Christmas Bird Count Flies in the Face of the Storm

Bergen County Audubon lucked out again this year.  Somehow we produced an excellent result on Saturday, Dec. 19 despite leaden skies and a gloomy forecast.  Days of cold weather turned into a strong snowfall just as we were completing our rounds.  BCAS leaders came out in force, and by the time that snow began to stick in midafternoon, we already had an interesting list of birds.  Footing was sometimes awkward due to uneven frozen ground, but the BCAS crew covered most of the territory thoroughly. The following day was a snowy mess that could have forced most us off the trail.  So we count ourselves very lucky.

Many streams and smaller ponds were frozen shut, but Bergen County still had enough open water to shelter good numbers of ducks and geese.  Two small flocks of Snow Geese were seen in flight, heading south, and a huge flock of Wood Duck (88 birds) were still dawdling at Woodcliff Lake.  Oradell Reservoir and Mehrhof Pond sheltered many waterfowl as in previous winters, and were very productive overall.

Bald Eagles were again present over most of the county, with many adults and immature birds seen along the larger reservoirs and rivers.  A rare Golden Eagle was seen in Oradell on Sunday, but not on count day.  A Merlin was photographed near the Steuben House, and a Peregrine Falcon was seen near the Hudson River at the northern limit of our count circle.  Many Great Horned Owls were heard booming in the center of our territory, and a rare Red-headed Woodpecker was photographed on Van Buskirk Island in Oradell. The same area yielded a Pileated Woodpecker, which has become much less common in recent years.

Eastern Bluebirds were one of the nicer passerine species to be found, showing up both at Pascack Valley and at a golf course in Oradell.  Robins remained in record numbers, and were even more common in early December.  Hermit Thrush were seen in Teterboro, Oradell and at Greenbrook Sanctuary.  A Brown Thrasher and a Gray Catbird were both still lingering in the northern Palisades.  The most surprising find was an Orange-crowned Warbler sunning itself (yes, the sun actually broke through briefly to shine on this one!) in some pines near Mehrhof Pond.  A Lincoln’s Sparrow was at the Haworth leaf dump.  A few sparrow species continue to flourish throughout the County, but those requiring grassland habitats are vanishing.  Compared to last winter, most finch species were low or absent.  Monk Parakeets continue to flourish and to spread to more towns along the Palisades, and this winter we found an increasing number of Pekin Ducks, mostly in Hawthorne and the Little Ferry area.

            These excellent results could not have been achieved except thorough steadfast efforts by our group leaders, and by the helpers who joined them.  We also received good feeder reports that helped to swell our totals for some species.  My warm thanks go out to everyone who participated.  Watch the BCAS website for some of the photos.

 

                                                                                    Dave Hall

 

Pied‑billed Grebe                  1

Dbl‑crested Cormorant        71       

Great Cormorant                 1

Great Blue Heron                  41

Bl‑crn. Night Heron            1          Low

Mute Swan                             6

Snow Goose                          17

Canada Goose                                    6340

Wood Duck                           114     High

Green‑winged Teal                23        Low

Am. Black Duck                      109

Mallard                                   2441

Northern Shoveler                122

Gadwall                                  8

Ring-neckd Duck                 36        High  

Lesser Scaup                         33

Bufflehead                             5

Hood Merganser                   94

Com Merganser                     3979

Red-br Merganser               2

Ruddy Duck                           1572  

Turkey Vulture                      8

Bald Eagle                             25        High

Sharp‑shin. Hawk                  5

Cooper's Hawk                      11        High

Red‑shldrd. Hawk                 1

Red‑tailed Hawk                    49

Merlin                                    1          !!

Peregrine Falcon                 2

Wild Turkey                           7

American Coot                       5

Ring‑billed Gull                      4554

Herring Gull                           76        Low

Gr.Bl.-Bckd Gull                     42        Low

Rock Dove                              1360

Mourning Dove                     428

East. Screech Owl                  17

Great‑horned Owl               10        New High

Belted Kingfisher                  12

Red‑hd Woodpecker          1          !!

Red‑bel. Woodpkr               144     New High

Yellow‑b. Sapsucker              1

Downy Woodpecker             136

Hairy Woodpecker               34

Northern Flicker                   13