Hours of steady snowfall resulting in the accumulation of four to five inches of snow on the ground. Several hours of rain turning that snow into slush and ice. And, that was just the weather before noon! The 117th annual New Haven Christmas Bird Count was held under difficult conditions, to say the least.
But, the birding teams really came through and demonstrated their expertise, resilience, and determination. Everyone covered their areas to the best of their abilities and found birds everywhere they went. They took advantage of the better weather conditions in the afternoon and collectively found an astounding 124 species in the count circle on count day. An additional four species were found during count week. Rarities were found in many locations, including inland and along the coast. The compilation dinner afterwards was delicious and well-attended, as usual. It was a just reward for a job well done.
The final results (with rare birds in boldface) were: Snow Goose, 6; Brant, 730; Canada Goose, 4332; Cackling Goose, 3; Mute Swan, 61; Wood Duck, 44; Gadwall, 95; Eurasian Wigeon, 1; American Wigeon, 53; American Black Duck, 396; Mallard, 1818; Northern Pintail, 4; American Green-winged Teal, 9; Canvasback, 10; Redhead, 1; Ring-necked Duck, 25; Greater Scaup. 1220; Lesser Scaup, 22; Surf Scoter, 3; White-winged Scoter, 5; Long-tailed Duck, 88; Bufflehead, 198; Common Goldeneye, 193; Hooded Merganser, 358; Common Merganser, 106; Red-breasted Merganser, 64; Ruddy Duck, 5; Wild Turkey, 59; Red-throated Loon, 66; Common Loon, 37; Pied-billed Grebe, 3; Horned Grebe, 8; Red-necked Grebe, 1; Double-crested Cormorant, 4; Great Cormorant, 6; Great Blue Heron, 8; Black-crowned Night-heron, 5; Black Vulture, 27; Turkey Vulture, 13; Osprey, CW; Bald Eagle, 6; Northern Harrier, 8; Sharp-shinned Hawk, 10; Cooper’s Hawk, 10; Red-shouldered Hawk, 10: Red-tailed Hawk, 53; American Kestrel, 2; Merlin, 1; Peregrine Falcon, 4; American Coot, 10; Black-bellied Plover, 1; Killdeer, 1; Sanderling, 64: Purple Sandpiper, 3; Dunlin, 20; Wilson’s Snipe, 1; American Woodcock, 4; Laughing Gull, 5; Ring-billed Gull, 1275; Herring Gull, 944; Iceland Gull, 1; Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1; Great Black-backed Gull, 63; Rock Pigeon, 442;Mourning Dove, 542; Monk Parakeet, 51; Eastern Screech Owl, 13; Great Horned Owl, 1; Snowy Owl, CW; Long-eared Owl, 1; Belted Kingfisher, 10; Red-bellied Woodpecker, 129; Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, 10; Downy Woodpecker, 129; Hairy Woodpecker, 21; Northern Flicker, 28; Pileated Woodpecker, 3; Blue Jay, 416; American Crow, 663; Fish Crow, 359; crow, sp., 206; Common Raven, 6; Horned Lark, 45; Black-capped Chickadee, 280; Tufted Titmouse, 212; Red-breasted Nuthatch, 9; White-breasted Nuthatch, 78; Brown Creeper, 2; Carolina Wren, 35; Winter Wren, 2; Marsh Wren, CW; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 7; Ruby-crowned Kinglet, 2; Eastern Bluebird, 10; Hermit Thrush, 2; American Robin, 934; Gray Catbird, 1; Northern Mockingbird, 68; Brown Thrasher, 1; European Starling, 6430; American Pipit, 5; Cedar Waxwing, 24; Orange-crowned Warbler, CW; Nashville Warbler, 3; Yellow-rumped Warbler, 1; Palm Warbler, 2; Yellow-breasted Chat, 1; Eastern Towhee, 8; American Tree Sparrow, 76; Field Sparrow, 11; Savannah Sparrow, 7; Fox Sparrow, 25; Song Sparrow, 354; Swamp Sparrow, 43; White-throated Sparrow, 844; Dark-eyed Junco, 1060; Lapland Longspur, 1; Snow Bunting, 7; Northern Cardinal, 243; Red-winged Blackbird, 746; Rusty Blackbird, 15; Common Grackle, 3670; Baltimore Oriole, 1; Purple Finch, 9; House Finch, 119; Pine Siskin, 3; American Goldfinch, 210; and House Sparrow, 783.
The participants were: Marion Aimesbury, Dewitt Allen, Ross Allen, Ralph Amodei, Mark Aronson, Daniel Barvir, William Batsford, Larry Bausher, Steven Bird, Katherine Blake, Andrew Brand, Steven Broker, Lauren Brown, Dana Campbell, Michael Carpenter, Emily Cosenza, Louisa Cunningham, Michael Ferrari, Corrie Folsom-O’Keefe, Frank Gallo, Stacy Hanks, Christine Howe, Michael and Patricia Horn, James Hunter, Lynn James, Kris Johnson, Lynn Jones, Patrick Leahy, Carol and Gary Lemmon, Donna Lorello, Chris Loscalzo, Frank Mantlik, Seven Mayo, Florence McBride, Judy Moore, Gina Nichol, Michael O’Brien, John Oshlick, Paula Pene, Beverly Propen, Laurie Reynolds, William Root, Nancy Rosenbaum, Lee Schlesinger, Paul Smith, Nancy Specht, Charla and Steven Spector, Howard Sternberg, Deborah Tenney, Elizabeth and John Triana, Marianne Vahey, Chris Woerner, Paul Wolter, Kathryn Wood, and George Zepko.