Christmas Bird Count Results

Ferrisburgh VT-NY - 2006

A bright sunny day and temperatures near 500 F led to very pleasant birding for the 47th annual Ferrisburgh Christmas Bird Count on Saturday December 16, 2006. Abundant ice-free water, but paltry wild food supplies led to a mixed bag in terms of totals for the count. Forty-one individuals broke into 13 teams and covered 630.5 miles over 151.5 hours. Their efforts were added by four feeder counts. The number of birds counted - 13,063 - was below our ten year average, but the number of species observed - 79 - was slightly above. An additional two species missed on count day, brown-headed cowbird and coot, were recorded during the count period. Sixteen species of ducks and geese made an appearance. Probably the biggest highlight was a greater white-fronted goose on Button Bay. This was the first time the species had been recorded since 1998 and only the fourth individual in the history of the count. There were more white-winged scoters (36) than ever before with a black scoter mixed in as well. Other unusual ducks recorded included a wood duck, two gadwall, ten greater scaup and six ring-necked ducks. Some of the more common ducks were less abundant than normal. We had the fewest mallards (93) since 1993, and the fewest black ducks (21) since 1967! Also appearing on the lake were our first Bonaparte's gulls in five years. Raptor numbers were about average. Seven species of hawks included highlights of a goshawk from the New York area and a wealth of 27 northern harriers - the most since 1994. Two peregrines constituted our only falcons. The small field species - American kestrel, was missed for the first time since 1966. A clear windless night led to good owl numbers. Our 19 great horned owls were the most in the history of the count, while 10 eastern screech-owls tied a record set in 2005. Most excitingly, a snowy owl was spotted in Panton, the first appearance of this charismatic species since 1998. Field birds were hard to come by. Our 45 horned larks was the lowest count since 1978, and only with great persistence and dedication did field teams turn up a single snow bunting and a single common redpoll. Even wild turkeys seemed less numerous, with only 31 representing a dramatic decrease from last years 252, though some known flocks did not appear for the day. In the songbirds, we lacked any truly remarkable species. Eleven Carolina wrens meant two years in the double digits for this species. Five sparrow species included the usual suspects (American tree, song, dark-eyed junco, and the fairly regular white throated) and also two white-crowned sparrows, a species seen on only about half the counts over the last ten years. Winter finch diversity was unremarkable. There were no crossbills or grosbeaks, and only two pine siskins. The 32 purple finches reported by four groups represented the most since 2000. Thank you to all field participants and feeder watchers for another successful count. We look forward to seeing you again on Saturday December 15, 2007 for the 48th annual count.
- Mike W.

Summary:
Common loon 21, Red-throated loon 4, Red-necked grebe 6, horned grebe 54, Great-blue heron 5, Canada goose 1023, Snow goose 1790, G. white-fronted goose 1, Mallard 93, A. black duck 21, Wood duck 1, Gadwall 2, Common goldeneye 780, Bufflehead 53, White-winged scoter 36, Black scoter 1, Ring-necked duck 6, Greater scaup 10, Hooded merganser 15, Common merganser 95, Red-breasted merg. 12, Northern goshawk 1, Sharp-shinned hawk 4, Cooper's hawk 5, Red-tailed hawk 48, Rough-legged hawk 18, Bald eagle 14, Northern harrier 27, Peregrine falcon 2, Ruffed grouse 18, Ring-necked pheasant 2, Wild turkey 31, American coot CP, G. black-backed gull 41, Herring gull 24, Ring-billedgull 187, Bonaparte's gull 30, Gull sp. 50, Rock pigeon 717, Mourning dove 579, E. screech-owl 10, Great horned owl 19, Barred owl 2, Short-eared owl 1, Snowy owl 1, Belted kingfisher 2, Northern flicker 3, Pileated woodpecker 24, Hairy woodpecker 32, Downy woodpecker 84, Red-bellied woodpecker 1, Northern shrike 3, Blue jay 289, Common raven 27, American crow 657, Horned lark 45, Black-cap. chickadee 923, Tufted titmouse 108, White-br.nuthatch 155, Red-br. nuthatch 23, Brown creeper 15, Carolina wren 11, American robin 153, Eastern bluebird 24, Golden-crowned kinglet 30, Northern mockingbird 2, European starling 2095, Cedar waxwing 353, Northern cardinal 144, Dark-eyed junco 211, A. tree sparrow 369, White-throated sparrow 2, White-crowned sparrow 2, Song sparrow 4, Snow bunting 1, Brown-headed cowbird CP,Purple finch 32, House finch 105, Common redpoll 1, Pine siskin 2, American goldfinch 583, House sparrow 688


