95th Bronx-Westchester Christmas Bird Count

Sunday, December 23, 2018

    The 95th Bronx-Westchester Christmas Bird Count found 116 species on Sunday December 23, 2018. An additional 3 species were seen count week. Highlights included a Lincolns Sparrow found in Zinsser Park in Hastings-on-Hudson and a Razorbill off Edith G. Read Preserve in Rye. Both birds were 5th count records. Other notable species included: a count week Greater White-fronted Goose in Rye; 420 Common Mergansers on Sprain Reservoir in Yonkers; over 5000 Greater Scaup off the Bronx shore of Long Island Sound; A Northern Goshawk in the West Bronx; Red-headed Woodpecker and Pileated Woodpecker in Pelham Bay; four Eastern Phoebes with a count week bird in Hastings; 3 Pine Siskins in Kings Point; eight Chipping Sparrows; and a Yellow-breasted Chat in Marshlands Conservancy.

    New High counts were 45 Common Loon, 13 Black Vulture, 65 Turkey Vulture, 11 Bald Eagle, 11 Barred Owl, 373 Fish Crow and 36 Red-breasted Nuthatch with 25 of them in the West Bronx.

    We set an all-time low for American Tree Sparrow; a 66 year-low for American Wigeon, 50-year low for Ruddy Duck, 41-year low for Grat Horned Owl and  56-year low for House Finch

    We had 100 participants in the field plus 11 feeder watchers. Thirty-seven people enjoyed the compilation dinner at the Lenoir Nature Center. Thanks to all who participated either in the field or counting at your feeders.  Next Year’s Count will be Sunday, December 22, 2019

  Species  (AOU 53rd) Hudson Valley Yonkers West Bronx East Bronx Scarsdale  Rye Kings Point   Total  
  Greater White-fronted Goose           CW     CW  
1 Brant     3 250 303 119 2   677  
2 Canada Goose 429 481 1214 1223 1122 267 23   4759  
3 Mute Swan   1 4 6 11 39 6   67  
4 Wood Duck     31 1 12 3     47  
5 Northern Shoveler   1 87 15 40       143 33-yearhigh
6 Gadwall       54 62 33 10   159  
7 American Widgeon       4 16 15     35  66-year low
8 Mallard 92 130 476 162 446 107 16   1429  
    mallard hybrid   1 2 2         5  
9 American Black Duck 1 14 10 398 95 196 6   720  
10 Northern Pintail       1 1 1     3  
11 Canvasback 1 1   8         10  
12 Ring-necked Duck         14       14  
13 Greater Scaup       5358 44 40 5   5447  
14 Lesser Scaup       406 35       441  
15 Surf Scoter       21   6 1   28  
16 White-winged Scoter           9     9  
17 Black Scoter       4         4  
    scoter, sp           8     8  
18 Long-tailed Duck       35 27 86 12   160  
19 Bufflehead 9   9 649 135 136 56   994  
20 Common Goldeneye       75 12 39 29   155  
21 Hooded Merganser 7 11 12 2 79 39 8   158  
22 Common Merganser 5 424   1 9 5     444  78-year high
23 Red-breasted Merganser       119 18 74     211  
24 Ruddy Duck     8   8 1     17  50-year low
25 Wild Turkey 17     21 1 14     53  
26 Pied-billed Grebe       1         1  
27 Horned Grebe       3   2 1   6  
28 Red-necked Grebe       1 1       2  
29 Rock Pigeon 128 70 325 232 83 55     893  
30 Mourning Dove 73 78 78 168 122 20 12   551  
31 American Coot     1           1  
32 Killdeer         1       1  
33 Ruddy Turnstone       1         1  
34 Purple Sandpiper       4 5 CW     9  
35 Wilson's Snipe       1         1  
36 Razorbill           1     1  5th count record
37 Ring-billed Gull 252 524 166 1042 544 134 150   2812  
38 Herring Gull 7 8 41 562 156 206 75   1055  
39 Great Black-backed Gull 8 5 6 29 13 28 5   94  
40 Red-throated Loon       21 4 19 4   48  
41 Common Loon       20 12 12 1   45  New High Count (40 in 2011)
  Northern Gannet          

CW

    

CW

  
42 Double-crested Cormorant 1   1 12 5 4     23  
43 Great Cormorant       2 6 17     25  
    cormorant, sp         5       5  
44 Great Blue Heron 2 4 3 4 15 21     49  
45 Black-crowned Night-Heron     1     3     4  
46 Black Vulture 8 2     3       13  New High Count (7 in 2016)
47 Turkey Vulture 43 6 4 3 7 2     65  New High Count (45 in 2011)
48 Bald Eagle  3   1 3 2 1 1   11  New High Count (8 in 2011)
49 Northern Harrier       1         1  
50 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 3 2 1 5 2     15  
51 Cooper's Hawk CW 3 9   4 4     20  
52 Northern Goshawk     1           1  
   accipiter, sp       2         2  
53 Red-shouldered Hawk 1   1 1 1 1     5  
54 Red-tailed Hawk 29 17 27 13 16 8 1   111  
55 Eastern Screech-Owl 2 1 3   1 2 2   11  
56 Great Horned Owl     1 1 1 2     5  41-year low
57 Barred Owl 1   2 6 1 1     11  New High Count (10 in 2012)
58 Saw-whet Owl     1           1  
59 Belted Kingfisher 1   2 4 4 2     13  
60 Red-headed Woodpecker       1         1  
61 Red-bellied Woodpecker 23 24 56 46 35 35 3   222  
62 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 CW 2 1 1 1     6  
63 Downy Woodpecker 16 12 34 33 35 20 7   157  
64 Hairy Woodpecker 3 2 8 8 10 12 3   46  
65 Northern Flicker 1 1 4 2 3 1     12  
66 Pileated Woodpecker 1    

