The 8th annual Duck River CBC was held on Saturday December 23rd by 16
participants and tallied a total of 125 species plus one count week only.
The count started at 5:30 a.m. and ended at 5:30 p.m. 16 people in 9
parties covered 265 miles in 27 hours by motorized vehicle, 15 miles in 5
hours by boat, 88 miles in 52 hours on foot and 15 miles in 3 and a half
hours was spent owling.
The rare mild weather was an unexpected treat with no precipitation, no
ice and no wind and mostly cloudy all day with a low of 37 and a high of 56
degrees.
Highlights for the count included four new species: VIRGINIA RAIL, FISH
CROW, LAPLAND LONGSPUR and INDIGO BUNTING and another species that was
count week only, SCARLET TANAGER. A female SPOTTED TOWHEE continuing just
outside the circle would also be a new species if it moved a mile or two.
Other good birds found on the count are EURASIAN WIGEON, Greater Scaup,
Northern Bobwhite, American Woodcock, Lesser Black-backed Gull,
Black-crowned Night-heron, Golden Eagle, Barn Owl, Merlin, Peregrine
Falcon, Horned Lark, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, House Wren, Sedge Wren,
(17!)Marsh Wrens, HARRIS’ SPARROW, Vesper Sparrow, LECONTE’S SPARROW,
Brewer’s Blackbird, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, and Pine
Warbler.
Here is a complete species list;
Snow Goose 4,000
Ross’s Goose 100
Greater White Front 6,000
Cackling Goose 479
Canada Goose 400
Wood Duck 39
Northern Shoveler 289
Gadwall 10,000
Eurasian Wigeon 1
American Wigeon 1200
Mallard 25,000
American Black Duck 40
Northern Pintail 4,000
Green-winged Teal 8,200
Canvasback 230
Redhead 7
Ring-necked Duck 4,000
Greater Scaup 55
Lesser Scaup 255
Bufflehead 900
Common Goldeneye 80
Hooded Merganser 300
Red-breasted Merganser 5
Ruddy Duck 30
Northern Bobwhite 2
Wild Turkey 12
Pied-billed Grebe 39
Horned Grebe 8
Rock Pigeon 80
Eurasian Collared Dove 8
Mourning Dove 250
Virginia Rail 2
American Coot 132
Sandhill Crane 13
Killdeer 113
American Woodcock 4
Wilson’s Snipe 71
Bonaparte’s Gull 190
Ring-billed Gull 6,000
Herring Gull 120
Lesser Black-backed Gull 1
Common Loon 1
Double-crested Cormorant 1200
American White Pelican 70
Great Blue Heron 100
Great Egret 1
Black-crowned Night-heron 1
Black Vulture 65
Turkey Vulture 40
Golden Eagle 1
Northern Harrier 30
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2
Cooper’s Hawk 4
Bald Eagle 65
Red-shouldered Hawk 28
Red-tailed Hawk 55
Barn Owl 1
Eastern Screech Owl 11
Great Horned Owl 12
Barred Owl 13
Belted Kingfisher 30
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 27
Red-headed Woodpecker 39
Red-bellied Woodpecker 100
Downy Woodpecker 110
Hairy Woodpecker 21
Pileated Woodpecker 42
Northern Flicker 105
American Kestrel 19
Merlin 1
Peregrine Falcon 2
Eastern Phoebe 47
Blue Jay 200
Fish Crow 1
American Crow 700
Carolina Chickadee 190
Tufted Titmouse 188
Horned Lark 4
Golden-crowned Kinglet 48
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 90
White-breasted Nuthatch 37
Brown Creeper 20
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
House Wren 5
Winter Wren 68
Sedge Wren 3
Marsh Wren 17
Carolina Wren 185
European Starling 550
Brown Thrasher 36
Northern Mockingbird 45
Eastern Bluebird 110
Hermit Thrush 37
American Robin 705
Cedar Waxwing 70
House Sparrow 81
American Pipit 6
House Finch 16
American Goldfinch 72
Lapland Longspur 1
Chipping Sparrow 9
Field Sparrow 134
Fox Sparrow 14
Dark-eyed Junco 250
White-crowned Sparrow 28
Harris’s Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow 720
Vesper Sparrow 12
Leconte’s Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 173
Song Sparrow 515
Swamp Sparrow 434
Eastern Towhee 78
Eastern Meadowlark 134
Red-winged Blackbird 4,000
Brown-headed Cowbird 400
Rusty Blackbird 282
Brewer’s Blackbird 2
Common Grackle 20,000
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Pine Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 252
Northern Cardinal 510
Scarlet Tanager count week
Indigo Bunting 1
Missed species for the count were Red-breasted Nuthatch, Purple Finch,
Pine Siskin and Palm Warbler.
Thanks to Sharon Arnold, Adam Beachy, Evan Beachy, Jamin Beachy, Jubal
and Ruthanna Beachy, Seth Beachy, Joseph Byler, Tammy Devine, Joe Hall,
David Kinsinger, Joanna Molner, Victor Stoll, Alan Troyer and Allan Trently
for another successful count!
Ruben Stoll, (compiler) Centerville Tennessee