Plattsburgh - 2006

Summary for the Plattsburgh, NY/ VT (NYPL)circle 44o39' N 73o29'W, as described in 1986 with the center at the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base. The 2006 CBC for this area was held on Sunday, December 17 from 07:00 to 16:30 with temperatures ranging from 37oF to 45oF under variable cloudy to partly cloudy skies. There was no snow cover. The variable south to southwest wind was between 5-10mph. The 26 field observers logged 63.75 party hours and 428.3 total miles of which 14.45 hours and 20.7 miles were on foot. One field participant logged 3 hours kayaking near Valcour Island The 20 feeder watchers spent 59 hours at feeders. There were 57 species recorded and 803` individuals counted. An additional 5 species were found during the count week.

Summary: Snow Goose 377, Canada Goose 1112, American Black Duck 56, Mallard 379, Lesser Scaup 2, Bufflehead, 1 Common Goldeneye 308, Hooded Merganser 21, Common Merganser, 77 Red-breasted Merganser 1, Ring-necked Pheasant 2, Ruffed Grouse 6, Wild Turkey 77, Common Loon 2, Pied-billed Grebe 3, Great Blue Heron 3, Northern Harrier 1, Sharp-shinned Hawk 2, Cooper's Hawk 4, Red-tailed Hawk 6, American Coot 3 Ring-billed Gull 316, Herring Gull 49, Great Black-backed Gull 7, Rock Pigeon 858, Mourning Dove 442, Downy Woodpecker 58, Hairy Woodpecker 33, Pileated Woodpecker 5, Northern Shrike 1 Blue Jay 144, American Crow 775, Common Raven 2, Black-capped Chickadee 750, Tufted Titmouse 10, Red-breasted Nuthatch 22, White-breasted Nuthatch 68,Brown Creeper 10 Kinglet 7, Eastern Bluebird 4, American Robin 5, Northern Mockingbird 1, European Starling 1091, Cedar Waxwing 94, Yellow-throated Warbler 1, American Tree Sparrow 26 Song Sparrow 1, White-throated Sparrow 1, Dark-eyed Junco 89, Northern Cardinal 57, Common Grackle 1, Brown-headed Cowbird 1, Purple Finch 3, House Finch 92, American Goldfinch 240, Evening Grosbeak 2, House Sparrow 322. Also seen during count week were Long-tailed Duck, Barrow's Goldeneye Horned Grebe, Bald Eagle and Carolina Wren.

The field participants were Tom Armstrong, Helen Booth, Robert Booth, Robin Brown, Joan Clark, Una Creedon-Carey, Paul Dame, Peter Galvani, Judith Heintz, Roger Heintz, Candy Hess, John Hess, Kevin Kelley, Gail Kemp, William Krueger, Janet Mihuc, Dayna Lalonde, Julie Lattrell, Melanie McCormack, Jim Nolan, Nancy Olsen, Sonal Patel, Michele Snyder, Gary Sturgis, Irma Teittinen Saana Teittinrn-Gordon and Dan Vogt . Feeder watchers were Gwen Canteenwalla, Joy Cayea, Walter Coryea, Ralph Clark, Julie Dumas, Bob Elmore Holland Fitts, Elizabeth Fitts, Jan Forsman, Evelyn Fuller, Euclid Jones, Ann Korths, Karen Moffa, Bill Morgan, Helle Parker, Scott Preston, Debbie Ribis, Ingeborg Sapp, Bill Ston, and Lynn Valenti.

The Yellow-throated Warbler stayed around from the time Brian McAllistar first found it about November 15. Julie Lattrell was able to view this bird among the chickadees, even without binoculars. Although each group of participants and the feeder watchers perceived that we had a slow day, we had about average number of birds and species.


