The 76th Rockland Audubon Christmas Bird Count was conducted on Sunday, December 18, 2022. Forty-one field counters (+ 1 fledgling counter, age 6) and eight feeder counters covered the 10 sub regions within the count circle.
During daylight hours (7:15 am 4:30 pm), air temperatures ranged from 30.1 38.6°F. Wind gusts ranged from 7 to 16 mph from the WSW. No snow was present. Most small ponds were partially frozen but larger waterbodies and flowing waters, including the Hudson River, were largely ice free. During count day 17,978 individuals representing eighty-six (86) species were tallied in the field. Another 255 individuals, representing nineteen (19) species, were counted at the feeders. Together, 86 species (18,233 individuals) were tallied. No additional species were added during count week. The number of species observed was relatively high by historic standards. The 86 count day species marks the 85th percentile of all RAS count years (1947-2022) and the 75th percentile of all modern RAS CBC circle boundary years (1978-2022). The number of individuals counted is about normal (53rd percentile) for the entire 1947-2022 count period but exceptional low (23rd percentile) for the 1978-2022 period. The ten most abundant species, in descending order, were: Canada Goose, European Starling, Common Merganser, Common Grackle, Dark-eyed Junco, House Sparrow, Ring-billed Gull, American Robin, Mallard, and White-throated Sparrow. Together, they comprised nearly 78% of the total individuals. New high counts were established for: Coopers Hawk (12 vs 10), Merlin (3 vs 2), and Common Raven (34 vs 24). Two new species, Cackling Goose (1) and Orange-crowned Warbler (1) were added this year. Significant Count Day misses were: Wood Duck, Scaup spp., Common Goldeneye, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Field Sparrow, and Brown-headed Cowbird. Ring-necked Pheasant (last seen in 1995) and Ruffed Grouse (last seen in 2001) continue their long absence from the area. Thanks to all our participants and Team Leaders for their efforts. Despite the bitterly cold winds, turnout was outstanding and the count itself went smoothly. Species Counted During 2022 RAS CBC Snow Goose 2 Canada Goose 3735 Cackling Goose 1 Mute Swan 153 Gadwall 125 American Black Duck 42 Mallard 354 Northern Shoveler 6 Green-winged Teal 4 Canvasback 30 Ring-necked Duck 168 Bufflehead 70 Hooded Merganser 122 Common Merganser 2230 Ruddy Duck 65 Wild Turkey 5 Pied-billed Grebe 2 Double-crested Cormorant 7 Great Cormorant 3 Great Blue Heron 30 Black Vulture 77 Turkey Vulture 123 Bald Eagle 55 Northern Harrier 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 Cooper's Hawk 12 Red-shouldered Hawk 4 Red-tailed Hawk 57 American Kestrel 2 Merlin 3 Peregrine Falcon 4 American Coot 44 Killdeer 3 Ring-billed Gull 479 Herring Gull 31 Great Black-backed Gull 13 Rock Pigeon 273 Mourning Dove 309 Eastern Screech-Owl 9 Great Horned Owl 7 Barred Owl 2 Belted Kingfisher 17 Red-bellied Woodpecker 95 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 7 Downy Woodpecker 82 Hairy Woodpecker 26 Northern Flicker 15 Pileated Woodpecker 10 Blue Jay 294 American Crow 175 Fish Crow 22 Common Raven 34 Black-capped Chickadee 138 Tufted Titmouse 124 Red-breasted Nuthatch 7 White-breasted Nuthatch 97 Brown Creeper 3 Carolina Wren 70 Winter Wren 12 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3 Eastern Bluebird 9 Hermit Thrush 2 American Robin 440 Gray Catbird 1 Northern Mockingbird 60 European Starling 3543 American Pipit 6 Cedar Waxwing 6 Orange-crowned Warbler 1 Eastern Towhee 1 American Tree Sparrow 28 Savannah Sparrow 2 Fox Sparrow 5 Song Sparrow 163 Swamp Sparrow 13 White-throated Sparrow 321 Dark-eyed Junco 716 Northern Cardinal 122 Red-winged Blackbird 209 Rusty Blackbird 9 Common Grackle 2012 Purple Finch 35 House Finch 111 American Goldfinch 63 House Sparrow 458 -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm 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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
