The Audubon CBC was held on the Virginia Peninsula on Dec. 17, 2005. The name
of the count is"Newport News" but the count circle includes most of Newport
News, all of Hampton and Poquoson and a good part of York County. 35 persons
participated, 6 of them for the first time. The temperature was 41 degrees in
the morning rising to 45 by afternoon with no snow or rain. The wind inland
was variable up to 5 MPH but stronger on the waterfront. The sky was mostly
cloudy to completely overcast all day. 115 species were reported and 29,554
individuals. These are average numbers for recent years. Rarities reported
were:
Selasphorus Hummingbird 1 (First ever) (2 were seen and photographed at the
same location in York County a week after count day.)
Sedge Wren 1 (Only the third seen since 1979.)
Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow 2 (Last seen in 1990)
American Tree Sparrow 2 (Second sighting since 1980)
Significant high numbers were:
Snow Goose 20 (Highest ever) (First since 7 in 1997)
Great Egret 65 (Second highest in recent years.)
White-winged Scoter 200 (Highest ever-65 in '72 & '85)
Bald Eagle 11 (Highest ever-10 in 1954 & 2002)
American Coot 125 (Highest since 207 in 1998)
Black-bellied Plover 58 (Highest since 75 in 1975)
Western Sandpiper 31 (Highest ever-28 in 1982)
Dunlin 700 (Highest since 705 in 1978)
American Woodcock 2 (Highest since 30 in 1995)
American Robin 1075 (Highest ever-462 in 2000)
Northern Cardinal 182 (Highest since 187 in 1994)
Dark-eyed Junco 388 (Highest since 506 in 1989)
House Finch 281 (Highest since 484 in 1992)
Wild Turkey 58 (Highest ever-48 in 2004-first in '96)
Significant low numbers were:
Mallard 511 (Lowest since 353 in 1981)
Greater Scaup 14 (Lower in recent years)
Lesser Scaup 3 (Lower in recent years)
Long-tailed Duck 8 (Lowest since 4 in 2002- avg. 40)
Peregrine Falcon 0 (Missing 6 years now)
Clapper Rail 1 (Lowest since 1 in 1989)
Sanderling 48 (Lowest since 39 in 1991)
Bonepart's Gull 0 (First miss since 1996)
Gt. Black-backed Gull 138 (Lowest since 132 in '88)
Gt. Horned Owl 1 (Lowest in 15 yrs.-avg. 3-4)
All data will be available on the Audubon CBC website soon.
Hayes Williams, compiler
