Bronx-

Bronx-Westchester Christmas Bird Count
History

Some information gleamed from the excellent article by John Farrand, Jr. in American Birds, Fall 1991 Volume 45, Number 3 pp 372-381

December 6, 1924
At their second meeting the Bronx County Bird Club planned for the Christmas Bird Count and a new strategy was born. The group would divide into teams, with each team responsible for a specific territory. Thus, each area would be covered in greater detail than if everyone had traveled together. Members would scout the territory before hand and stake out any rarities.
        Allan Cruickshank & Frederick. Ruff covered Jerome Reservoir, Van Cortlandt, and Riverdale.
        John and Richard Kuerzi covered Bronx Park and Saw Mill Lane.
        Philip Kessler and John Matuszewski covered Pelham Bay Park and the Baychester marshes
        Richard Herbert , Irving Kassoy, & Joseph. Hickey covered Hunts and Clason Points.

This new strategy soon caught on and now is the basis on how counts are done
1924 The first Bronx Count was Sunday, December 28, 1924. Forty-nine species were seen; highlights were a drake Redhead at Hunts Point, two Wilson's Snipe and a flock of Common Mergansers at Jerome Reservoir. The compilation was up in John and Richard Kuerzi's attic.
1927 The combined bird list reaches 100 with the sighting of a Bald Eagle
1928 Roger Tory Peterson does his first of seven Bronx Counts.
The combined list passes 125 with the first sighting of a Common Yellowthroat
1933 Prohibition ends and the compilation moves to "Unter den Linden," a beer garden at the end of the Pelham Bay Subway line.
1935, the count breaks 100 species with a tally of 107 and Irv Cantor does his first of 55 counts. His last was in 1993.
1938 The combined list passes 150 with the first sighting of a Eurasian Widgeon
1939 Bill Ephraim does his first of 49 counts (his last was in 1992).
1940 The count is now called the Bronx-Westchester Region.
1941 Bird-Lore becomes Audubon Magazine
1945 Participants conduct the count with 14 inches of snow on the ground.
1947 Audubon Magazine becomes Audubon Field Notes
1953 Paul Buckley does his first of 46 counts and then first House Finch is found.
1956 The last year that a Bronx County Bird Club member, Richard Herbert, takes part in a Bronx Christmas Count.
1956 Paul Steinneck does his first of 45 counts.
1957 Irv Cantor becomes Count Compiler and eventually compiles 26 counts.
1958 The first mention of a 15 mile diameter circle is stated.
1960 The combined list passes 175 with the sighting of Dunlin
1960 The count tallies its 1 millionth bird
1961 The count breaks 120 species with 124 found.
1964 Thanks to two garbage dumps and 36,500 Herring Gulls the count records it highest total with 87,418 birds.
1967 Red-bellied Woodpecker is first seen.
1971 Audubon Field Notes is changed to American Birds.
1977 The count tallies its 2 millionth bird
1982 the combined list reaches 200 with the first sighting of an Orange-crowned Warbler and the first Turkey Vulture is recorded.
1985 The current compiler (Michael Bochnik) does his first count.
1989 The coldest count, with a low of 3 degrees.
1990 The warmest count, with a high of 66 degrees.
1990 Michael Bochnik compiles his first count.
1993 The first Wild Turkey is seen on the count.
1994 American Birds become Field Notes
1998 The count tallies its 3 millionth bird
1999 Field Notes is published by the ABA and the CBC is published in American Birds
2000 Last count to have full numbers published
2001 The count sets a new record of 125 species.
2007 The count sets a new record of 126 species.
2008 The combined list reaches 224 with the sighting of the first Osprey.
2011 The count sets a new record for participants with 93 in the field
2012 The count ties the record for species seen with 126. Three new species, Barnacle Goose, Magnolia Warbler & Clay-colored Sparrow push the combined list to 227'