Saranac Lake - 2006

Saranac Lake, N.Y. - Dec. 30, 2006; 7:00 am to 4:30 pm. Temp. 19 to 28 degrees F. Wind W 0-8. Snow depth 2-6 in. Still water partly open. Moving water open. A.M.: cloudy, heavy snow. PM: cloudy. Observers: 29 in field in 15 parties (non-owling), plus 2 at feeders. Time and Distance: 4 hours at feeders; 5.75 hours and 49.5 miles owling. Total party-hours 91 and party-miles 436.5; 44 hours and 44.25 miles on foot, 47 hours and 392.25 miles by car.

Canada Goose 1154; Am. Black Duck 8; Mallard 318; Hooded Merganser 24; Ruffed Grouse 13; Wild Turkey 13; Bald Eagle 1; Red-tailed Hawk 1; Rock Pigeon 149; Mourning Dove 84; Great-horned Owl cw; Barred Owl 3; Northern Saw-whet Owl 1; Downy Woodpecker 29; Hairy Woodpecker 23; Black-backed Woodpecker 4; Pileated Woodpecker 9; N. Shrike 2; Gray Jay 5; Blue Jay 122; Am. Crow 249; Com. Raven 44; Black-capped Chickadee 987; Boreal Chickadee 13; Red-breasted Nuthatch 126; White-breasted Nuthatch 13; Brown Creeper 8; Golden-crowned Kinglet 49; American Robin cw; Eur. Starling 166; Cedar Waxwing 2; Am. Tree Sparrow 35; Dark-eyed (Slate-col.) Junco 215; Snow Bunting 43; N. Cardinal 19; Brown-headed Cowbird cw; Purple Finch 176; Red Crossbill 7; White-winged Crossbill 62; Common Redpoll 25; Pine Siskin 154; Am. Goldfinch 872; Evening Grosbeak 4; House Sparrow 22.

Total: 42 species; 5254 individuals.

Participants: Tom Armstrong, Jeff Bolsinger, John Brown, Joan Collins, Tom Dudones, Peter Galvani, Ed Grant, Julie Hart, Audrey Hyson, Dayna LaLonde, Linda LaPan, Fuat Latif, Ted Mack, Brian McAllister, Melanie McCormick, Matt Medler (cocompiler), Sean O'Brien, Mary O'Dell, Dan Peters, Carol Pinney, Dana Rohleder, Sheila and Lew Rosenberg, Nina and Bill Schoch, Janet Stein, Eileen and Tom Wheeler, Matt Young.

A geographically widespread and taxonomically diverse (spruces, fir, hemlocks, tamarack, pine) conifer seed-mast led quite predictably to the biannual surge in the numbers of conifer mast eating finches. But before one despairs about an absence of finches next winter and a decline in India's revenue from niger (Guizotia abyssinica) seed exports later this year, redpolls are equally predictable and have the courtesy to brighten our winters in alternate years from these other finches. The cone crop also leads to a predictable surge in small mammals (e.g., deer mice), which in turn likely induced many Saw-whet Owls to remain in the north woods this winter rather than migrate south to warmer climes.

What makes this count stand out from preceding 50 Saranac Lake counts is the remarkably warm weather leading up to the count and continuing to mid-January. Mirror Lake in Lake Placid did not freeze over for the winter until mid-January, eclipsing its latest recorded freeze date by more than three weeks! Although slightly warmer than normal temperatures are to be expected with an El Nino event, this year's past record warmth continues a worldwide trend of accelerating global heating and other climate changes, with 2007 forecast to be the warmest year on record. The warm weather may have accounted for the late migrating flocks of Canada Geese totaling 1,154 individuals; the previous record (set just last year) was only 50 individuals. Dark-eyed Juncos put in their second best showing ever with 215 individuals (10x the average count) and records were broken or equaled for Hooded Mergansers, Saw-whet Owl, Black-backed and Pileated Woodpeckers, Common Ravens, and Northern Cardinals.

Many thanks to Matt Medler and Julie Hart for assuming co-compiler duties on count day. Next year's redpoll-bejeweled count is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, December 30.

