The 109th Christmas Bird Count American Birds Volume 63 Published by the National Audubon Society 225 Varick Street, 7th floor New York, NY 10014 October 2009 G. Thomas Bancroft Vice-President and Chief Scientist Geoffrey S. LeBaron Director, Christmas Bird Count and Editor-in-Chief Birders may not often think of American Coots (Fulica americana) as lovely photo- Greg Butcher graphic subjects, but these coots in motion at Clear Lake, California, provide just such Director, Bird Conservation an image. Photo/Barbara Bridges Kathy Dale Director of IT, Audubon Science CONTENTS Richard J. Cannings The 109th Christmas Bird Count . .2 Christmas Bird Count Coordinator, Geoffrey S. LeBaron Bird Studies Canada The 109th Christmas Bird Count in Canada . .8 Avery English-Elliott Richard J. Cannings Ruth Helmich Christmas Bird Count Assistants Christmas Bird Counts and Climate Change: Northward Shifts in Early Winter Abundance . .10 Connie Isbell Daniel K. Niven, Gregory S. Butcher, and G. Thomas Bancroft Managing Editor Four Hundred and Counting: Mickey Boisvert Reflections on a Long Association with the Christmas Bird Count . .16 www.mbdesign-us.com Art Director/Graphic Designer Paul W. Sykes Jr. Greg Merhar Not Just a Walk in the Park: New York’s Central Park Christmas Bird Count . .24 Graphics Associate Sarah McCarn Elliott Caroline Jackson On the Ice: The First Christmas Bird Count in Antarctica . .30 GIS Technician Noah Strycker Heidi DeVos The Birds of Christmas in London, Ontario: One Hundred Years and Going Strong . .35 Production Director Peter Read Gregory P. Licciardi Pictorial Highlights . .40 Managing Director of Advertising Alphabetical Index to Regional Summaries . .42 Regional Summaries of the 109th Christmas Bird Count . .43 Christmas Bird Count Editorial Codes and Database Flags . .107 Audubon Science Center Count Circles, Codes, and Compilers in the 109th Count . .108 545 Almshouse Road Ivyland, PA 18974 Summary of Highest Counts of Individuals for Canada . .120 www.audubon.org/bird Richard J. Cannings Summary of Highest Counts of Individuals for the United States . .123 Brent Ortego ON THE COVER: Though penguins have been tallied on Christmas Bird Counts in or Bird Studies Canada/ near southern South America over the past few seasons, they have been of species Études d’Oiseaux Canada that breed on the mainland, not birds restricted to the ice of the Antarctic continent. P.O. Box 160 During the 109th CBC Adelie Penguins (Pygoscelus adeliae) were tallied for the first Port Rowan, Ontario N0E 1M0 time (in the hundreds of thousands!), their inclusion a result of the brand new count, www.bsc-eoc.org the first ever in Antarctica, at Cape Crozier. Photo/Noah Strycker The 109th Christmas Bird Count December 14, 2008 to January 5, 2009 Geoffrey S. LeBaron Weather, weather, weather—when we a number of counts. Rather than the El last season’s all-time high of 2113 by 11 plan, participate on, or summarize any Niño season predicted by some, La Niña circles. Just think what would have been given Christmas Bird Count, it always had returned for a second winter. possible if a good number of counts had seems to boil down to a discussion of the Record snowfalls also fell across the not been canceled due to weather! Of effects of the weather. Good or bad, dur- Midwest and in the Mountain West, the 2124 areas included, 361 were in ing the count period or leading up to it, and a snowstorm in Louisiana (!) on Canada (which took the brunt of the or even in other parts of the globe, it’s December 11th moved to the northeast weather cancellations), 1673 were in the weather that drives birds and birders as an ice storm within 24 hours, encas- United States, and 90 in Latin America, alike to do what they do and be in the ing much of New York, New England, the Caribbean, the Pacific Islands, and places they are during the early winter and the Atlantic Provinces with devas- beyond. As is virtually always the case, a period in which the Christmas Bird tating amounts of ice just prior to the good representation of new circles is Count is held. count period. Up to a million people were included in those totals, and Table 1 lists You’d think that the law of averages without power, some for weeks. Heavy the new counts included during the would allow an area that was particularly snowstorms continued throughout the 109th season—9 in Canada, 18 in the hard-hit in one season to have a year or 109th Christmas Bird Count season, and United States, and 16 south of the three off, but Mother Nature doesn’t CBC compilers and participants alike United States-Mexico border. Again this seem to recognize such fairness. “Excep - had their work cut out for them. season we welcome a flock of new tional” and “Extreme” drought conditions The 109th count stage was also set counts (13) in Colombia, where enthu- continue—as they have for many bird-wise; during