40th Cape Charles, Virginia, Christmas Bird Count, December 30, 2004,
Thursday. Preliminary results. 48 observers. Some of these numbers will
be edited down later to try to compensate for duplicate counting,
especially of large and/or conspicuous or wandering species (geese,
vultures, eagles, moving blackbird flocks, etc.). Also, the species aren't
sacrosanct either, pending satisfactory details.
166 species (highest total in years), 2,697,988 individuals (due mostly to
blackbirds, which, ironically, are scarce here many years). This was
almost as good as the good old days, and not because of the blackbirds
either.
Some highlights: 30 waterfowl species (including 1 Cackling & 3 Ross's
Geese, a Mute Swan (rare locally), 2 Common Mergansers (also scarce here),
1 King & 6 Common Eiders (eiders were seen by Dan Cristol et al. at the
base of the former Smith Island lighthouse, now a circle of bricks 100
yards out to sea). 11 raptors (average) incl. 33 Bald Eagles reported
(seen by all 9 parties) and 6 peregrines. 3 owls (below average but
includes the count's 1st ever Snowy seen on the SW part of Ship Shoal
Island by 4 of us, Jared Sparks, Jack Carroll, Kevin Graff & myself).
20 shorebirds (above average, with 790 Black-bellied Plovers, 254 Willets,
1 Spotted & 1 Least Sandpiper, 2 Whimbrel, 32 Marbled Godwits, 14 knots, 99
Timberdoodles and, mas o menos, 17,354 Dunlin. 11 sparrows (doesn't
include towhee or junco): 10 Ipswich (seen on 4 islands), 22 Seasides & 108
chippies (seen by 6 parties). 6 gulls (above average, even though we
missed Laughing; but we got 2 Lesser Black-backeds (somewhat scarce here)
and an Iceland (seen by George Armistead & Will Russell).
Also: 4,231 Red-throated Loons (I watched a flight of 710 go by at one
point on Myrtle Island in about 3 minutes). 64 Brown Pelicans. 1 white
pelican (what was probably the same bird [?] was reported by 3 parties).
66 White Ibis (seen by 3 parties). 114 Blue Geese (a new high count for
here). 4,681 skunkheads. But 13 bobwhite (in great decline; seen by just
1 party; missed, !!, on ESVNWR). 1 Common Moorhen. A jaeger sp. seen
harassing Great Black-backed Gulls. A Ruby-throated Hummingbird (2nd
record; 1st was last year) at a feeder at the Ned Brinkley/Steve Hairfield
B & B. Eurasian Collared-Dove 1 (also 2nd record). 18 phoebes. 36 House
& 15 Sedge Wrens. 1 Northern Shrike (found by Matt Sharp; videoed by Bob
Anderson; new for the count). 5 Orange-crowned Warblers (I usually breath
a sigh of relief when just 1 is reported). 29 Pine Warblers (6 parties).
1 Lapland Longspur.
Don't know what to do with these numbers, except edit them down some due to
duplication: 935,605 Red-winged Blackbirds and 1,656,502 Common (indeed!)
Grackles.
We missed (species that might reasonably be expected to have a very good
chance of being seen): Tree Swallow, Greater Scaup, Red-headed Woodpecker
Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Short-eared Owl, Snow Bunting, chat, and,
to my relief, American Tree Sparrow (not that I'm EVER skeptical when this
species gets reported, heh, heh).
A beautiful sunny, warmish day with light winds. My thanks to the 47 other
observers and to you for your interest if you've read this far. Happy New
Year indeed. Tide sequence: low, high, low. Wild food crop: poor.
Patches of leftover snow from the storm of December 26. Most protected
waters unfrozen. 44-54 degrees F.
Best to all.-Harry Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, PA
19119-1225. 215-248-4120. harryarmistead at hotmail dot com
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