97th Bronx-Westchester Christmas Bird Count

Sunday, December 27, 2020

    Despite the Covid pandemic, the 97th Bronx-Westchester CBC was still held. Heath protocols were followed; masks were worn, social distancing followed and we did not have a count dinner compilation. But we did have a great Zoom meeting compilation. We hope to combine a physical dinner and a zoom meeting next year.

    The 97th Bronx-Westchester Christmas Bird Count found 120 species on Sunday December 27, 2020. Four above average. An additional 3 species were seen count week. Highlights include the first records of Common Eiders; females off Mamaroneck and the East Bronx. Other highlights include the 3rd count record for Semipalmated Plover in the East Bronx, an Iceland Gull on the Hastings-on-Hudson waterfront, and Common Redpolls in Hastings and Rye. Count Week birds included White-fronted Goose, Glaucous Gull in Rye and a Spotted Sandpiper, which also has never been seen on this count.

  Other notable birds were 3 Redhead, all three scoters, 2 Ring-necked Pheasants, 2 Red-necked Grebes, 2 Clapper Rail, Wilson's Snipe, Snowy Owl on an island in Long Island Sound, 6 Barred Owl and a Northern Saw-whet Owl in Kings Point, Horned Larks, Eastern Bluebird, American Pipit, 70 Pine Siskins, 4 Chipping Sparrows, and 2 White-crowned Sparrows.

   New high counts were set for Common Loon, Black Vulture, Bald Eagle, Cooper's Hawk, Common Raven, Carolina Wren. There was a 29 year high for Great Blue Heron, and a 29 year high for Savannah Sparrow.

Only 36,512 birds were counted; about 7,000 below our 20 year average. But despite that; we saw no 20 year lows.   Missed Species  included Northern Pintail, American Coot, Ruddy Turnstone, and Marsh Wren.



Iceland Gull
Hastings-on-Hudson 		 


Barred Owl
Yonkers

  


Barred Owl  -  Botanical Gardens
Andrew Baksh
 

 

    

  Species  (AOU 53rd) Hudson Valley Yonkers West Bronx East Bronx Scarsdale  Rye Kings Point  

Total

  
1 Snow Goose (white form)       4         4   
  Greater White-fronted Goose          

CW

     CW  
2 Brant     15 364 231 124 6   740  
3 Canada Goose 538 713 1402 2067 2854 866 153   8593  
4 Mute Swan   1 7 13 9 25

2

   57  
5 Wood Duck     13 1 2       16  
6 Northern Shoveler     59 12 44       115  
7 Gadwall       87 50 31     168  
8 American Wigeon       3 3 61 5   72  
9 Mallard 55 126 593 220 422 75 3   1494  
     mallard hybrid 2   3 1 1 1     8  
10 American Black Duck 15 8 8 452 62 119 2   666  
11 Green-winged Teal (Am.)         9       9  
12 Canvasback       2         2  
13 Redhead             3   3  
14 Ring-necked Duck       1 14       15  
15 Greater Scaup        1815 164 107 758   2844  
16 Lesser Scaup       6   8     14  
       scaup, sp.       80  

20

     100  
17 COMMON EIDER       1 1       2  New to the Count
18 Surf Scoter       27         27  
19 White-winged Scoter           7     7  
20 Black Scoter             1   1  
21 Long-tailed Duck       61 41 122 9   233  
22 Bufflehead 1 4 23 542 183 200 44   997  
23 Common Goldeneye  4     188 16 16 20   244  
24 Hooded Merganser 8 10 16 8 51 39 2   134  
25 Common Merganser 16 28   1     1   46  
26 Red-breasted Merganser       300 80 50 18   448  
27 Ruddy Duck   5 74 20         99  
28 Ring-necked Pheasant         2       2 Last seen in 2014, introduced?
29 Wild Turkey   4   11   26     41  
30 Pied-billed Grebe     1 1         2  
31 Horned Grebe         1   8   9  
32 Red-necked Grebe           2     2  
33 Rock Pigeon 88 252 395 349 104 38     1226  
34 Mourning Dove 83 128 58 106 168 75 51   669  
35 Clapper Rail           2     2  
36 Virginia Rail           2     2  
37 SEMIPALMATED PLOVER       1         1 Third Count Record Last seen in 1998
38 Killdeer       1  

CW

     1  
Spotted Sandpiper          

CW

     CW New to Count List
39 Dunlin           2     2  
40 Purple Sandpiper       5 20 4     29  
41 Wilson's Snipe       1         1  
42 Ring-billed Gull 122 466 147 1064 315 206 28   2348  
43 Herring Gull 39 31 19 933 250 242 39   1553  
44 ICELAND GULL 1               1  Last seen in 2016
  Glaucous Gull          

CW

    

CW

  
45 Great Black-backed Gull 18 8 7 88 28 31 6   186  
      gull, sp   21             21  
46 Red-throated Loon     1 29 21 21 3   75  
47 Common Loon       24 15 21 5   65  New High Count (45 in 2018)
48 Double-crested Cormorant       1 8

2

 1   12  
49 Great Cormorant 1     21 7 10     39  
50 Great Blue Heron 8 3 4 21 18 35     89  29 year high
51 Black Vulture 22 3 2           27  New High Count ( 13 in 2018)
52 Turkey Vulture 30 23 1 4 4

