2010 Christmas Bird Count Results

Elizabethtown CBC Elizabethtown NY – 44° 13' N 73° 36' W centered at Essex County courthouse. The 2010 count was held on Sunday December 19 from 4:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eighteen observers participated in the count for a total of 57.25 party-hours, covering 8.5 miles on foot, 324.5 miles by car and 4.5 miles on snowshoes/x-country skis. Weather was brisk but beautiful with temperatures ranging from 4° F in the morning and warming to 31° F by the afternoon. Cloud cover ranged from partly cloudy in the morning to cloudy by the afternoon and the wind was calm. Snow cover ranged from 2” in the wind swept areas to 6 inches in the more protected woodland areas. Still water was frozen while moving water was partly open. No precipitation on count day. Graylag Goose 3, Mallard 28, Ring-necked Pheasant 1, Wild Turkey 54, Red-tailed Hawk 2, Rock Pigeon 76, Mourning Dove 179, Barred Owl 2, Belted Kingfisher 1, Downy Woodpecker 22, Hairy Woodpecker 251, Pileated Woodpecker 12, Northern Shrike 1, Blue Jay 229, American Crow 108, Common Raven 23, Black-capped Chickadee 485, Tufted Titmouse 27, Red-breasted Nuthatch 67, White-breasted Nuthatch 28, Brown Creeper 6, Goldencrowned Kinglet 29, Eastern Bluebird 6, American Robin 14, European Starling 224, Cedar Waxwing 15, American Tree Sparrow 129, Song Sparrow 2, Dark-eyed (Slatecolored) Junco 189, Snow Bunting 38, Northern Cardinal 15, Pine Grosbeak 1, Purple Finch 1, White-winged Crossbill 3, Common Redpoll 12, American Goldfinch 118, Evening Grosbeak 4, House Sparrow 53.Totals: 39 species and 2027 individuals.Participants: Becky Bosley, Robin Brown, Joan Collins, Una Carey-Creedon, Charlotte Demers, Denise Griffin, Barbara Kearns, Fuat Latiff, Megan Murphy, Dan Nickerson, Stan Oliva, Carole Slatkin, Eric Teed, John Thaxton, Pat Thaxton, Eve Ticknor, Yvette Tillema, and Kathleen Wiley —Charlotte Demers

Ferrisburgh VT CBC - December 18, 2010 dawned bright and beautiful for the 51st Ferrisburgh Christmas Bird Count. Forty participants and two feeder watchers spent the day tallying birds. We ended with 81 species and 19,746 birds, both totals higher than our ten-year average (79 species and 16,402 birds). Highlights included a first for the count cackling goose from the Button Bay area. Cackling goose, a smaller duck-sized version of the Canada goose, was only split off as a separate species in 2004. The New York portion of the count produced the second ever yellow-bellied sapsucker and the fifth ever blue-winged teal (previously 1 in 1973, 2 in 1977 and 1 in 1990). Other unusual waterfowl included a black scoter and a pair of green-winged teal. Evening grosbeaks returned after an eight year hiatus; three total were observed in two territories. Results: Common Loon-16, Red-throated loon-1, Red-necked Grebe-1, Horned Grebe-20, Double-crested Cormorant-1, Great-blue Heron-12, Canada Goose-629, Cackling Goose-1, Snow Goose-7, Mallard-432, American Black Duck-65, Gadwall- 1, Common Goldeneye-1007, Bufflehead-50, Black Scoter- 1,Hooded Merganser-65, Common Merganser-212, Redbreasted Merganser-9, Greater Scaup-4, Lesser Scaup-1, Green-winged Teal-2, Blue-winged Teal-1, Sharp-shinned Hawk-6, Cooper's Hawk-12, Northern Goshawk-1, Red-tailed hawk-60, Rough-legged hawk-12, Bald Eagle-20, Northern Harrier-3, Merlin-3, American Kestrel-2, Peregrine Falcon-3, Ruffed Grouse-2, Wild Turkey-255, Great Black-backed Gull-22, Herring Gull-21, Ring-billed Gull-331, Rock Pigeon- 879, Mourning Dove-560, Eastern Screech-owl-9, Great Horned Owl-10, Barred Owl-4, Northern Flicker-11, Pileated Woodpecker-20, Hairy Woodpecker-42, Downy Woodpecker -84, Red-bellied Woodpecker-19, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 1, Bluejay-259, Common Raven-43, American Crow- 580, Horned lark-467, Black-capped Chickadee-966, Tufted Titmouse-158, White-breasted Nuthatch-151, Red-breasted Nuthatch-2, Brown Creeper-8, Carolina Wren-9. American Robin-690, Eastern Bluebird-33, Golden-crowned Kinglet-42, NorthernMockingbird-1, European Starling-3305, Bohemian Waxwing-45, Cedar Waxwing-202, Northern Cardinal-204, Dark-eyed Junco-402, American Tree Sparrow-1049, Whitethroated Sparrow-15, Song Sparrow-8, Lapland Longspur-16, Snow Bunting-4,613, Red-winged Blackbird-2, Brownheaded Cowbird-4, Purple Finch-3, House Finch-94, Evening Grosbeak-3, Common Redpoll-320, Pine Siskin-44, American Goldfinch-448, House Sparrow-630. Total Species 81; Total Individuals 19,746 —Mike Winslow

