FreeLists / bristol-birds / [Bristol-Birds] A look at the Bristol Christmas Bird Count 2005

["Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Participants of Bristol Christmas Bird Count gathered at the Mad Greek 
Restaurant Monday evening (Jan. 2) to compile the club's 2005 count which marks 
the 50th consecutive year.  There was one other Bristol count in 1931 which is 
the region's oldest Christmas count on record.  

The count is sponosred by the Bristol Bird Club.

A total of 85 species, with a very low total number (7,647) of individual 
birds, was recorded Sunday, Jan. 1, 2006.

Ninteen birders took part in the count which was held on a beautiful 
shirt-sleeve day with mostly sunny sky.  The 85 species was the third highest 
to the record 91 of last year and 89 in 1998.  It was two species above the 
10-year-average of 83  and 8 species above the 20-year-average of 77.

Perhaps the good weather was too much for the total individual count which was 
37% below the 10 year average and 18% down from the 20 year average.

The high water mark was two new species:  6 White-fronted Geese and a Ross's 
Goose at Clear Creek Lake, Washington County, VA.  Both species have been 
previously recorded in Southwest Virginia but not on Christmas counts.  

Ten (10) Eared Grebes at Musick's Campground on South Holston Lake was a new 
count high, bettering last year's record 8 -- two years of record highs !   
This species has been found on the count seven years, including its first 
appearance in 1996. 

A total of 71 Pied-billed Grebes this year is +22 on the 10-year-average and 
+39 on the 20-year-average for the species.

Waterfowl species boosted the count with Gadwall, American Black Duck, American 
Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser 
Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye and Hooded Merganser.  Throw in a few 
Common Loon, Pied-billed Grebe, Horned Grebe and Eared Grebe along with 71 
American Coot made for a fun day for most observers.  Ring-billed Gulls and 24 
Bonaparte's Gulls, White-fronted Geese and a Ross's Goose and patches of Canada 
Geese made it nice.

So did a couple of Wilson's Snipe.  Otherwise hard to find this winter. 

Other high counts included three (3) Bald Eagles equaling a count high of 3 in 
1996.
Wild Turkey 23 (record 17 in 1998).  Hermit Thrush 18 (bettering 15 each in 
1993 and 1996).  Two Barried Owls is the modern day record for 50 years, not 
counting 3 on the 1931 count. Pileated Woodpecker (40) was a suprising new 
count record (37 in 1996).

On the waterfront, Canada Geese (591) continued their decline in the count 
circle.  The population peaked at 882 bird in 2001 following a steady 20 year 
increase after having been introduced to the area in the late 1970's.  Birds 
first showed up with a population liftoff in 1980 and doubled on the Bristol 
count from 2000 to 2001.  It  has since quickly diminished about 33%.

Likewise Mallards remain low across the count circle with 466 birds.  This is 
dramatically lower than the the 2000 count when the population exploded and 
doubled in one year to a total of 1,349 birds.  The Mallard population then 
crashed to 312 in 2002.  It has remained low since.  We are not sure if the 
peak represented a large influx of migrant Mallards wintering here in 2000 or 
if something more related to the trend of the Canada Goose in the count circle 
is taking place.

Of interest is the Bufflehead wintering population which grew quickly in the 
early 1990's with the construction of the South Holston Weir Dam.  By 1998 we 
were enjoying about 300 birds per count but that number has plunged about 50% 
during the past couple of counts (2004 & 2005).

Meanwhile Hooded Mergansers, which have enjoyed a great deal of prosperity at 
Middlebrook Lake and Clear Creek Lake in Bristol have also begun to decline.  
In 2001 to 2004 we enjoyed record years at about 300 birds but that has dropped 
significantly to about half that at 150.  The birds often move within the 
winter season, back and forth between the two impoundments.  The majority were 
at Clear Creek this past weekend after having arrived at Middlebrook early in 
the season.  Food supplies may be diminishing and the birds usually migrate 
north by the last couple of weeks in February so they won't be here much longer.

And American Wigeon are not doing well either.  In the late 1990's we were 
hosting right at a 100 birds per Christmas count.  They remain significantly 
down for the fourth consecutive year and just 28 wigeon on the count is of 
concern.  But so has been the small numbers present this year at the Weir Dam 
where we can often expect them to be more abundant.

The large vulture roost of a few years ago (mainly near Musick's Campground and 
Painter Creek Rd. in 2002) has mostly left the count circle.  Turkey Vulture 28 
(down from 253) and Black Vulture down from 136 to 67 are mainly clinging to a 
ridgetop roost in the back of Forest Hills behind King College and near 
Middlebrook Lake.  The roost has resisted effort to evict it for several years. 
 Most of this year's birds were there. This has never been a large roost like 
the Painter Creek Rd. roost at South Holston Lake.

Diurnal raptors remain stable across the count circle.  Red-tails are constant 
and in good numbers as is the Cooper's Hawk.  The Sharp-shinned is likewise 
steady but in expected low numbers.  Extensive wintering hawk studies in 
Eastern Sullivan Count and Washington County, VA in past years reavealed the 
ratio of 8:1 favoring Cooper's to Sharpies.

Perhaps it is worth a note that the Northern Bobwhite is off our radar and 
numbers are so low it is almost undetectable on the Christmas count.  It has 
been eight years since we had one bird on the count and the radar went on the 
blink after 29 birds in 1990.

Even the Mourning Dove was down some 359 birds from its 10-year-average and 
down almost 300 from the 20-year-average.  This year's count was just 208 !  

The big winter surge of Ring-billed Gulls into urban shopping centers and malls 
hasn't happened so far this winter.  We were seriously spoiled on last year's 
count with a record of 1,341 Ring-billeds.  The total of 432 on this year's 
count is right at the 10 year average for the species.

American Crows were down significantly but the major roost on Euclid Ave. near 
Food City in Bristol Virginia finally broke up after last winter.  There were 
no birds there this past Sunday.

A Black-crowned Night-Heron, Loggerhead Shrike, Common Raven, Red-breasted 
Nuthatch (1), Brown Creeper (5),  Pine Warbler (2) and 13 Purple Finch do not 
go without remark.  Neither should the 82 House Finches which continue to 
survive the population crash from disease.  We have lost 80% of the count 
population of 645 individuals we had in 1994.

The dinner party at the Mad Greek was warm and enjoyable with Diane Draper, Tom 
McNeil, Bill Grigsby, Don Holt, Rack Cross, Sam Cross, Carol Cross, Cami Cross, 
Janet Brown, Rob Biller, Ron Carrico, Richard Lewis, Vicki Lewis, Janice 
Martin, Geoff Larsen, Rick Knight, Larry McDaniel and Wallace Coffey coming for 
dinner and the compilation. 

The species totals for each BBC Christmas Count area were:

Coffey's party  62 species
Cross party      59
Knight party      59
McDaniel party 59
Biller/Carrico    49
Lewis party      46

These totals include all species seen by each party all day (including scramble 
birds).

Let's go birding.....

Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN