Greetings!! The 60th Northern Nassau Christmas count was held on Saturday, Dec 15th amid pleasant conditions and recorded 114 species. Our 60 year average stands at 99.95 species.... 45,241 individuals were counted but this is a fickle number that varies widely with the size of the Greater Scaup rafts on Long Island Sound (14,693 this year).
Highlights: 3 species new to the count: Cackling Goose and Nelson's Sparrow (both at Caumsett State Park) and Nashville Warbler in Port Washington. This brings our running total over 60 years to 195 species. Record numbers of Common (231) and Red-throated Loons (137). Prior records were 59 and 51, respectively. Record number of Killdeer (100 vs old 61), including one astounding flock of 70. High count of 9 Razorbills, 3rd count overall and 2nd year in a row. Bald Eagle, 3rd count overall and 2nd year in a row. American White Pelican for the 2nd time ever, off Caumsett State Park, other record was from 1954 (1st count). 6 White-winged Crossbills (3rd count ever, prior 2 in 1963 and 1965). Red-shouldered Hawk (27 counts but very difficult to find in the past few decades). 7 Pine Warblers (6 counts but never more than 1 individual). Common Raven for the 3rd consecutive year. 2 Eastern Phoebes (1st in 5 years). 41 Red-breasted Nuthatches (very high number for prior decade). 49 Eastern Bluebirds (well above the running averages). 45 Winter Wrens (prior high 19; remarkable) American Pipit (3 counts, 1st since 1982). 3 Eastern Meadowlarks (1st since 1999). Other notables included Northern Gannet (replaced by Razorbill as the new western Long Island Sound "pelagic"), 15 Purple Sandpipers, Merlin, American Woodcock, Brown Thrasher, House Wren, and 2 Snow Buntings. Ring-necked Ducks seem to have a firm presence in our count circle, having been recorded in good numbers each of the last 4 years, after not being seen for the prior 33 years. Common Goldeneye (188) continue to lag their historical average. Too many scaup? Despite the very calm pre-dawn conditions, Eastern Screech Owls seemed down a bit (9) from recent years and Great Horned Owls (13) were about average. Owling hours were average so I'm wondering if there is a hurricane Sandy correlation to the number of Screeches and the amount of downed trees. It would be interesting to see how they did on other Long Island counts. Red-bellied Woodpeckers were down about 40% from the last 3 years. (No explanation for this one). Gray Catbirds had been enjoying low-teens numbers in the last decade but have declined to low single digit numbers recently (3 each last 3 years). 1 lonely Great Egret 1 lonely Cedar Waxwing (well below average). 2 lonely (and separate) Yellow-rumped Warblers Notable missed species include: Canvasback (seen on 56 counts but missed 2 out of last 3 years). Great Cormorant (very low numbers last decade). Black-crowned Night Heron (3 consecutive years now). American Kestrel (3 consecutive years now). Virginia Rail (missed 5 out of last 6 years). Greater Yellowlegs (3 consecutive years; what happened to this bird?) Canada Goose (just making sure you're paying attention). Fish Crow (few records in the last decade). Common Grackle (feast or famine with this species). Count week species were Eurasian Wigeon, Common Redpoll, and a more substantial flock of 50 White-winged Crossbills. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year, Glenn Quinn Compiler Hauppauge, NY -- 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/ --