the fall of 2008, a siasm for the CBC program continues to years—over South Texas, while the major southward flight of Pine Siskins grow. We also welcome a new continent “Severe” drought classification contin- occurred, and Snowy Owls and Rough- to the universe of the Christmas Bird ues to cover most of the state of legged Hawks began to appear both Count—Antarctica! People may wonder California. The Gulf Coast, just begin- early and in good numbers. Discussions why the Antarctic is relevant to the avi- ning to recover from the ravages of were shared regarding the likelihood of a fauna of North America. Sidestepping a Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, winter finch flight, perhaps including discussion of melting ice sheets and was clobbered again in September 2008 different species from those of the flight global climate change, remember that with Hurricane Ike, the third most of 2007–2008. Also, conditions in the many seabirds familiar to pelagic birders destructive hurricane ever to hit the fall had been fairly mild in some regions, off the coasts of North America are deep United States. While Galveston, Texas, while others (especially the northern austral breeders. took the brunt of the storm and gar- Rockies) were hit with early heavy snow. nered most of the media attention, little As always, there were high hopes among note was made of the fact that the south- birders of lingering migrants or way- western coastal areas of Louisiana were ward vagrants. Such are the carrots that again inundated by a major storm surge, entice us into the field during the CBC, effectively obliterating the natural and or on any day of birding for that matter! human recovery that was under way And out we went indeed, in full force, from three years prior. from December 14th, 2008, through On a more immediate level for the January 5th, 2009, on the 109th 109th Christmas Bird Count, severe Christmas Bird Count. Amazingly, ocean storms again pummeled the West despite needing to thread the needle of Coast from coastal British Columbia to opportunity with weather conditions, northern California during much of the another new record number of count period, causing multiple post- Christmas Bird Counts was submitted ponements and outright cancellation of in the 109th count—2124, edging out Each CBC season has its own avian highlights, and for the 109th count the big story was a major flight of Pine Siskins (Spinus pinus). Though siskins were widespread on CBCs across much of North America, this one was photographed during the Great Backyard Bird Count. Photo/Linda Koning 2 AMERICAN BIRDS This is confirmed by the fact that the elsewhere) reflects not only the areas Table 1. New counts in the 109th Cape Crozier CBC list (five species in with the most coverage, but also the (2008–2009) Christmas Bird Count all) includes Wilson’s Storm-Petrel, a regions where the abundance of birds is Count Count Name Code common breeder along the rocky coasts likely to be highest. Many boreal breed- of Antarctica and its nearby islands, but ers leave their northern haunts for more CANADA certainly also among the most familiar moderate climes in southern North ABRD Red Deer, Alberta ABSV Spruce View, Alberta of all seabirds in North American America, while the abundance of birds BCGF Grand Forks, British Columbia waters. Also included is South Polar encountered in the Neotropics is notori- BCSH Stewart-Hyder, British Columbia Skua—one of those real “carrots” that ously low. Numbers of birds encoun tered BCVT Valemount, British Columbia gets birders offshore on boats in the in the field in Latin America can be sur- MBPP Portage la Prairie, Manitoba Northern Hemisphere. For more details prisingly small, even as the species ONMY Massey, Ontario of the Cape Crozier CBC, please see diver sity may be incredibly high. Table 3 ONPL Pickle Lake, Ontario Noah Stryker’s feature article included lists all circles in the 109th Christmas YTJC Johnson’s Crossing, Yukon Territory in these pages. Bird Count tallying 150 or more species, Thousands of circles means tens of and thus blessed with both a diversity of UNITED STATES thousands of observers, and in the 109th habitats and species. Comparing counts AKCW Cantwell, Alaska CATJ Tejon Ranch, California count we fanned out again across the with the highest species totals in North FLFG Flagler, Florida countryside and waters to tally birds. All America and South America, we see that IDGV Garden Valley, Idaho told, 59,813 total observers (50,475 the stellar effort of 233 species tallied at ILME Monroe County, Illinois field observers plus 9338 feederwatchers) Matagorda County-Mad Island Marsh, ILRC Rock Cut S.P., Illinois participated on counts, not surpris ingly Texas, is eclipsed by the total of 420 KYLD London, Kentucky (given the conditions) slightly shy of last species at Mindo-Tandayapa, Ecuador.