90th Bronx-Westchester Christmas Bird Count
December 22, 2013

The Bronx-Westchester CBC has seen 227 different species of birds seen over its 90  year history.
Summary (updated up to 2012)
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The Bronx-Westchester Count tallied 120 species on Sunday Dec 22, 2013.  Ninety-three field observers and two at feeders enjoyed an incredibly warm day with a high of 70 degrees! That was a new high temperature for our count, easily breaking the record of 66 degrees in 1990. Spring Peepers (tree frogs) were heard calling at a number of locations and 6-7 Red Bats were reported are well.

Highlights were a count week Semipalmated Plover in Pelham Bay Park and a female King Eider off Scotch Capp Island in Rye. It was the first King Eider on the count since 1956.

Seven Red-headed Woodpeckers set a new High Count (6 were in Pelham Bay Park, the other in Woodlawn). Other finds included two Eurasian Wigeons, one in Turtle Cove, Bronx and the other off Marshland Conservancy, Rye. Three Red-neck Grebes were found in the Sound off Rye and Pelham Bay Park had a Rough-legged Hawk.  Soundview Park in the Bronx had 4 Ring-necked Pheasant and 40 Snow Bunting.

Four Black Vultures were over Hastings and Lenoir Nature Preserve.  A single Razorbill and a Lesser Black-backed Gull were in Rye.

New high counts were set for Brant, Gadwall, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Northern Flicker, Monk Parakeet, Fish Crow, and Carolina Wren.

Other Count Week birds included Snowy Owls in the Bronx and Rye; Lesser Yellowlegs in Pelham; American Pipit and White-crowned Sparrow.

Missed Species included Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal (first miss in 57 years), Virginia Rail, Ruddy Turnstone, and Purple Finch. 

In a odd and (probably) not related, any time the count had a King Eider, the count missed Green-winged Teal

Next year’s count is scheduled for Sunday, December 28, 2014.

What's Happing to our Canvasbacks?

 

  Species  (AOU 53rd) Hudson Valley Yonkers West Bronx East Bronx Scarsdale  Rye   Total  
1 Brant       3515 385 19   3919 New High Count (3235 in 2007)
2 Canada Goose 254 1128 1368 2213 1895 754   7612  
3 Mute Swan   2   30 11 41   84 34 Year Low
4 Wood Duck 2 19 2     1   24  
5 Gadwall     2 193 62 121   378 New High Count (241 in 2009)
6 Eurasian Wigeon       1   1   2  
7 American Widgeon       2 116 118   236  
8 American Black Duck 4 45 23 525 247 85   929  
9 Mallard 93 123 359 436 606 238   1855  
  mallard hybrid       2 1 6   9  
10 Northern Shoveler   12 2 5 6     25  
11 Canvasback

 CW

 1       4   5  
12 Redhead       1       1  
13 Ring-necked Duck 2 3       1   6  
14 Greater Scaup       9503 2646 426   12575 40 year high
15 Lesser Scaup       828 5 220   1053  
  scaup, sp         20     20  
16 King Eider           1   1  1st since 1956, 4th count record
17 White-winged Scoter           2   2  
18 Black Scoter       1       1  
19 Long-tailed Duck         21 78   99  
20 Bufflehead 3 4   553 163 233   956  
21 Common Goldeneye       54 30 10   94  
22 Hooded Merganser 2 37 26 10 41 93   209  
23 Common Merganser   2   1   2   5  
24 Red-breasted Merganser 1     148 33 103   285  
25 Ruddy Duck   5   31 13 25   74  
26 Ring-necked Pheasant       4       4  
27 Wild Turkey   6 2     15   23  
28 Red-throated Loon           1   1  
29 Common Loon       4 2 4   10  
30 Pied-billed Grebe       1   1   2  
31 Horned Grebe       13   4   17  
32 Red-necked Grebe           3   3  
33 Northern Gannet       2   8   10  
34 Double-crested Cormorant       93 9 1   103 New High Count (84 in 2011)
35 Great Cormorant       12 4 9   25  
36 Great Blue Heron 4 7 4 8 8 32   63  
37 Black-crowned Night-Heron   1           1  
38 Black Vulture 2 2           4  
39 Turkey Vulture 18 17     4     39  
40 Bald Eagle  adult         1     1  
41 Northern Harrier 1     3  

CW

   4  
42 Sharp-shinned Hawk 3 1 2 2 1 3   12  
43 Cooper's Hawk 1 1 6 6 2 3   19  
44 Red-shouldered Hawk     1     2   3  
45 Red-tailed Hawk 7 11 22 18 13 11   82  
46 Rough-legged Hawk       1       1  
47 Clapper Rail           1   1  
48 American Coot           2   2  
  Semipalmated Plover      

CW

      