Elizabethtown - 2006

44°13'N 73°36'W Center at Essex Co. Courthouse. Dec 23, 2006; 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Temp: 40° to 49°F. Wind Variable, 0- 5 m.p.h. Snow cover: 0-1 inches. Still water partly frozen, moving water open. A.M.: cloudy with light to heavy rain. P.M.: cloudy with no rain to heavy rain. Observers: 23 in field in 8 parties (non-owling). Total party-hours: 64.5 (27.5 on foot and 37.0 by car). Total party-miles: 373.9 (24.9 on foot and 349 by car). Feeder effort: none. Owling effort: 5 miles covered in 1.25 hours.
Mallard 24, Hooded Merganser 20, Ruffed Grouse 17, Wild Turkey 35, Northern Harrier 1, Cooper's Hawk 1, Red-tailed Hawk 9, Rough-legged Hawk 5, Rock Pigeon 113, Mourning Dove 171, Barred Owl 2, Belted Kingfisher 1, Downy Woodpecker 44, Hairy Woodpecker 18, Pileated Woodpecker 5, Northern Shrike 3, Blue Jay 165, American Crow 221, Common Raven 28, Black-capped Chickadee 709, Boreal Chickadee 3, Tufted Titmouse 28, Red-breasted Nuthatch 105, White-breasted Nuthatch 33, Brown Creeper 9, Carolina Wren 1, Golden-crowned Kinglet 31, Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1, Eastern Bluebird 3, American Robin 9, Gray Catbird 1, European Starling 254, American Tree Sparrow 129, Dark-eyed Junco 145, Northern Cardinal 18, Purple Finch 2, House Finch 4, Red Crossbill 7, American Goldfinch 128, Evening Grosbeak 23, House Sparrow 40.

Totals: 41 count-day species; 2,566 individuals.

Participants: Robin Brown, Sally Conyne, Una Creedon-Carey, Beth Edmonds, Frank Gill, Don Griffin, Julie Hart (cocompiler), Ruth Kuhfahl, Matthew Medler (co-compiler), Megan Murphy, Dan Nickerson, Stan Oliva, John M.C. Peterson, Susan French Peterson, Dana Rohleder, Nancy Slack, Carole Slatkin, Hank Stebbins, Eric Teed, John Thaxton, Pat Thaxton, Eve Ticknor, and Yvette Tillema.

The 34th annual Elizabethtown Christmas Bird Count was conducted on Saturday, December 23, 2006. Centered in the Essex County seat of Elizabethtown, the count circle includes three ecozones--the Lake Champlain Valley, the Eastern Adirondack Foothills, and the Adirondack High Peaks. In the east, the circle extends to within a mile of the shore of Lake Champlain, while the western half of the circle is dominated by Hurricane Mountain and Giant Mountain (New York State's 12th highest peak, at 4,627 feet). The vast majority of the count area is forested, with hemlock-northern hardwood and white pine-northern hardwood forests predominating. There are also belts of spruce-fir forest on the upper elevations of Hurricane and Giant; while the peaks of these two mountains are usually inaccessible due to ice and snow, this year's mild weather allowed for the coverage of Hurricane all the way to its summit. In typical years, the fast-flowing sections of the Boquet River provide the only significant sections of open water in the count circle. But again, due to the mild December weather, there was much more open water for this year's count, including Lincoln Pond, which hosted 18 Hooded Mergansers.
The twenty-three participants on this year's count tallied 2,566 individuals of 41 species. The number of individuals was lightly below the count average of 2,684, but the species total was three above average. Despite a high number of participants and party-hours for the count, only one new high species count was established--20 Hooded Mergansers. There were, however, several species with relatively high counts, including Wild Turkey, Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Mourning Dove, Tufted Titmouse, and Northern Cardinal. Rare to uncommon birds for the Elizabethtown count included the count's first-ever Gray Catbird, as well as Hooded Merganser, Northern Harrier, Cooper's Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, Carolina Wren, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Finch diversity was decent, with five species reported, but totals were low for all five.

The count day's high temperatures were representative of what was, until the last few days of the month, a very mild December. Light to heavy rain during the count, coupled with fog in parts of the count circle, presented challenging conditions to the count's dedicated participants. December's warm weather undoubtedly contributed to the record total of Hooded Mergansers on the count, and while it might have contributed to the presence of the count's first Gray Catbird, it did not help produce other more-expected winter lingerers such as Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, or Brown-headed Cowbird. Somewhat ironically, the warm weather did allow for the counting of two Boreal Chickadees near the summit of Hurricane, at a much higher elevation than is normally accessible to observers.

I would like to thank all of the participants for their commitment to the Elizabethtown CBC, and would especially like to thank Julie Hart for all of her help in compiling the count. I look forward to next year's count!