There was a significant increase in the amount of birds tallied in this year's Piedmont Christmas bird count compared to previous years.

"We actually did end up seeing considerably more individual birds than we have most of the time in the past," Addison Ball, who compiled the report, said.

He said a total of 3,439 birds of 41 species were counted this year. That is about 500 birds more than the average of the last seven counts.

Ball said the increase is due in large part to a spike in the number of wild turkeys in the Hills.

Ball said one notable sighting was a red-bellied woodpecker, which he said is "fairly uncommon in western South Dakota."

Other new sightings included were the northern shoveler, common goldeneye, prairie falcon and spotted towhee.

The count was done by 16 field observers from Rapid City, Hermosa, Summerset, Piedmont, Sturgis, Whitewood and Sundance, Wyo. It was the eighth annual count.

The bird count is sponsored by the Northern Hills Bird Club.