CW

  
49 Killdeer       13 8 3   24  
50 Greater Yellowlegs       1       1  
Lesser Yellowlegs

CW

CW
51 Purple Sandpiper         9 12   21  
52 Dunlin           20   20  
53 American Woodcock   1       1   2  
54 Ring-billed Gull 215 599 355 1529 534 293   3525  
55 Herring Gull 3 87 25 462 127 651   1355  
56 Lesser Black-backed Gull           1   1  
57 Great Black-backed Gull 2 14 7 57 12 46   138  
58 Razorbill           1   1  
59 Rock Pigeon 65 544 46 304 134 248   1341  
60 Mourning Dove 67 162 177 120 126 331   983  
61 Eastern Screech-Owl 1 2   1 5     9  
62 Great Horned Owl     CW 2 2 3   7  
Snowy Owl

CW

CW

CW
63 Barred Owl           1   1  
64 Long-eared Owl       3       3  
65 Northern Saw-whet Owl   1           1  
66 Belted Kingfisher     4 4 5 4   17  
67 Red-headed Woodpecker     1 6       7 New High Count (4 in 1931)
68 Red-bellied Woodpecker 19 67 63 53 50 51   303 New High Count (295 in 2001)
69 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 3 5 14 9 6 9   46 New High Count (24 in 2001)
70 Downy Woodpecker 10 36 51 52 54 52   255 17 yr high
71 Hairy Woodpecker 5 6 7 11 10 13   52  
72 Northern Flicker 3 8 10 16 15 10   62 New High Count (58 in 2001)
73 Pileated Woodpecker 1       1     2  
74 American Kestrel     1 1       2  
75 Merlin   1   2   1   4 Ties High Count (2002 & 2005)
76 Peregrine Falcon   2 2 2 1     7  
     falcon, sp.     1         1  
77 Monk Parakeet     34 14 22     70 New High Count (45 in 2007)
78 Blue Jay 83 151 365 149 169 184   1101 12 year high
79 American Crow 53 19 25 54 177 54   382  
80 Fish Crow 1 9   38 70 50   168 New High Count (97 in 2009)
81 Common Raven     2 3       5  
82 Horned Lark       1  

CW

   1  
83 Black-capped Chickadee 28 69 40 8 47 78   270  
84 Tufted Titmouse 29 63 65 29 45 75   306  
85 Red-breasted Nuthatch     8         8  
86 White-breasted Nuthatch 19 23 41 24 33 38   178  
87 Brown Creeper 1   9 1 1 3   15  
88 Winter Wren 3 1 8 2 10 7   31  
89 Marsh Wren           1   1  
90 Carolina Wren 18 23 26 33 52 66   218 New High Count (211 in 2002)
91 Golden-crowned Kinglet   4 12 1 1 8   26  
92 Ruby-crowned Kinglet   1 2 2 1 2   8  
93 Hermit Thrush     6   2 1   9  
94 American Robin 25 111 274 127 177 319   1033  
95 Gray Catbird 3 1 1 2

 1

 2   10  
96 Northern Mockingbird 10 6 23 20 17 12   88  
97 Brown Thrasher     1 7 1

CW

   9 34 Year High
98 European Starling 209 416 375 510 450 503   2463  
  American Pipit          

CW

  

CW

  
99 Cedar Waxwing   4 16 2 2

CW

   24  
100 Snow Bunting       40   36   76  
101 Common Yellowthroat           2   2  
102 Yellow-rumped Warbler   1 1 8   2   12 22 Year High
103 Eastern Towhee 4 1 1 21 8 6   41  
104 American Tree Sparrow 8 1   33 6 34   82  
105 Chipping Sparrow     2 2 1

CW

   5  
106 Field Sparrow 6 19       1   26  
107 Savannah Sparrow       2   1   3  
108 Fox Sparrow   1 12 17 2 10   42  
109 Song Sparrow 53 15 37 64 77 188   434  
110 Swamp Sparrow 2 14   15 4 9   44  
111 White-throated Sparrow 84 207 551 221 236 261   1560  
  White-crowned Sparrow          

CW

  

CW

  
112 Dark-eyed (Slate col.) Junco 47 170 363 103 149 273   1105  
113 Northern Cardinal 40 52 89 61 67 66   375  
114 Red-winged Blackbird     5 189 9 74   277  
115 Rusty Blackbird       6   6   12  
116 Common Grackle   1 94 3140 2 419   3656  
117 Brown-headed Cowbird     2 55   10   67  
118 House Finch 6 21 11 7 56 124   225  
119 American Goldfinch 9 24 128 90 56 92   399  
120 House Sparrow 113 390 348 129 200 328   1508  
                   
  Hudson Valley Yonkers West Bronx East Bronx Scarsdale  Rye   TOTALS  
Number of Saves 0 2 1 7 1 12      
Number of Species 51 64 61 91 75 95   120  
Totals 1645 4780 5560 26097 9595 7778   55455  

 

Next year’s count will be Sunday, December 28, 2014.

Michael Bochnik
Compiler
BochnikM@cs.com

 Return to the counts home page

The Bronx-Westchester CBC .
Summary  
1999 Results
2000 Results
2001 Results
2002 Results
2003 Results
2004 Results
2005 Results
2006 Results
2007 Results  
2008 Results  
2009 Results  
2010 Results  
2011 Results  
2012 Results  


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