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For The Birds (Christmas Edition)
Intro
December 15, 2002 - For the Birds originally appeared as a series of posts on the Cape Ann Online message board. It was aimed at the audience who sees birds in their day to day life and is curious about them rather than the hardcore or even intermediate bird watcher.
Any word in blue can be clicked on for more info.
What’s Happening
December brings the Cape Ann Christmas Bird Count which was held today, Sunday the 15th. The Christmas Bird Count (CBC) began in the year 1900. It is the oldest continuous wildlife census in the world. People from all over the country participate in this event sponsored by the Nation Audubon Society. The object of the game is to count EVERY bird within a 15 mile diameter circle on the same day every year. Our local circle is centered on Mt Ann. See www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/ for more info.
Today we enjoyed great weather with temps in the lower forties. The wind was a factor especially for those walking beaches. The counters found 102 species including several new highs for individual species and few new lows. The data from one year proves nothing. Weather fronts are the main cause of variation from year to year. We can tell from data collected over decades whether a certain species is in decline or not in our area.
So without further ado, all the birds we found on Cape Ann today in unofficial numbers:
Red-throated Loon = 43 new high
Common Loon=149 new high
Horned Grebe = 49
Red-necked Grebe = 34 new high
Sooty Shearwater = 1
Northern Gannet = 73
Double-crested Cormorant = 7
Great Cormorant =210
Great Blue Heron = 2
Black-crowned Night-Heron=2
Turkey Vulture = 2
Snow Goose =1
Canada Goose = 562 lowest since 1983
Brant =11
Mute Swan = 31 new high
Gadwall = 8
American Black Duck = 303 lowest since 1930
Mallard = 883
Green-winged Teal = 5
Greater Scaup = 17
Lesser Scaup =2
Common Eider =1727
Harlequin Duck =140 new high
Surf Scoter = 41
White-winged Scoter = 264
Black Scoter = 66
Long-tailed Duck = 56
Bufflehead = 409
Common Goldeneye =211
Barrow’s Goldeneye =1
Hooded Merganser = 5
Common Merganser = 12
Red-breasted Merganser = 755
Ruddy Duck = 1
Northern Harrier = 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk =9
Cooper’s Hawk = 5
Red-tailed Hawk = 44 new high
Rough-legged Hawk =1
American Kestrel = 2
Merlin = 3
Peregrine Flacon = 2
Ring-necked Pheasant = 1
Wild Turkey = 16
Sanderling = 8
Purple Sandpiper = 58
Dunlin = 211 new high
Bonaparte’s Gull = 214
Ring-billed Gull = 363
Herring Gull = 4,023 most common native bird
Iceland Gull = 7
Lesser Black-backed Gull = 1
Great Black-backed Gull = 3,464
Black-legged Kittiwakes = 124
Dovekie possible 21
Common Murre = 21 new high
Thick-billed Murre = 3 new high
Razorbill =1561 new high
Black Guillemot = 48 new high
Rock Dove (pigeon) = 761
Mourning Dove = 248
Eastern Screech-owl = 4
Great Horned Owl =7
Barred Owl = 1
Long-eared Owl = 1
Belted Kingfisher = 4
Red-bellied Woodpecker = 5
Downy Woodpecker =52
Hairy Woodpecker = 4
Northern Flicker = 60
Pileated Woodpecker = 2
Blue Jay = 261
American Crow = 765
Horned Lark = 74
Black-capped Chickadee = 591
Tufted Titmouse =183
White-breasted Nuthatch = 90
Brown Creeper = 5
Carolina Wren = 39 new high
Golden-crowned Kinglet = 35
Eastern Bluebird = 8
Hermit Thrush = 5
American Robin = 358
Northern Mockingbird = 67
European Starling = 7,011 most common bird
Cedar Waxwing = 29
Yellow-rumped Warbler = 120
Yellow-breasted Chat = 1
Eastern Towhee = 1
American Tree Sparrow = 95
Savannah Sparrow = 1
Song Sparrow =68
Swamp Sparrow = 2
White-throated Sparrow = 97
Dark-eyed Junco = 239
Snow Bunting =13
Northern Cardinal =127
Red-winged Blackbird = 1
Common Grackle = 4
House Finch = 114
American Goldfinch = 198
House Sparrow =1,392 new high
Common Eider
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!
On bird feeding
On binoculars and spotting scopes
What’s happening, a daily compilation of observations by local birders
www.birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/MASS.html
The local bird club
An on-line field guide
http://www.thebirder.com/guide.html
Jim B’s Online Bird Photos
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?username=jimsbirdpix