Bronx-Westchester Christmas Bird Count
The 101st Bronx-Westchester Christmas Bird Count found 120 species and 36482 individuals on Sunday, December 22, 2024. 118 participants braved a cold and windy day with a low of 13 degrees and a high of only 22 degrees. Winds were out of the NorthWest,10-20 mph. Still water was mainly open and moving water was open.
Highlights
Greater White-fronted Goose, 7th count record
2 Cackling Goose
All three Scoters
1 Red-necked Grebe
1 Wilson's Snipe
2 Greater Yellowlegs, after missing it for six years
1 Laughing Gull
Great Egret in Rye
A Northern Saw-whet Owl in Kings Point
3 Northern House Wrens
25 American Pipit - a 74 year high!
5 Chipping Sparrow
4 Baltimore Oriole, 1 at a Hastings feeder, 1 at a Yonkers feeder and 2 together in the West Bronx
2 Orange-crowned Warbles, 1 in Sprain Ridge in Yonkers and the other in East Bronx
1 Palm Warbler
15 Eastern Screech-Owl, tied high count from 2001
New High Counts
33 Bald Eagles (30 in 2021)
12 Pileated Woodpecker (9 in 2020)
2317 Dark-eyed (Slate col.) Junco (1852 in 2016)
Other Highs
Thirty-five year high for Northern Harrier (9)
Twenty-two year high for Great Black-backed Gull
Twenty-three year high for Fox Sparrow
Twenty-four year high for Swamp Sparrow
Twenty-three year high for Northern Cardinal
Lows
We had an all time low of only 16 Common Goldeneye
Fifty-eight year low for Great Cormorant, only 13
Count week birds included American Coot, Virginia Rail, Savannah (Ipswich) Sparrow, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Clay-colored Sparrow.
NEXT YEAR'S COUNT JUMPS TO SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2025
Michael Bochnik, Bronx-Westchester CBC Compiler
What is a Christmas Bird Count?
Christmas Bird Counts originated out of a Christmas Day custom of the "Side Hunt". Hunters would choose sides, and the winning team was the one which brought back the largest number of feathered or furred creatures - dead. At the start of the 20th century, the decline of formerly abundant species, like the Passenger Pigeon and the Carolina Parakeet, became deeply concerning. Frank M. Chapman, an ornithologist and an officer in the nascent Audubon Society, proposed a new tradition: instead of killing birds, they would be counted. So began, in 1900, the first Christmas Bird Count. In 1900, 27 people tallied birds in 25 places across North America. In 2020, over 80,000 people participated, both in the field and at feeders, from all over the Western Hemisphere. It is National Audubon's largest citizen science project, providing invaluable information on bird species, their populations and distribution.
Our Christmas Bird Count, the Bronx-Westchester CBC, was started in 1924 by the Bronx County Bird Club. Over the years, the count circle has expanded geographically; it's now divided into seven regional areas, each with a leader and a team of observers. Birds at feeders are also included in the totals. At the end of the day, the results are compiled at the count dinner.
Most counts are no longer held on Christmas Day, but from December 14 to January 5th.