The Southern Nassau County Christmas Bird Count was conducted on Sunday 1 January 2012. The weather was excellent, and our total of 83 field observers plus four feeder-watchers was the highest in recent years, perhaps ever. Together, we recorded 133 species, slightly above the ten-year average of 130.
The appeal of the CBCs involves a curious blend of the familiar and the new. Over the 72 years this count has been conducted since 1932, an impressive collection of 246 species and identifiable subspecies has accrued, and no fewer than 23 of these have never been missed. Even after seven-plus decades of coverage, new species are added with surprising regularity: nine species and two additional subspecies have been added to the cumulative list since 2001, plus four more species recorded during count-week. This sense of possibility was rewarded once again this year, with the discovery of a Grace’s Warbler at Point Lookout—not only a first for this count and for New York State, but potentially for the entire East Coast of North America! Discovered by Doug Gochfeld and Andrew Baksh, this remarkable bird was seen by a large proportion of the count’s participants. As compilers, knowing that species totals are significantly predicted by total party hours, we’ve surmised that collectively we probably missed about three species this year while in transit back and forth along the Loop Parkway—but what a bird! Other highlights were many, including King Eider, Harlequin Duck, multiple Blue-winged Teal (photographed), Red-necked Grebe, a prodigious total of 20 Great Egrets, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Red Knot, Western Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, Laughing Gull, Icleland Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Glaucous Gull, Black-legged Kittiwake, Razorbill, Barn Owl, Snowy Owl, Marsh Wren, Eastern Bluebird (very tough in winter in this circle), Orange-crowned Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Pine Warbler, and Palm Warbler. Complete data are copied below. We extend our thanks to the many people and agencies who facilitated access to key field sites, and to everyone who participated in the field. What will next year bring? Patricia Lindsay & Shai Mitra Bay Shore, NY Species Total Atlantic Brant 32225 (adjusted) Canada Goose 6181 Mute Swan 96 Gadwall 372 American Wigeon 155 American Black Duck 6473 Mallard 2692 Mallard x Black Duck hybrid 19 Blue-winged Teal 11 Northern Shoveler 434 Northern Pintail 145 Am. Green-winged Teal 515 Redhead 5 Ring-necked Duck 40 Greater Scaup 214 Lesser Scaup 1639 King Eider 1 Common Eider 176 Harlequin Duck 4 Surf Scoter 43 White-winged Scoter 13 Black Scoter 131 Long-tailed Duck 1184 Bufflehead 430 Common Goldeneye 1 Hooded Merganser 873 Red-breasted Merganser 638 Common Merganser 44 Ruddy Duck 1100 Ring-necked Pheasant 2 Red-throated Loon 394 Common Loon 132 Pied-billed Grebe 46 Horned Grebe 44 Red-necked Grebe 1 Northern Gannet 1057 Double-crested Cormorant 147 Great Cormorant 13 Great Blue Heron 102 Great Egret 20 Black-crowned Night-Heron 109 Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 1 Northern Harrier 31 Sharp-shinned Hawk 22 Cooper's Hawk 9 Red-tailed Hawk 24 American Kestrel 1 Merlin 2 Peregrine Falcon 16 Virginia Rail 2 American Coot 197 Black-bellied Plover 93 Killdeer 1 American Oystercatcher 61 Greater Yellowlegs 20 Ruddy Turnstone 21 Red Knot 1 Sanderling 1129 Western Sandpiper 3 Purple Sandpiper 9 Dunlin 4642 Long-billed Dowitcher 8 Wilson's Snipe 1 American Woodcock 4 Laughing Gull 1 Bonaparte's Gull 287 Ring-billed Gull 3095 Herring Gull 3698 Iceland Gull 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull 1 Glaucous Gull 2 Great Black-backed Gull 496 Black-legged Kittiwake 6 Razorbill 16 Rock Dove 1486 Mourning Dove 250 Monk Parakeet 24 Barn Owl 3 Eastern Screech-Owl 2 Great Horned Owl 1 Snowy Owl 1 Belted Kingfisher 21 Red-bellied Woodpecker 39 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 9 Downy Woodpecker 86 Hairy Woodpecker 8 Northern Flicker 39 Blue Jay 85 American Crow 145 Fish Crow 4 Horned Lark 64 Black-capped Chickadee 84 Tufted Titmouse 8 Red-breasted Nuthatch 2 White-breasted Nuthatch 24 Brown Creeper 7 Carolina Wren 70 Winter Wren 32 Marsh Wren 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet 21 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 13 Eastern Bluebird 1 Hermit Thrush 5 American Robin 318 Gray Catbird 16 Northern Mockingbird 171 Brown Thrasher 6 European Starling 3228 American Pipit 1 Snow Bunting 403 Orange-crowned Warbler 1 Common Yellowthroat 1 Palm Warbler 2 Pine Warbler 1 Myrtle Warbler 356 Grace's Warbler 1 Eastern Towhee 9 American Tree Sparrow 29 Field Sparrow 9 Savannah Sparrow 17 Savannah Sparrow, Ipswich 3 Fox Sparrow 11 Song Sparrow 421 Swamp Sparrow 32 White-throated Sparrow 354 Dark-eyed Junco 59 Northern Cardinal 252 Red-winged Blackbird 12 Rusty Blackbird 2 Common Grackle 9 Boat-tailed Grackle 119 Brown-headed Cowbird 139 House Finch 125 American Goldfinch 77 House Sparrow 1207 ________________________________ Change is in the Air - Smoking in Designated Areas Only in effect.<http://www.csi.cuny.edu/tobaccofree> Tobacco-Free Campus as of July 1, 2012. -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