1

 1 2     5  
67 American Kestrel 1 1 3 2   1     8  
68 Merlin     2 1   1     4  
69 Peregrine Falcon 2   2 1 2       7  
70 Monk Parakeet         53       53  
71 Eastern Phobe CW   3 1         4  New High Count (12th count record)
72 Blue Jay 89 93 317 174 118 61 10   862  
73 American Crow 29 23 31 5 29 8 4   129  
74 Fish Crow   227 6 48 82 10     373  New High Count (339 in 2016)
75 Common Raven 2 2   2   3 1   10  
76 Black-capped Chickadee 39 33 89 75 44 55 11   346  
77 Tufted Titmouse 80 43 107 71 92 40     433  
78 Red-breasted Nuthatch 1 1 25 2 4 3     36  New High Count (33 in 2012)
79 White-breasted Nuthatch 27 25 70 45 48 37 15   267  
80 Brown Creeper     1 2 1   2   6  
81 Winter Wren 2 1 2 11 9 13 10   48  
82 Marsh Wren       1         1  
83 Carolina Wren 27 10 4 26 41 29 5   142  
84 Golden-crowned Kinglet         2       2  
85 Ruby-crowned Kinglet     1   1       2  
86 Eastern Bluebird           2     2  
87 Hermit Thrush 1 1 4 2 2 1     11  
88 American Robin 20 8 312 47 51 82 1   521  
89 Gray Catbird 1 5 2 1 2 2     13  
90 Brown Thrasher     1           1  
91 Northern Mockingbird 22 13 30 23 18 13 1   120  
92 European Starling 459 387 262 594 385 76 3   2166  
93 Cedar Waxwing 1   2     24     27  
94 House Sparrow 35 57 531 210 194 118 2   1147  
95 House Finch 18 3 15 10 19 7     72  56-year low
96 Purple Finch     3 3 3 1     10  
97 Pine Siskin             3   3  
98 American Goldfinch 25 2 48 34 33 30 43   215  
99 Eastern Towhee 3   2 7 2 CW 1   15  
100 American Tree Sparrow 1 1 3 1   18     24  New all-time low!
101 Chipping Sparrow 1   7           8  
102 Field Sparrow 13         3     16  
  Savannah Sparrow                 CW  
103 Fox Sparrow 13 1 8 35 3 12 5   77  
104 Song Sparrow 48 40 63 59 46 66 3   325  
105 Lincoln's Sparrow 1               1  5th count record
106 Swamp Sparrow   1 12 15 4 3 1   36  
107 White-throated Sparrow 100 51 379 237 185 75 51   1078  
108 White-crowned Sparrow     4           4  
109 Dark-eyed (Slate col.) Junco 56 72 159 58 112 109 18   584  
110 Yellow-breatsed Chat           1     1  
111 Red-winged Blackbird 9   11 73 2 17     112  
112 Brown-headed Cowbird   2     CW       2  
113 Rusty Blackbird     91           91  
114 Common Grackle     808 7 1       816  
115 Yellow-rumped Warbler       1         1  
116 Northern Cardinal 51 31 81 53 38 42 11   307  
                       
  Hudson Valley Yonkers West Bronx East Bronx Scarsdale  Rye Kings Point      
116 Number of Saves 1 1 6 8 4 4 1      
Number of Species 61 51 75 90 83 82 46   116  
Totals 2344 2958 6137 12982 5218 2818 640   33097  

CW = Seen count week but not on count day.

Missed Species: Green-winged Teal, Dunlin, Savannah Sparrow. 

Participants in Field 10 15 24 18 22 11 1   100
Parties min 4 4 7 8 6 4 1   33
Parties max 4 6 7 8 7 4 1   36
Participamnts at feeders 0 7 1 1 2 0 0   11
Hours at Feeders 0 6 1 1 2 0 0   10
Owling hours 3 1.5 0 0 2.5 2.5 0   9.5
Owling Miles 5 5 0 0 15 12 0   37
Foot Hour 32 11 43 49.5 50 28 5   213.5
Foot Miles 15 14 32 36 20 13.5 5.5   130.5
Car Hours 2 7 2 4.5 7 2 0.25   24.5
Car Miles 50 38 8 18 75 24 5   213

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