78th Bronx

79th Bronx-Westchester Christmas Bird Count
December 22, 2002

The Bronx-Westchester CBC has seen well over 220 different species.
Summary of birds seen over its 79 year history.
1999 Results
2000 Results
2001 Results
2002 Results are below

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The Bronx-Westchester CBC found 124 species on December 22, 2002, one shy of last year's record. Eighty-four participants recorded 46,022 birds. The 125 species is a new record for this 78-year count.

Highlights include a new species. An incredible movement of Razorbills was seen as they flew west off the sound shore. A total of 116 were counted. Why they were that far west in the Sound is anybody's guess. Good vantage points included Edith Read Sanctuary, Milton Point and on the shore of Larchmont. The count has seen 221 species in its 79-year history.

Other notable species included: Red-necked Grebe (5th straight year) and Lesser Black-backed Gull at Read Sanctuary, along with two Northern Gannets, White-winged and Surf Scoters off shore.

Pelham Bay Park had a female White-winged Scoter plus two Saw-whet, Barn, and Long-eared Owls.

A Eurasian Wigeon was found on Premium Mill Pond, Larchmont.

Four Merlin were in the circle area, a new high count.

Van Cortlandt Park featured Eastern Phoebe, a flyover American Pipit and Orange-crowned Warbler on Vault Hill, (4th record for the count).

A Common Yellowthroat was found along the sound shore of the Bronx.

The count had two Yellow-breasted Chats, one in Woodlawn Cemetery at the lake and another in Larchmont.

For the second year in a row we had a Baltimore Oriole, found at the Greenburg Nature Center (9th record for the count).

There were new high counts for: Red-throated Loon (74), Common Loon (16), Long-tailed Duck (297), Red-breasted Merganser (835), Merlin (4), Wild Turkey (25), Rock Dove (2287), Carolina Wren (211), Yellow-breasted Chat (2), and Dark-eyed Junco (1775).

For the second year in a row there were more Red-bellied Woodpeckers (289) than Downy Woodpeckers (238)

American Crow numbers were way down with 820, lowest since 1983 (715). But to keep it in perspective American Crow numbers in the late 1990's had reach all time highs.

Other species with low numbers included Northern Shoveler, Black-capped Chickadee and House Finch. All had 20 + year lows. Only 19 Canvasbacks were found, mostly on the Hudson River.

Notable misses include Red-shouldered Hawk - only been missed 9 times but now three years in a row! We missed Ruddy Turnstone, first miss since 1982. Other misses include Redhead, Cedar Waxwing and Purple Finch.

Thanks to all who volunteered. The eighty-four people on the count included many new faces. I hoped you enjoyed your first count. Thirty-two of us enjoyed the compilation dinner, again held at San Martino Ristorante.

The complete compilation results are attached.

Next year's count date is still unclear and may change. Right now Southern Nassau is scheduled for the 28th so it looks like Sunday, December 21, 2003. Hope to see you there.

