have inherently more species of birds than others, additional categories of winners have been created. The complete list of 2004 winners is as follows:

Birdiest Large City, coastal: Corpus Christi, TX 241

Birdiest Large City, inland: Chicago, IL 168

Birdiest Small City (land area), coastal: Brownsville, TX 125

Birdiest Small City (land area), inland: Duluth, MN 166

Birdiest Coastal County, western: San Diego, CA 266

Birdiest Coastal County, eastern: Kings, NY 163

Birdiest Inland County, western: Kern, CA 232

Birdiest Inland County, eastern: Cook, IL 199

The Inland County category proved to be a hot contest, with Kern, CA emerging as the winner with 232 species. Inyo County, CA finished second at 213, followed by Cook County, IL with 199, St. Louis County, MN (that’s Minnesota, not Missouri!) at 196, and Hidalgo, TX with 173. And in the spirit of recognizing enthusiasm as highly as large totals, we tip our hats to the little cluster of participating Hill Country counties in Texas – Blanco, Burnet, and Llano!

Other strong finishers among cities were Houston with 154, Oklahoma City with 149, and Philadelphia with 114. And again we are pleased to recognize Canada’s coolest birding community, North Bay, Ontario, that provided that country’s best total with 130 species.

The various entrants are clearly honing their skills, as the winners in six of the eight categories this year exceeded the 2003 winning total for the same category. A new high of 30 cities or counties submitted results.

Several hundred participants took part in the 2004 counts. The coordinator of the competition, Phil Pryde, said that San Diego had over 80 participants in the field this year. New York City can often call out close to 100.

Pryde also noted that the competition produces benefits beyond mere bragging rights. These compilations, like the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Counts, provide a long-term record of bird occurrences in the county, and help to identify trends. They also underscore the importance of wildlife habitat protection, and assist in promoting ecotourism in the local economy.

The fifth annual America’s Birdiest City and County competition will be held in April and May of 2005. It’s not too early to make plans to enter your city or county next spring!