The 100th Smithtown Christmas Bird Count took place on December 27th and it did not disappoint. Within the count circle there were two blown out man-made dams which was assumed would contribute to loss of freshwater species diversity. Despite this and partially frozen water, but otherwise gorgeous weather conditions, 37 observers were able to smash the previous count record of 116 species with a new record of 121 species. There were also a number of count high records.
*From the count checklist that includes species seen in at least 6 of the past 10 years there were only four misses. The missed species were*: -Lesser Scaup -Ruddy Duck (this miss causes it to drop off the 6 out of 10 checklist for 2025) -Pie-billed Grebe -Peregrine Falcon *All time count highs (high > 1) included the following (** species has not been observed in at least 6 of the previous 10 years)*: -Wood Duck, 38 individuals (28 of which were in the Lake Ronkonkoma vicinity which itself constituted a count record, previous record is 27 in 1989) -Green-wing Teal, 51 individuals (previous record is 44 in 2023) -Wild Turkey, 65 individuals (previous record is 39 in 2022) -Cooper's Hawk, 16 individuals (previous record is 10 in 2020) -Bald Eagle, 17 individuals (a number of suspected breeding pairs were observed, alleviating the concerns about double counts, previous record is 6 in 2020) -Wilson's Snipe**, 3 individuals (Thatch Pond/Smithtown, Landing Avenue Park & Blydenburgh, ties 2022 record) -Lesser Black-backed Gull**, 3 individuals (all previous records are single individuals) -Great Horned Owl, 34 individuals (previous record is 31 in 2014) -Red-bellied Woodpecker, 232 individuals (previous record is 231 in 2007) -Merlin, 6 individuals (previous record is 4 in multiple years) -Blue Jay, 696 individuals (previous record is 465 in 2023) -Common Raven, 23 individuals (ties 2022 record) -Golden-crowned Kinglet, 52 individuals (previous record is 47 in 2012) -Brown Thrasher**, 6 individuals (ties 2023 record) -Eastern Towhee, 29 individuals (previous record is 28 in 2007) -Baltimore Oriole**, 4 individuals (3 of which were at a single feeder in the Lake Ronkonkoma area, previous record is 2 in 2023. Baltimore Orioles make their way onto the 6 of 10 list for 2025) *Additional finds not observed in at least 6 of the past 10 years include (in any particular order)*: -Cackling Goose (single individual, Sunken Meadow SP) -American Coot (4 individuals, Lilly Pond/Lake Ronkonkoma) -Great Egret (11 individuals, multiple locations) -Orange-crowned Warbler (single individual, Setauket Power Cut) -Killdeer (26 individuals, multiple locations) -Great Cormorant (4 individuals multiple locations LI Sound) -Pileated Woodpecker (David Weld Preserve) -Common Eider (2 individual, Mt Sinai & Cranes Neck) -Razorbill (single individual, Kings Park Bluff) -American Pipit (single individual, Blydenburgh Rd Landfill) -Clapper Rail (single individual, Satterly Landing/Mt Sinai) -Red-necked Grebe (single individual, Cranes Neck) -Black-crowned Night Heron (single individual, Nissequogue SP) -Black-bellied Plover (single individual, Cedar Beach/Mt Sinai) -Greater Yellowlegs (single individual, Flax Pond) -Eastern Meadowlark (2 individuals, first count records since 1997, Sunken Meadow SP) -Laughing Gull (single individual, Cedar Beach/Mt Sinai) -Red-headed Woodpecker (single individual, Sunken Meadow SP) -Pine Siskin (5 individuals, Levitt Fields/Setauket) -Turkey Vulture (single individual, Stony Brook area) -Barrow's Goldeneye (single individual, first one since 1998, Callahans Beach) -Black-headed Gull (single individual, photographed, West Meadow Beach/Stony Brook) *Assorted other notes on more regular species*: -American Wigeon numbers at the lowest they have been since 2013 with only 60 individuals -Common Merganser stronghold continues to be Lake Ronkonkoma with 92 individuals -Northern Saw-whet Owl continues to show up in the count area now for the 8th consecutive year. -Virginia Rail continues to be detected at increasingly reliable locations across the count circle -Purple Sandpiper was a count save this year at only one location, Cedar Beach, with 4 individuals -Cedar Waxwing is an increasingly difficult species to detect in the count circle with only 3 individuals recorded -American Tree Sparrow had a surprising showing with 27 individuals, the highest since 33 individuals were detected in 2008 -Chipping Sparrow was a count save with only 1 individual -Brown-headed Cowbird was a save found near Lake Ronkonkoma -Snow Bunting was a count save only found at the Kings Park Bluff *Count Week Species*: Eurasian Wigeon, Cordwood Park 12/30/24 Thank you to Rich Gostic, the previous compiler, for assisting in setting up and helping me through this first count. Additionally, we would like to thank the Setauket Neighborhood House <https://www.setauketneighborhoodhouse.com/> for donating their space for participants to gather for a compilation. Next year's count will be December 27, 2025. Happy New Year, David LaMagna Smithtown Christmas Bird Count Compiler -- (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/ --
