78th Bronx

88th Bronx-Westchester Christmas Bird CountDecember 26, 2011

The Bronx-Westchester CBC has seen 224 different species of birds seen over its 88 year history.
Summary (updated up to 2009)
Return to the counts home page

    The Bronx-Westchester Christmas Bird Count found 39,320 birds and 115 species on Monday, December 26. The count set a new record with 93 participants.   It was an interesting count. It had a split personality. Nine new high counts were offset by twelve common species with low numbers (20 or more year lows). American Tree Sparrow set an all time low for this 88 year count.

Highlights:
A Greater White-fronted Goose in Van Cortlandt Park, The count’s 2nd record (the 1st was in Harrison in 1981)
A Eurasian Wigeon reported from Premium Mill Pond, Larchmont
4 Surf Scoter off Rye
88 White-winged Scoter off Rye
A female Barrow's Goldeneye off City Island, The count’s 3rd record
55 Northern Gannets, with 4 off City Island
9 Great Egret with 3 in Pelham Bay Park and a group of 6 together in Larchmont
7 Black Vulture with 6 over Lenoir Nature Preserve, Yonkers and one over New Rochelle, The count’s 3rd record
8 Bald Eagles
9 Red-shouldered Hawks, a 41 year high
3 Merlin, 2 in Woodlawn Cemetery and one on City Island
A Clapper Rail in Otter Creek, Rye
17 Greater Yellowlegs with 7 in Five Island Park, New Rochelle & 8 along the LI sound shore in the Bronx
7 Razorbill, 1 off City Island and 6 off Rye, The count’s 2nd record
4 Common Raven, pair in Riverdale and a pair Pelham Bay Park
1 House Wren
An Orange-crowned Warbler - Pelham Bay Park
2 Palm Warbler near Split Rock in Pelham Bay Park
A Chipping Sparrow in Riverdale
A Saltmarsh Sparrow in Marshlands Conservancy
A White-crowned Sparrow in Bronx Botanical Gardens
Rusty Blackbirds in Pelham Bay Park and the Bronx Zoo

New High Counts
81 Red-throated Loon 81 (old high was 74 in 2002)
40 Common Loon (old high was 16 in 2002)
55 Northern Gannet (old high was 3 in 2007)
84 Double-crested Cormorant (old high was 80 in 2001)
9 Great Egret (old high was 3 in 2001)
7 Black Vulture (old high was 3 in 2003)
45 Turkey Vulture (old high was 31 in 2008)
8 Bald Eagle (old high was 4 in 2009)
17 Greater Yellowlegs (old high was 10 in 1988)
4 Common Raven (old high was 2 in 2007)

     Low numbers were noted for Mute Swan, Ruddy Duck, Purple Sandpiper, Northern Flicker, American Crow (53 year low), Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Cedar Waxwing, American Tree Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco and Northern Cardinal.

     Notable misses included Snow Goose, Northern Pintail, Ring-necked Pheasant, Black-crowned Night Heron, Ruddy Turnstone, Dunlin, Field Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird & Purple Finch.