Plattsburgh NY CBC - 2010 Christmas Bird Count summary for the Plattsburgh, NY/ VT (NYPL) circle 44039’N 73029’W as described in 1986 with the center at the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base. The 2010 count was held on Sunday, December 19, 2010 from 6:00 to 16:30 with temperatures ranging from 9 to 300F under sunny to partially sunny skies. The north to northwesterly wind was negligible throughout the day. 25 field workers logged 48.5 party hours and a total of 378.25 miles of which 6.75 miles and 4.85 hours were on foot. One group of three spent one hour, driving 12 miles for owling. The 18 feeder watchers and other reporters spent 38 hours at feeders. There were 63 species recorded count day and 11048 individuals. There was one American Black Duck x Mallard reported on count day and 5 count week species: Snow Goose cw, Canada Goose 1013, American Black Duck 13, Mallard 391, Northern Shoveler 1 (new to the Plattsburgh Count), Greater Scaup 8, Lesser Scaup 191, Bufflehead 164, Common Goldeneye 699, Hooded Merganser 9, Common Merganser 122, Red-breasted Merganser 1, American Black Duck X Mallard 1, Ring-necked Pheasant 2, Ruffed Grouse 2, Wild Turkey 38, Common Loon 5, Horned Grebe 5, Great Blue Heron 3, Bald Eagle cw, Northern Harrier 1, Sharpshinned Hawk 2, Cooper’s Hawk 1, Red-tailed Hawk 16, Rough-legged Hawk 1, Merlin 1, Ring-billed Gull 338, Her7 ring Gull 4, Great Black-backed Gull 7, Rock Pigeon 645, Mourning Dove 440, Eastern Screech Owl 1, Barred Owl cw, Belted Kingfisher 1, Red-bellied Woodpecker cw, Downy Woodpecker 55, Hairy Woodpecker 33, Pileated Woodpecker 4, Blue Jay 191, American Crow 2553, Horned Lark 108, Black-capped Chickadee 505, Tufted Titmouse 7, Red-breasted Nuthatch 15, White-breasted Nuthatch 56, Brown Creeper 1, Carolina Wren 3, Eastern Bluebird 9, American Robin 180, Northern Mockingbird 4, European Starling 1014, Bohemian Waxwing 220, Cedar Waxwing 383, American Tree Sparrow 109, Song Sparrow 2, Whitethroated Sparrow 1, Dark-eyed Junco 215, Snow Bunting 634, Northern Cardinal 101, Red-winged Blackbird cw, Brownheaded Cowbird 26, Pine Grosbeak 13, Purple Finch 7, House Finch 101, Common Redpoll 23, Pine Siskin 2, American Goldfinch 434, Evening Grosbeak 12, House Sparrow 179. The participants were, Derek Allan, Wayne Bedard, Alan Belford, Helen Booth, Bob Booth, , John Brown, Gwen Cateenwalla, Jim Cayea, Joy Cayea, Walter Coryea, Mike DiNunzio, Julie Dumas, Keitha Farney, Holland Fitts, Liz Fitts, Cornelia Forrence, Evelyn Fuller, Melissa Hart, Linda Harwood, Judith Heintz, Euclid Jones, Bill Krueger, Linda LaPan Julie Lattrell, Larry Master, Brian McAllister, Janet Mihuc, Cerise Oberman, Nancy Olsen, Carol Pinney, Geri Reichert, Mary Roden-Tice, Dana Rohleder, Ingeborg Sapp, Michelle Snyder, Janet Stein, Gary Sturgis, Nora Teeter, William Teeter, Steve Tice, Lynn Valenti, Amy Valentine, Dan Vogt. The Northern Shoveler, a very late date for this bird to be around was one of our unusual reports. The Eastern Screech Owl, peeking out of a barn window and being harassed by Black-capped Chickadees was spotted by first time field participant, Mary Roden-Tice. The day was particularly beautiful for being out in the field. —Judy Heintz

Saranac Lake NY CBC - Twenty-three field observers and a number of feeder watchers participated in the 55th Saranac Lake CBC (covering Saranac Lake, Lake Placid, and Bloomingdale) held on Sunday, January 2. A very poor wild food crop led to a predictable shortage of winter finches except for Common Redpolls, which are increasing in numbers as their biannual invasion down from Canada picks up steam. The species total was the second lowest (after last year's poor food crop and absence of finches) in 20 years. Next year's count should be much better as a conifer mast crop again develops. The most notable species this year was a Common Goldeneye on the Saranac River, unable to fly and possibly winged in hunting season. Also notable was an enigmatic and recordbreaking number of Golden-crowned Kinglets, the total for this species breaking the previous record by 65%. Species and the numbers recorded this year are as follows. American Black Duck 43, Mallard 476, American Goldeneye 1, Hooded Merganser 9,Cooper's Hawk 2, Bald Eagle 2, Ruffed Grouse 8, Wild Turkey 68, Rock Pigeon 185, Mourning Dove 111, Barred Owl cw, Downy Woodpecker 32, Hairy Woodpecker-48, Pileated Woodpecker-8, Gray Jay- 18, Blue Jay-156, American Crow 210, Common Raven 54, Black-capped Chickadee 1823, Boreal Chickadee 22, Redbreasted Nuthatch 109, White-breasted Nuthatch 47, Brown Creeper 7, Golden-crowned Kinglet 168, European Starling 301, Bohemian Waxwing 2, American Tree Sparrow 4, Darkeyed Junco 24, Snow Bunting 2, Northern Cardinal 5, Brown-headed Cowbird 1, Common Redpoll 270, Pine Siskin 2, American Goldfinch 46, Evening Grosbeak 72, House Sparrow 16. Totals: 35 species; 4352 individuals --Larry Master