CW

     62  
53 Bald Eagle 3 2 7 1 2 7 2   24  New High Count (11 in 2018)
54 Northern Harrier     1 1   1     3  
55 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1   1 1 3

1

 1   8  
56 Cooper's Hawk 1 4 8 8 4 5     30  New High Count (27 in 2016)
57 Red-shouldered Hawk 1   2   1       4  
58 Red-tailed Hawk 16 15 26 31 17 14 1   120  
    buteo, sp

1

              

1

  
59 Eastern Screech-Owl   1 1 1 3 1 1   8  
60 Great Horned Owl   1

CW

 3 2 3     9  
61 Snowy Owl         1       1  
62 Barred Owl 1 1 2 1 1       6  
63 Northern Saw-whet Owl             1   1  
64 Belted Kingfisher   1 1 8 5 3     18  
65 Red-bellied Woodpecker 22 16 31 50 29 30 8   186  
66 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2 1 9 7 2 3     24  
67 Downy Woodpecker 27 29 24 68 44 23 8   223  
68 Hairy Woodpecker 8 4 6 15 8 13 5   59  
69 Northern Flicker     2 4   5 1   12  
70 Pileated Woodpecker 2   1 1 3 2     9  HC (7 in 2012)
71 American Kestrel     1 1 1       3  
72 Merlin 1   1 1 3 1     7  
73 Peregrine Falcon 1   5 1 2 1     10  
74 Monk Parakeet         27       27  
75 Blue Jay 4 35 170 110 44 8 14   385  
76 American Crow 43 13 73 32 85 23 4   273  
77 Fish Crow 29 199 4 41 26 16 2   317  
     crow, sp   6     36       42  
78 Common Raven 15 8 8 8 7 10     56  New High Count (16 in 2016)
79 Horned Lark    

  

     13     13  
80 Black-capped Chickadee 90 124 103 170 139 99 33   758  
81 Tufted Titmouse 61 61 48 83 71 53 1   378  
82 Red-breasted Nuthatch 4   5   4

1

     14  
83 White-breasted Nuthatch 37 37 39 34 42 21 7   217  
84 Brown Creeper   4 3 5   3 2   17  
85 Winter Wren 5 2 7 14 8 4 8   48  
86 Carolina Wren 37 29 28 96 44 27 15   276  New High Count (232 last year)
87 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 1 2 9         14  
88 Ruby-crowned Kinglet   1 3 1 2 1     8  
89 Eastern Bluebird           1     1  
90 Hermit Thrush   1 1 3 3       8  
91 American Robin 9 99 100 102 75 86 11   482  
92 Gray Catbird   1   5 1       7  
93 Brown Thrasher       3         3  
94 Northern Mockingbird 32 16 35 59 20 14 3   179  
95 European Starling 241 319 333 1263 248 177 86   2667  
96 Cedar Waxwing 13 4 2 10 2 10     41  
97 House Sparrow 174 263 384 554 252 62 7   1696  
98 American Pipit       1         1  
99 House Finch 19 13 16 60 74 38     220  
100 Purple Finch       2 2       4  
101 COMMON REDPOLL 1         2     3  Last seen in 2012
102 Pine Siskin   15 36 1 17   1   70  
103 American Goldfinch 66 25 39 68 50 39 44   331  
104 Eastern Towhee       4 4

2

 4   14  
105 American Tree Sparrow   1 9 25 4 8     47  
106 Chipping Sparrow 1   1   2       4  
107 Field Sparrow 4 7       12     23  
108 Savannah Sparrow     2 9         11  29 year high
109 Fox Sparrow 1   16 34 4 8 11   74  
110 Song Sparrow 37 71 48 125 54 96 6   437  
111 Swamp Sparrow 1   12 19 1 4     37  
112 White-throated Sparrow  171 169 231 492 219 224 96   1602  
113 White-crowned Sparrow     2           2  
114 Dark-eyed (Slate col.) Junco 113 164 106 34 91 95 24   627  
115 Red-winged Blackbird 19   94 33 4 64

3

   217  
116 Brown-headed Cowbird       3         3  
117 Rusty Blackbird   CW 47 1    

1

   49  
118 Common Grackle       63         63  
119 Yellow-rumped Warbler       7         7  
120 Northern Cardinal 38 54 66 71 62 41 16   348  

 

  Hudson Valley Yonkers West Bronx East Bronx Scarsdale  Rye Kings Point      
Number of Saves 1 0 1 12 3 7 3      
Number of Species 58 56 72 97 83 79 55   120  
Totals 2405 3651 5050 12793 7053 3965 1595   36512  

 

Participants in Field 10 10 20 27 26 10 4   107  
Parties min 9 5 9 9 6 6 1   45  
Parties max 9 5 9 13 7 6 2   51  
Participants at feeders 3 3 0 2 1 1 0   10  
Hours at Feeders 10.5 1 0 3 1 1 0   16.5  
Owling hours 4.5 2 0 0 2.5 2 0.25   11.25  
Owling Miles 5 5.5 0 0 15 14 0   39.5  
Foot Hour 19 22 56 56 50 43 6   252  
Foot Miles 20 18 28 36.5 20 26 5.5   154  
Car Hours 11 4 1 4 7 6.5 1   34.5  
Car Miles 108 19 6 1 75 61 5   275  
Kayak Hours       9         9  
Kayak Miles       11         11  

   

Main Count Page

Return to Hudson River Audubon Society