	Species	Hudson Valley	Yonkers	West Bronx	East Bronx	Scarsdale	Rye	Total
1	Greater White-fronted Goose			1				1	2nd Count Record
2	Brant				758	797	464	2019
3	Canada Goose	137	707	706	900	2203	645	5298
4	Mute Swan		9		36	14	32	91	25 year low
5	Wood Duck		4	3		2		9
6	Gadwall			4	67	46	79	196
7	Eurasian Wigeon					1		1
8	American Widgeon				12	102	129	243
9	American Black Duck	12	9	14	273	142	348	798
10	Mallard	47	61	382	108	604	286	1488
	mallard hybrid						5	5
11	Northern Shoveler					15		15
12	Green-winged Teal (Am.)					44		44
13	Canvasback		5				7	12
14	Ring-necked Duck		16					16
15	Greater Scaup				9332	32	221	9585
16	Lesser Scaup						17	17
	scaup, sp.						1500	1500
17	Surf Scoter						4	4
18	White-winged Scoter						88	88
19	Long-tailed Duck					20	89	109
20	Bufflehead		3	2	164	171	243	583
21	Common Goldeneye				138	15	31	184
22	Barrow's Goldeneye				1			1	3rd Count Record , seen in 1991& 92
23	Hooded Merganser	4	25	29	7	83	62	210
24	Common Merganser		8				5	13
25	Red-breasted Merganser				86	43	66	195
26	Ruddy Duck		35	3	3	27		68	31 year low
27	Wild Turkey		19	2	1		37	59
28	Red-throated Loon				13	16	52	81	New High Count (74 in 2002)
29	Common Loon		1		2	26	11	40	New High Count (16 in 2002)
30	Pied-billed Grebe		1	2		4		7
31	Horned Grebe				9		3	12
32	Northern Gannet				4	4	47	55	New High Count (3 in 2007)
33	Double-crested Cormorant	1	1		8	26	48	84	New High Count (80 in 2001)
34	Great Cormorant				20	2	20	42
35	Great Blue Heron	1	2	3	11	4	14	35
36	Great Egret				3	6		9	9th record; New High Count (3 in 2001)
37	Black Vulture		6			1		7	3rd record; New High Count (3 in 2003)
38	Turkey Vulture	4	20	5		10	6	45	New High Count (31 in 2008)
39	Bald Eagle							8	New High Count (4 in 2009)
	adult(s)	1	3	1			1
	immature(s)		1				1
	eagle, sp.	1						1
40	Northern Harrier				4			4
41	Sharp-shinned Hawk		3	2		3	CW	8
42	Cooper's Hawk		1	6	3	4	2	16
	accipiter, sp.					1		1
43	Red-shouldered Hawk		2	2		1	4	9	41 year high
44	Red-tailed Hawk	10	22	22	21	24	23	122
45	American Kestrel			1				1
46	Merlin			2	1			3
47	Peregrine Falcon		1	2	1	1	1	6
48	Clapper Rail						1	1
49	Virginia Rail						1	1
50	American Coot		6				1	7
51	Killdeer				8	5	CW	13
52	Greater Yellowlegs				8	9		17	New High Count (10 in 1988)
53	Purple Sandpiper						3	3	36 year low
54	Wilson's Snipe					1	1	2
55	American Woodcock				1			1
56	Bonaparte's Gull						21	21
	Laughing Gull					CW		CW
57	Ring-billed Gull	125	776	89	507	590	331	2418
58	Herring Gull	2	101	30	550	285	677	1645
59	Great Black-backed Gull	4	10	1	30	12	55	112
60	Razorbill				1	CW	6	7	2nd Count Record
61	Rock Pigeon	30	541	306	171	263	41	1352
62	Mourning Dove	62	86	170	195	202	95	810
63	Monk Parakeet				4			4
64	Eastern Screech-Owl	5	2			2	1	10
65	Great Horned Owl			1	3		4	8
66	Belted Kingfisher		3	2	7	3	5	20
67	Red-bellied Woodpecker	3	13	32	36	30	20	134
68	Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	1	1	5	1	3	1	12
69	Downy Woodpecker	6	19	37	54	39	36	191
70	Hairy Woodpecker		6	6	5	7	9	33
71	Northern Flicker			2		3	2	7	33 year low
72	Pileated Woodpecker						1	1
73	Blue Jay	2	34	111	111	50	45	353
74	American Crow	40	24	32	27	56	52	231	53 year low
75	Fish Crow	1	1	1	15	53	2	73
76	Common Raven			2	2			4	5th Record, New High Count (2 in 2007)
77	Black-capped Chickadee	2	19	29	11	53	53	167	44 year low
78	Tufted Titmouse	4	13	67	43	46	36	209	34 year low
79	Red-breasted Nuthatch			2	8			10
80	White-breasted Nuthatch	4	13	37	15	25	18	112
81	Brown Creeper			2		1		3
82	Carolina Wren	12	9	6	9	14	33	83
83	House Wren					1	CW	1
84	Winter Wren	3		6	6	7	15	37
85	Marsh Wren						2	2
86	Golden-crowned Kinglet		1	9		1	3	14
87	Ruby-crowned Kinglet		1	2	1	1	1	6
88	Hermit Thrush		1	2	3	4	4	14
89	American Robin	13	34	257	76	108	123	611
90	Gray Catbird		1	1	2	1	2	7
91	Northern Mockingbird	7	10	25	14	16	13	85
92	Brown Thrasher				2		1	3
93	European Starling	360	479	380	319	186	509	2233
94	Cedar Waxwing						1	1	34 year low
95	Orange-crowned Warbler				1			1	7th Count Record
96	Yellow-rumped Warbler						1	1
97	Palm Warbler				2			2
98	Eastern Towhee		1	1	7		1	10
99	American Tree Sparrow	1	2		9	2	46	60	All Time Low !
100	Chipping Sparrow			1				1
101	Savannah Sparrow				1		1	2
102	Saltmarsh Sparrow						1	1
103	Fox Sparrow			1	38		11	50
104	Song Sparrow	24	23	48	36	64	131	326
105	Swamp Sparrow				2	3	3	8
106	White-throated Sparrow	77	48	409	81	187	232	1034	22 year low
107	White-crowned Sparrow			1				1
108	Dark-eyed (Slate col.) Junco	33	79	158	17	88	96	471	35 year low
109	Northern Cardinal	33	21	39	43	62	60	258	28 year low
110	Red-winged Blackbird			3	82	2	18	105
111	Rusty Blackbird			7	27			34
112	Common Grackle			125		1		126
113	House Finch	45	29	98	26	57	55	310
114	American Goldfinch	7	34	55	60	45	12	213
115	House Sparrow	273	296	513	113	371	203	1769

CW = Seen count week but not on count day

	Hudson Valley	Yonkers	West Bronx	East Bronx	Scarsdale	Rye
Number of Saves	0	1	4	5	4	12
Number of Species	37	59	65	77	76	86	115
Totals	1397	3702	4305	1476	7453	7687	39320

Next year’s count will be Sunday, December 23, 2012.

Michael Bochnik
Compiler
BochnikM@cs.com