New Haven Christmas Bird Count Summary
On Saturday, December 18, 2021, 90 hardy birders participated in the 122nd annual New Haven Christmas Bird Count. The day was cloudy and relatively warm with the temperature in the upper 30s for most of the day. There was occasional mist and light rain, but we were fortunate that the weather was better than had been forecast. The highlights of the count, in terms of rarities were: a GREEN HERON found count week (but not on count day) in Branford, two DICKCISSELS (one expected in Edgewood Park in New Haven and a surprise find in East Haven), two ORANGE-CROWNED and three NASHVILLE WARBLERS, a BALTIMORE ORIOLE, a drake BARROW’S GOLDENEYE, two NORTHERN SHOVELERS, three NORTHERN PINTAILS and a SNOW GOOSE. There was also a Northern Gannet and a Greater Yellowlegs seen during the count week. Overall, a total of 118 species were seen on count day, which is 7 species lower than our 20-year average. Many species are doing well in our area, with stable population estimates. However, there are a number of species that are in decline. One species that caught my attention this year is the American Tree Sparrow. I reviewed the data for this species for the past 27 years and the results are alarming. For the 10 years from 1995 to 2004, we found an average of 313 Tree Sparrows in our count circle. For the next decade, from 2005 to 2014, the average fell to 167 and in the past seven years the average is only 59 Tree Sparrows observed in our count circle per year (and we saw only 27 this year). So there has been a major decrease in this species population in our area. There are numerous possible explanations for this observed decline, including habitat loss and the impact of climate change. I shudder to think of what the number will fall to in the years ahead. We will continue to go out each year and record our observations so that the populations of these species can be monitored. Hopefully, such information will lead to action to preserve these bell-weathers of our environmental health.
The final results for the count are: Snow Goose, 1; Brant, 1248; Canada Goose, 3832; Mute Swan, 71; Wood Duck, 9; Gadwall, 78; American Wigeon, 33; American Black Duck, 277; Mallard, 927; Black Duck/Mallard hybrid, 2; Northern Shoveler, 2; Northern Pintail, 3; American Green-winged Teal, 45; Ring-necked Duck, 81; Greater Scaup, 592; Lesser Scaup, 30; Surf Scoter, 12; White-winged Scoter, 3; Long-tailed Duck, 300; Bufflehead, 391; Common Goldeneye, 372; Barrow’s Goldeneye, 1; Hooded Merganser, 322; Common Merganser, 2; Red-breasted Merganser, 168; Wild Turkey, 162; Red-throated Loon, 29; Common Loon, 35; Pied-billed Grebe, 3; Horned Grebe, 24, Northern Gannet, CW; Double-crested Cormorant, 2; Great Cormorant, 11; Great Blue Heron, 42; Green Heron, CW; Black Vulture, 27; Turkey Vulture, 14; Bald Eagle, 9; Northern Harrier, 2; Sharp-shinned Hawk, 6; Cooper’s Hawk, 22; Red-shouldered Hawk, 16; Red-tailed Hawk, 46; American Kestrel, 2; Merlin, 4; Peregrine Falcon, 4; Clapper Rail, 5; Virginia Rail, 2; American Coot, 2; Black-bellied Plover, 1; Greater Yellowlegs, CW; Ruddy Turnstone, 2; Sanderling, 107; Purple Sandpiper, 15; Dunlin, 4; American Woodcock, 1; Ring-billed Gull, 1838; Herring Gull, 2074; Great Black-backed Gull, 104; Rock Pigeon, 970; Mourning Dove, 634; Monk Parakeet, 16; E. Screech Owl, 9; Great Horned Owl, 2; Barred Owl, 1; Belted Kingfisher, 26; Red-bellied Woodpecker, 156; Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, 31; Downy Woodpecker, 201; Hairy Woodpecker, 28; Northern Flicker, 94; Pileated Woodpecker, 5; Blue Jay,
501; American Crow, 628; Fish Crow, 317; Crow, sp., 83; Common Raven, 8; Horned Lark, 41; Black-capped Chickadee, 262; Tufted Titmouse, 231; Red-breasted Nuthatch, 1; White-breasted Nuthatch, 161; Brown Creeper, 9; Carolina Wren, 190; Winter Wren, 24; Marsh Wren, 4; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 17; Ruby-crowned Kinglet, 12; Eastern Bluebird, 24; Hermit Thrush, 16; American Robin, 863; Gray Catbird, 28; Northern Mockingbird, 96; Brown Thrasher, 1; European Starling, 5125; American Pipit, 1; Cedar Waxwing, 228; Orange-crowned Warbler, 2; Nashville Warbler, 3; Yellow-rumped Warbler, 25; Eastern Towhee, 4; American Tree Sparrow, 27; Chipping Sparrow, 3; Field Sparrow, 8; Savannah Sparrow, 28; Fox Sparrow, 8; Song Sparrow, 600; Swamp Sparrow, 31; White-throated Sparrow, 1351; White-crowned Sparrow, 16; Dark-eyed Junco, 579; Northern Cardinal, 304; Dickcissel, 2; Red-winged Blackbird, 336; Eastern Meadowlark, 11; Rusty Blackbird, 3; Common Grackle, 23; Brown-headed Cowbird, 44; Baltimore Oriole, 1; Purple Finch, 4; House Finch, 372; American Goldfinch, 318; and House Sparrow, 908. 118 species on count day, + 3 count week. 29,470 individuals.
The participants were: Marian Aimesbury, Dewitt Allen, Ross Allen, Ralph Amodei, Mark Aronson, Bill Batsford, Larry Bausher, Joe Blumberg, Stephen Broker, Lauren Brown, Cheryl Cape, Nancy Clark, Glen Cummings, Lori Datlow, John Deming, Sophie Duncan, John Farley, Mike Ferrari, Corrie Folsom-O’Keefe, Frank Gallo, Javier Gonzalez, Mark, Shaleigh, and Shane Grogan, Andrew Gullberg, Margret Hofmeister, Cathy Holinger, Mike and Pat Horn, Kimberly Jannarone, Deborah Johnson, Lynn Jones, Emily Keating, Michelle Keefe, Tom Kelly, Meg Kilgore, Acadia Kocher, Bernice Lattanzi, Patrick Leahy, Carol and Gary Lemmon, Cody Limber, Alex Lin-Moore, Ann Marie and Donna Lorello, Chris Loscalzo, Alan Malina, Frank Mantlik, Gail Martino, Steve Mayo, Florence McBride, Pat McCreless, John McEachern, Jeff and Linda Meyer, Allison Middlemass, Judy Moore, Tom Murray, Nicole Neigel, Mike O’Brien, John Oshlick, Bev Propen, Frank and Nancy Ragusa, Darryl Rathbun, Cate and Dave Rauch, Pam Reeser, Brendan Reilly, Laurie Reynolds, Jason Rieger, Lee Schlesinger, Abby Sesselberg, Arthur Shippee, Paul Smith, Michele Sorenson, Nancy Specht, Charla and Steve Spector, Howie Sternberg, Maria Stockmal, Samiyah Sutherland, John Triana, Severin Uebbing, Marianne Vahey, Lisa Wahle, Kate Wong, David Woolery and Andrew Wormser. Special remembrances to three of our longtime participants who passed away this year: Stacy Hanks, Arne Rosengren and George Zepko.
Chris Loscalzo,
NH CBC Compiler