Michael Bochnik
(914) 2379331
BochnikM@cs.com
michael.bochnik@cibasc.com

Species	Hudson Valley	Yonkers	East Bronx	West Bronx	Rye	Scarsdale	TOTALS
Red-throated Loon					67	7	74	New High Count (46 in 2001)
Common Loon			2		10	4	16	New High Count (15 in 1995)
Pied billed Grebe			1			1	2
Horned Grebe			11		3		14
Red-necked Grebe					1		1	5th straight year
Northern Gannet					2		2
Great Cormorant			10	1	58	29	98
Double-crested Cormorant		2	38	1	14	1	56
Great Blue Heron		4	6	5	23	8	46
Black-crowned Night Heron						1	1
Canada Goose	116	796	1024	1868	477	2335	6616
Brant			438		7	5	450
Mute Swan		6	42	2	32	88	170
Wood Duck				2		34	36
Gadwall			52	3	81	12	148
Eurasian Wigeon						1	1
American Wigeon			14		200	178	392	28 year high
American Black Duck	3	36	320	9	321	392	1081
Mallard	57	202	357	320	184	847	1967
mallard hybrid	1	1	1	1	5	7	16
Northern Shoveler		cw		6		13	19	24 year low
Northern Pintail				1			1
Green-winged Teal					1	8	9
Canvasback	7	9			3		19
Ring-necked Duck						12	12
Greater Scaup			312		1172	131	1615
Lesser Scaup			550	2	453	2	1007
scaup, sp			205				205
Surf Scoter					1		1
White-winged Scoter			1		3		4
scoter, sp.					1		1
Long-tailed Duck			1		214	82	297	New High Count (146 in 1985)
Bufflehead	1	3	382	3	207	174	770
Common Goldeneye		1	52		67	156	276
Hooded Merganser		14	7	37	72	84	214
Red-breasted Merganser			209		521	105	835	New High Count (725 in 1994)
Common Merganser		18		1	12	7	38
Ruddy Duck		9	304	125	34	165	637
Northern Harrier			1				1
Sharp-shinned Hawk			4	5	7	5	21
Cooper's Hawk		1	4	6	6	5	22
accipiter, sp	1						1
Red-tailed Hawk	6	10	29	27	20	24	116
American Kestrel			1	1	1	1	4
Merlin			1	2		1	4	New High Count (3 in 2001)
Peregrine Falcon			1	1	1		3
Ring-necked Pheasant			27	1	cw	1	29
Wild Turkey		19		2	4		25	New High Count (20 in 2000)
Clapper Rail					1		1
Virginia Rail					2		2
American Coot		3			1		4
Killdeer					2	4	6
Greater Yellowlegs					3		3
Sanderling						3	3
Purple Sandpiper					79	13	92
Dunlin					18	4	22
Wilson's Snipe				1			1
American Woodcock					1		1
Bonaparte's Gull					95	7	102
Ring-billed Gull	157	692	376	396	509	1073	3203
Herring Gull	6	75	201	184	463	973	1902
Lesser Black-backed Gull					1		1	1st since 1994
Great Black-backed Gull	6	22	47	44	93	90	302
gull, sp			370				370
RAZORBILL					116	(72)	116	New for the count!
Rock Dove	110	344	198	862	353	420	2287	New High Count (2199 in 2001)
Mourning Dove	44	36	175	165	289	320	1029
Monk Parakeet			14				14
Barn Owl			1				1
Eastern Screech-Owl	2				3	6	11
Great Horned Owl			1		4	1	6
Long-eared Owl			1				1
Northern Saw-whet Owl			2				2
Belted Kingfisher		1	7	4	11	8	31
Red-bellied Woodpecker	23	28	29	81	51	77	289
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker				3	1	7	11
Downy Woodpecker	16	17	31	41	47	86	238
Hairy Woodpecker	6	3	7	38	18	18	90
Northern Flicker	1	3	6	5	8	13	36
Pileated Woodpecker						2	2
Eastern Phobe				1			1
Blue Jay	40	35	59	247	64	142	587
American Crow	36	38	165	140	75	366	820	19 year low
Fish Crow			4	3	7	5	19
Black-capped Chickadee	33	26	10	39	125	93	326	26 year low
Tufted Titmouse	74	19	24	93	102	124	436
Red-breasted Nuthatch				2	cw	1	3
White-breasted Nuthatch	33	11	15	63	42	58	222
Brown Creeper				1		1	2
Carolina Wren	10	15	21	35	63	67	211	New High Count (182 in 2001)
House Wren						2	2
Winter Wren	5	2	4	7	17	13	48
Marsh Wren					4		4
Golden-crowned Kinglet					4	4	8
Ruby-crowned Kinglet				6	1	4	11
Eastern Bluebird					1	2	3
Hermit Thrush		1	3	3	4	5	16
American Robin	11	14	9	209	58	169	470
Gray Catbird	3	1	6	2	7	6	25
Northern Mockingbird	15	17	19	79	40	46	216
Brown Thrasher					1	1	2
European Starling	306	708	653	934	675	1015	4291
American Pipit				1			1
Cedar Waxwing					11		11
Orange-crowned Warbler				1			1	4th time on Count
Yellow-rumped Warbler					1		1
Common Yellowthroat			1				1
Yellow-breasted Chat				1		1	2	High Count, one seen 14 times
Eastern Towhee	3		5	1		3	12
American Tree Sparrow	5	31	160	40	201	7	444	22 year high
Chipping Sparrow				3			3
Field Sparrow					1		1
Savannah Sparrow			1			1	2
Fox Sparrow	9	1	14	16	30	22	92
Song Sparrow	26	28	90	112	163	105	524
Swamp Sparrow		1	9	8	8	4	30
White-throated Sparrow	149	113	348	1184	394	614	2802
White-crowned Sparrow				1		2	3
Dark-eyed (Slate-col.) Junco	136	136	64	565	265	609	1775	New High Count
Northern Cardinal	37	26	37	101	75	160	436
Red-winged Blackbird	4		7	283	54	2	350
Rusty Blackbird	7			105		1	113	29 year high
Common Grackle	6	205	4	600	1		816
Brown-headed Cowbird		1		5	cw		6
Baltimore Oriole						1	1	9th time on count
House Finch	45	34	66	71	79	128	423	21 year low
Pine Siskin				1			1
American Goldfinch	28	31	84	83	132	84	442
House Sparrow	263	171	293	947	303	477	2454

Species	Hudson Valley	Yonkers	East Bronx	West Bronx	Rye	Scarsdale	TOTALS
TOTALS	1847	4020	8048	10249	9462	12396	46022
# of Species	41	50	73	74	91	91	124
# of Saves	0	0	6	7	12	7

Summary of birds seen over its 78 year history.
1999 Results
2000 Results
2001 Results

Return to Main Chapter Page