to the Local Annual Christmas Bird Counts
By Terri Gorney Lehman/Member and Secretary of Friends of the Limberlost
Article first published in Berne Witness February 2026
The Cardinal Club, an area birdwatching group, was formed in March 1948. Members chose this name from Gene Stratton-Porter’s first book “The Song of the Cardinal.” The first Adams County Christmas Bird Count (CBC) was held in December that same year. Participants were Berne and Geneva residents who belonged to the Cardinal Club. In the 1980s, the count date was set at January 1 and has remained so since, even though the Cardinal Club disbanded in 2015.
In 2014, Larry Parker, the compiler for the Adams County CBC, asked if I would become the compiler. In 2015, I changed it from the Adams County CBC to a National Audubon Society 15-mile diameter circle. My husband, Randy Lehman, created the acronym SANJO (Southern Adams Northern Jay Ouabache) CBC. It includes all the Limberlost Conservation Area and Ouabache State Park. On January 1, 2026, birders from Muncie, Fort Wayne, Marion, Bluffton, and Huntington participated with local residents in this year’s count.
Gene Stratton-Porter was an attendee and speaker at some of the annual Indiana Audubon Society meetings. She also served as an officer in the organization for a short time. She would be pleased that members of three Audubon chapters gathered at her home to help create a winter census of the birds in the area. The three chapters are: Robert Cooper Audubon Society in Muncie, Three Rivers Birding in Fort Wayne and Mississinewa Audubon Club in Marion.
Every year, the count has included Northern cardinals. It is our state bird and a bird that Gene Stratton-Porter loved for its bright plumage and “cheery” disposition. Some other birds of note were towhee, hermit thrushes, northern pintails, Lapland longspurs and horned larks. The highest number of turkeys were reported on this count –over 70.
This year a total of 30 bald eagles were recorded. Gene would have been in awe of that number. It is a bird she wanted to photograph, but was unable to do so as they were basically extirpated in her time in this area. It is now common to see eagles in Geneva and Gene would have no trouble getting a photo.
Christmas Bird Counts are held every year from December 14 to January 5 all over the United States, Canada, and in a few other countries. Everyone is welcome to help with this count. It is a great activity to do with children by watching feeders in your own yard.
Friends of the Limberlost 