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Rare Records

Species	Number	Year	Location
Greater White-fronted Goose	1 1	1981 2011	Harrison Van Cortlandt Park
Blue Goose	1	1950	Kingbird 1951 vol 2 imm at Pelham Bay believed to be the first wintering record for NY area
Barnacle Goose	1	2012	Van Cortlandt Park
Tundra Swan	1	1985	Rye, Maple Moore Golf Course
Blue-winged Teal	CW 1 1 1 CW 2 1	1938 1946 1960 1965 1969 1971 1985	Bronx Zoo Mamaroneck
Green-winged Teal (Eu.)	1	2001	Van Cortlandt Park
Tufted Duck	CW 1 1	1991 1992 1993	Rye Edith G. Read Sanctuary Edith G. Read Sanctuary
King Eider	1 1 1	1928 1929 1956	Hudson River off Riverdale, imm male Hudson River off Riverdale
Barrow's Goldeneye	1 1 CW 1	1991 1992 2008 2011	Eastchester Bay, Bronx Beach, female Eastchester Bay, Bronx Beach, female Edith G Read Preserve in Rye, female female off City Island
Pacific Loon	1	1940	Edith G. Read Sanctuary
Eared Grebe	1	2007	City Island
Great Egret	2 3 2 3 1 1 1 1 9 4	1992 1994 1996 2001 2004 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012	New Rochelle, Larchmont East Bronx, two in Rye Rye, Pelham Bat Park East Bronx, West Bronx and Scarsdale Territories Larchmont Pelham Bay Park, Hunter's Island Larchmont Mamaroneck 3 in Pelham Bay Park and a group of 6 together in Larchmont 3 in Pelham Bay Park and 1 at Hampshire Country Club
Snowy Egret	1 1 1 1 2 1	1977 1984 1987 1999 2001 2008	Edith G. Read Sanctuary Marshlands Conservancy Glen Island flying north and was found later at Five Island Park Pelham Bay Park Marshlands Conservancy
Tricolored Heron	1	1988	Pelham Bay Park
Cattle Egret	1	1976
Green Heron	2 2 1	1974 1986 1991	Pelham Bay Park
Black Vulture	3 2 7 5	2003 2009 2011 2012	Lenoir Nature Preserve in Yonkers Ardsley Middle School 6 over Lenoir Nature Preserve, Yonkers and one over New Rochelle All over Hastings-on-Hudson and Dobbs Ferry area
Osprey	1	2008	Edith G. Read Sanctuary
Harris' Hawk	1	1971	Rye area
Broad-winged Hawk	1 1 1 1 CW	1933 1963 1968 1970 1992	KB14(2): Rye 22 Dec Cornelius Ward, Emanuel Levine North East Yonkers, excellent details
Golden Eagle	1 1	1939 1941	immature
King Rail	1 2 1	1926 1933 1957	Probably Van Cortlandt Park
Common Moorhen	1	1990	Rye
Semipalmated Plover	1 1	1989 1998	Larchmont, Edgewater flats
American Oystercatcher	2 3	1998 2005	Rye Edgewater Point, Mamaroneck
Western Sandpiper	1	1962	Cantor Party (former compiler)
White-rumped Sandpiper	1	1962
Black-headed Gull	CW 1 1 1	1965 1973 1985 2000	KB16(2): Jerome Reservoir A puzzlingly dark primaried sub-adult, with the beginnings of a brown hood, Jerome Res. for the second Bronx record Dec. 23 (PAB, WS). It was seen many times after that, until at least Mar. 2 Spuyten Duyvil
Black-leggedKittiwake	1 3	1927 1956	Reported by Dick Herbert (last member of the BCBC on the count)
Dovkie	CW	1951	Bronxville(according to Am Birds) or Kingbird 1952 vol 1 dead oiled bird Dec20 New Rochelle
Thick-billed Murre	CW 1 1 1	1926 1931 1932 1938	Shot off Throgg's Neck flying close off Ft. Schuyler Off Ft. Schuyler Long Island Sound
Razorbill	116 7 21	2002 2011 2012	Edith Read Sanctuary, Milton Point and on the shore of Larchmont 1 off City Island and 6 off Rye 1 off Pelham Bay, others in the Sound off the Westchester coast
alcid, sp.	2	1960
Rose-ringed Parakeet	46 10 6 1 2 1 2	1974 1975 1976 1980 1982 1984 1987	Two flocks Riverdale? colony near the N.Y. Botanical Gardens
Black-hooded Parakeet	2	1982
Ruby-throatedHummingbird	1	2001	Lenoir Nature Preserve in Yonkers
Rufous Hummingbird	1 1	2001 2006	Lenoir Nature Preserve in Yonkers Lenoir Nature Preserve in Yonkers
Black-backed Woodpecker	1	1926	Bronx Botanical Garden
empidinax, sp	CW	1940
Western Kingbird	1	1991	Rye
Black-billed Magpie	1	1935	Rye (Cruickshank)
