The Montauk CBC was held on Saturday (20 Dec 2014) and enjoyed both good weather and an excellent turnout of energetic counters from far and near. Scouting efforts before the count produced almost no stakeout rarities and in fact indicated low numbers of birds across the circle, however things came together nicely on the day.
A total of 127 species (not final) were tallied, with highlights and saves in every territory. These included Eurasian Wigeon (2), King Eider (4), Harlequin Duck (2), Red-necked Grebe (10), Bald Eagle (8), Northern Goshawk (1), Rough-legged Hawk (2), Razorbill (293), Barn Owl (1), Snowy Owl (2), Saw-whet Owl (1), Fish Crow (3), Hermit Thrush (67), Orange-crowned Warbler (1), Clay-colored Sparrow (1), Saltmarsh Sparrow (1), Nelson's Sparrow (1), Lincoln's Sparrow (2), Purple Finch (11), Common Redpoll (2), and Pine Siskin (1). Notable misses, though not without determined efforts to find each of them, were Snow Goose, Greater White-fronted Goose, American Kestrel, Wilson's Snipe, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black-legged Kittiwake, and Eastern Meadowlark. Sadly, 'Larry' the Lesser Black-backed Gull that has wintered at Lazy Point for the past 10 years or more has not been seen this season. Faithful Larry often provided a save for the species on this count. Hopefully he/she was simply delayed in customs on route from Greenland. Likewise, a Short-eared Owl that showed well over the Napeague Marshes on Friday evening decided to sleep late on the important day and was missed. Great work everyone! The next Montauk CBC will be held on Saturday 19th December 2015. Mark your calendars and drop us a line if you want to be added to our mailing list. We have plenty of room for more counters. Angus Wilson and Karen Rubinstein -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
