The North Nassau CBC had 69 participants who spent a total of 137 hours counting birds on Saturday, iDecember 14th, including 8 nocturnal hours.
The following summary was put together by Stephane Perreault - *24,178 birds *were seen, which is about 89% of the average number of birds seen from 2013 to 2022. The difference was mostly caused by a reduction in Canada goose numbers. Excluding Canada goose, we were at 97% of the 10-year average. - We had a very nice total of *116 bird species* reported. Our all-time average is 105 species per count. - *Sector saves:* 1. *Sector 1 (Port Washington ):* Red-necked Grebe (1 individual), Great Egret (1), Northern Harrier (1); Orange-crowned warbler (1); Baltimore oriole (1) 2. *Sector 2 (Glen Cove):* Pied-billed Grebe (1) 3. *Sector 3 (Lattingtown):* Purple Sandpiper (1) Gannet (1), Redhead (1), Black Scoter (14); American Pipit (1) 4. *Sector 4 (Mill Neck):* Eastern Phoebe (1), Common Merganser (3) 5. *Sector 5 (Bayville):* Brown-headed cowbird (4) 6. *Sector 6 (Loyd Harbor):* Cackling Goose (1); Ruddy Turnstone (91), Sanderling (10), Dunlin (25); Brown Thrasher (1) 7. *Sector 7 (Cold Spring Harbor East):* Northern Saw-whet Owl (1) 8. *Sector 8 (Brookville):* House Wren (1); Western Tanager (1) 9. *Sector 9 (NYIT):* Ring-necked Pheasant (1) 10. *Sector 12 (Oyster Bay):* Northern Shoveler (4) 11. *Sector 14 (Syosset):* Common Grackle (20) - *Rare Species* (not seen in the 10-year span of 2013-2022) 1. Western Tanager, Private Property in Brookville Sector 2. Red-headed Woodpecker, Caumsett State Park 3. Ring-necked Pheasant, Private Property (we must still assess the likelihood that this was a recent release) - *Uncommon Species *(seen in less than 5 years during the 10-year span of 2013 to 2022): 4. Marsh Wren (seen in 1 of 10 previous years); Northern Gannet (1) 1. Purple Sandpiper (2); Great Egret (2) 2. House Wren (3); Turkey Vulture (3); Redhead (3); Eurasian wigeon (3) 3. American Pipit (4); Orange-crowned warbler (4); Red-necked Grebe (4); Snow Goose (4) - *Missed Species (*those seen in 5+ years from 2013-2022): 1. Greater Yellowlegs (seen in 8 of 10 previous years) 2. Great Cormorant (7) 3. Wilson's Snipe (6) - *High Counts (*compared to data starting 2013): - Northern Cardinal: 382 in 2024; previous average = 279; previous high = 352 - Swamp Sparrow: 44 in 2024; previous average = 19; previous high = 41 - House Finch: 314 in 2024; previous average = 140; previous high = 291 - Northern Mockingbird: 104 in 2024; previous average = 64; previous high = 94 in 2023 - Ruby-crowned Kinglet: 15 in 2024; previous average = 4; previous high = 15 in 2023 - Golden-crowned Kinglet: 52 in 2024; previous average =15; previous high = 41 in 2023 - Bald Eagle: 37 in 2024; previous average = 5; previous high = 15. Sector leaders with high counts confirmed up to 5 birds at a time or several immatures with distinct plumages. - Turkey Vulture: 7 in 2024; previous average = 0; previous high = 4 in 2023 - Dunlin: 25 in 2024; previous average = 10; previous high = 23 - Wood Duck: 58 in 2024; previous average = 7; previous high = 37 - *Low Counts* (compared to data starting 2013): - Herring Gull: 659 in 2024; previous average = 1161; previous low = 781 - White-winged Scoter: 26 in 2024; previous average =252; previous low = 36 *Acknowledgements:* - Thanks to all participants for dedicating a day to this important citizen science project at a busy time of the year. - I am always amazed at the dedication of sector leaders. Their organizing efforts start well before count day. They also have to gather the data for the entire sector correctly and quickly, for both birds and effort. - An extra special thanks this year to Jennifer Wilson-Pines for organizing the event. - Thanks (in advance) to Glenn Quinn for entering all the data in the Audubon database and for verifying the results. - Last, but not least, regarding the dinner at the end of a long cold day was held at Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary's new center. Thanks to Kathryn, Julie, Shelby, Joy and Erica for providing the room and the zoom screen. A tasty dinner of homemade hot soup, sandwiches and desserts were provided by the North Shore Audubon board, with special thanks to Jill, Kathy and Jeanne for organizing, cooking and serving. Happy Holidays! -- (copy & paste any URL below, then modify any text "_DOT_" to a period ".") NYSbirds-L List Info: NortheastBirding_DOT_com/NYSbirdsWELCOME_DOT_htm NortheastBirding_DOT_com/NYSbirdsRULES_DOT_htm NortheastBirding_DOT_com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave_DOT_htm ARCHIVES: 1) mail-archive_DOT_com/nysbirds-l@cornell_DOT_edu/maillist_DOT_html 2) surfbirds_DOT_com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) birding_DOT_aba_DOT_org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: ebird_DOT_org/content/ebird/ --