Common Raven	1 1 2 2 2 4 10	1941 2003 2007 2009 2010 2011 2012	. Woodland High School in Hartsdale Lenoir Nature Preserve in Yonkers seen in Hastings-on-Hudson then in Yonkers and then a little later in Riverdale, Bronx Scarsdale pair in Riverdale and a pair Pelham Bay Park multiple locations
Tree Swallow	6 1 1	1933 1956 1957	Van Cortlandt Park
swallow, sp	1	2005	Five Islands Park, New Rochelle
Sedge Wren	1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1	1930 1931 1933 1948 1951 1957 1961 1999	Pelham Bay Park Marshlands Conservancy
Boreal Chickadee	1 2 2	1941 1951 1975	Grassy Sprain, Dec. 23 (Bull), Kingbird 1952 vol 1
Gray-cheeked Thrush	1	1962
Swainson's Thrush	1 1 1	1954 1977 1982	Botanical Gardens Edith Read Sanctuary
Wood Thrush	1 1 CW	1962 1981 1991	At Feeder one at the Bronx Botanical Garden to Dec. 27
Ovenbird	CW 1 1	1935 1998 2004	Edith Read Sanctuary Bronx Zoo
Northern Waterthrush	1	1994	Scarsdale, Carpenter Pond
Tennessee Warbler	1	1990	Scarsdale
Orange-crowned Warbler	CW 1 3 1 1 1 2 1 2	1935 1982 1984 1996 2002 2003 2006 2011 2012	Marshlands Conservancy Edith Read Sanctuary plus ? Yonkers Orange-crowned Warbler on Vault Hill College of Mt. Saint Vincent Pelham Bay Park Pelham Bay Park Near Split Rock in Pelham Bay Park and Marshlands Conservancy
Nashville Warbler	1 2 2 1 3 1 CW	1985 1987 1994 1998 2001 2006 2012	both near the landfill in Pelham Bay Park Riverdale, Bronx and Hommock Park, Larchmont Mount St. Vincent College New Croton Aqueduct and Stew Leonard's Drive, (both Yonkers) and at Wave Hill. Greenburg Marshlands Conservancy
American Redstart	1 1	1931 2006	Half-Moon Overlook, just above Spuyten Duyvil in the Bronx
Magnolia Warbler	1	2012	Wave Hill
Western Palm Warbler	1	2012	Pelham Bay Park
Pine Warbler	1 1 1 6 2	1950 1972 2000 2004 2009	Pelham Bay Park Riverdale feeder Bronx Botanical Gardens Bronx Botanical Gardens
Prairie Warbler	1 1	1994 2012	Throggs Neck, Ferry Point Park near Split Rock in Pelham Bay Park
Black-throated Green Warbler	1	1943	male
Wilson's Warbler	1 1	1987 1994	Rye Rye
Scarlet Tanager	1	1964	Pelham
Spotted Towhee	1	1958	Collected from Bronx Zoo 12/23/58 Specimen 707778 American Museum of Natural History
Clay-colored Sparrow	2	2012	Marshlands Conservancy and near the Pelham Bay Park parking toll booths
Grasshopper Sparrow	1	1988	Pelham Bay Park Police Riding Stables
Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow	1	2010	Marshlands Conservancy
_____ (subvirgatus)	1 1	1935 1953
_____ (nelsoni)	1	1935
Seaside Sparrow	1 CW 1 1 1 1	1925 1973 1978 1981 1982 2001	East Bronx Marshlands Conservancy
Lincoln's Sparrow	1 1 1 1	1963 1992 1996 2000	Baychester Bartow-Pell Mansion Singing, Van Cortlandt Park Van Cortlandt Park, near Major Deagan Expressway, Croton Woods
Dark-eyed (Pink-sided) Junco	1	1999	Near Wave Hill in the Bronx
Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco	1	1961
Rose-breasted Grosbeak	1 CW 1 1	1959 1963 1982 1987	male Bronx Park 1-21 Dec Bronx Botanical Gardens
Black-headed Grosbeak	1	1971	Hastings-on-Hudson
Indigo Bunting	1 1 1	1975 2006 2007	imm. male in the Bronx Botanical Garden Dec. 21 (T. Peszel) Wave Hill Ward Acres, New Rochelle
Dickcissel	CW 1 1 1 2 1 1 1	1960 1962 1963 1966 1969 1981 1991 2008	Riverdale Riverdale Catskill Aqueduct, Yonkers Riverdale
Yellow-headed Blackbird	1	1974	Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx, Dec 22 - Jan. 6 (m.ob.).
Bullock's Oriole	1	1978	female, possible hybrid? Ed
Baltimore Oriole	1 1 1 CW CW 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 4	1948 1955 1959 1963 1967 1969 1976 1984 1999 2001 2002 2004 2006 2007 2009	Mount Vernon Riverdale Hastings-on-Hudson along the Rowley's Bridge Trail Greenburg Nature Center Bronx Botanical Gardens Wave Hill Pelham Bay Park Bronx Botanical Gardens
European Goldfinch	1	1938	Sands Point