In an annual tradition, dozens of Bradenton-area bird lovers looked to the sky earlier this month for the 125th Audubon Christmas Bird Count.
Members of the Manatee County Audubon Society tallied birds by the thousands.
In total, they documented 154 species and 33,551 individual birds within a 15-mile radius in Bradenton during the one-day outing on Saturday, Dec. 14.
The group spotted several birds that are rarely seen in the Bradenton area, according to a report compiled by Christmas Bird Count organizer Kathy Doddridge.
They included gadwall, northern pintail and bufflehead (three varieties of duck), shorebirds like the piping plover and red knot, a peregrine falcon and colorful songbirds like the cedar waxwing and black-throated blue warbler.
“While we see many migrating warblers in the spring and fall, this is the first time a black-throated blue warbler has been included in the last 12 years,” the count report said.
Manatee County birders concerned over downward trend
The Christmas Bird Count report also expressed concern over an overall downward trend in the number of birds counted in Bradenton.