Hello all. Here is a copy of this year's CBC report. Let me know if you have any questions.
Dave Eberly
david.eberly@gmail.com
Glenolden (Delaware County, Pa) CBC December 20,
2014
The 95th Glenolden Christmas Bird Count, part of the 115th National Audubon
Society CBC, was held
Saturday, December 20, 2014. Participation in our count remains at gratifyingly high levels.
Although down from the unusually
high number of 91 participants last year our grand total of 79
participants is still well above the previous 10 year average of about 64 observers. We welcomed 17
new
participants to the CBC, also a gratifying
number.
Sixty eight field observers covered our circle in 30 parties and
11
participants kept an eye on their feeders.
Field observers covered 110 miles in 134 hours by foot and 345
miles in 40 hours by car. We tallied 24,350 birds representing 89 species on count day plus one count week species for a grand
total of 90 species.
This is identical to last year’s total but below the 10 and 20 year average of around 96-97 species. We added no new members to
our
all-time list of 194 species.
Many seasoned CBC’ers thought the birds
were hiding from us this year as they seemed to be
difficult to find. Temperature & overcast skies were blamed along
with other theories.
Indeed
our
count of total individuals was below our previous 5 year average of 32,140 if you exclude the outlier year of 2012 when we counted only 18,116 birds in average weather (but had 99 species!!).
However the numbers of geese counted can really skew these counts. It turns out our total number of birds counted minus geese was 23,291. This is actually higher than our “minus geese”
previous 10 year average of 18,895. I was surprised at this as well so I
thought perhaps the common “little brown
jobs” were hiding. I calculated a 10 year average of numbers per party hour of white throats + song sparrows and chickadees + titmice.
It
turns out our numbers this year were basically identical to those averages. Temperature
& cloudiness on
count day were pretty average as well.
Total # minus geese/party hr
|
WTSP
+ SOSP/party hr
|
CACH + TUTI/party hr
|
|
Prior 10 yr avg
|
109.48
|
11.53
|
4.5
|
2014
|
134.24
|
11
|
4.2
|
Uncommon birds
of interest included a Red-necked Grebe on Springton
Reservoir seen on count week but unable
to be located
on
count day. This species has only been reported once before on our
count-in
1960. A single Greater Yellowlegs in
the Delco portion of Tinicum is uncommon for our CBC.
It has been reported
on
11 previous CBCs, last counted in
1992. The ongoing and now repeating Northern Shrike in
the Philly section of Tinicum was kind enough to show up on count day. A Northern Saw-whet Owl responded
to a species specific recording
at Ridley Creek SP. This
species has been
reported on 28
previous counts with
a high number of 4 in 1978. It was last reported in 2012. Common
Raven is almost expected now thanks to the nesting pair in Glen Mills.
We missed Northern Shoveler last year.
This year we had
a high count of 314 beating
the previous high of 312 in 2007. A high count was also recorded
for Double-crested Cormorant (90). Dark- eyed
Juncos seemed
fairly abundant to me this year and indeed
our
count of 1557 was near the historical high.
Red-shouldered Hawks are doing well. Usually found in numbers of 5 or less our count of 13 this year is second only to an outlier count of 15 in 1952. They are indeed on the rise. The cumulative number of Red-shoulders counted on our CBC from 1995 to 2004 was 26; from
2005 to this
year that total is 69. Supporting the
validity of this increase the 2nd Penna Breeding
Bird Atlas (2004-2009) showed
a 55% increase in
breeding of this species relative to the 1st atlas (1983-1989).
Eastern Bluebirds continue to do well. We counted 129 this year. Our
counts in recent years are consistently close to
the historical high of 132 in 2005 thanks of course to our active bluebird
stewards in the county. Encouraging
but not yet a trend was our count of 43 Rusty Blackbirds the highest since
62 in 2008.
This is a species of concern nationwide. Our historical high is 400 in 1940.
On the down
side we tied the all-time low of 2 Great Horned Owls. Numbers of this species do
seem to be trending down. The 2nd Penna Breeding Bird
Atlas notes an overall decline in breeding
and overall numbers in
general of Great Horned
Owls.
It cites West Nile Virus susceptibility as a possible explanation
but expects the
species to rebound based on
its adaptability.
Northern irruption visitors were improved over last year but still low. We had one Black-capped Chickadee which is one more than
last
year and just a smattering of Red-breasted
Nuthatches, Purple Finches and Pine Siskins.
Species that could be counted
as “misses” include Wood Duck, American
Wigeon,
Ring-necked Duck, Eastern Phoebe, and American Kestrel
Here is a list of Participants with their
years of service. New participants, 5 year anniversaries and
those
with over 25 years participation
are
in bold lettering
for special recognition. I
suspect, no I’m certain,
some of the years of service are inaccurate. Please let me know if yours needs to
be corrected:
Ellis Akers (43), Marcus Baldwin (2), Gary Becker (11), Brian
Bernero (1), Natalie Berry (1), Rob Bierregaard (3), Adrian Binns (2), Jim
Bodine (24), Sarah
Boucas-Neto (8), Denis Brennan
(2),
Kevin Browngoehl (1), Tom
Bush (2), Ben
Bussman (2), Brian Byrnes (6), Henry Cadwalader (1),
Donna
Chadderton (6), Bruce Childs
(3), Skip Conant (31), Bill Cranny (4), Alan Crawford III (6), Alvera Crocetto
(40), Nicholas Crocetto (2), Nick Crocetto (40), Cynthia Curry (13),
John
D’Amico (17), Susan D’Amico (16), Essie Day
(1), Don DiPietro (5), Andrew Eberly (10), David
Eberly (24), Phyllis Fingerhood (20), Cole Gaboriault (1), Stephanie Gaboriault
(4), Jared
Griffin (1), Al Guarente (40), Micah Henry (2), Liz
Hoffmann (1), Rich
Horwitz (26), Bill Howard (3), Lois Hunn (16), Hiroshi Iizuka (3), Letitia Jeavons (4), Ed Johannismeier (1), Kristen Johnson (4), Sheryl Johnson (19), Steve
Kapski (20), Virginia Kapski (3), Bob
Kelly (6), Dan Kobza (3), Mary Ellen Krober (28), Ann Lane (1), Chris Langman (6), Amy Langman
(4),
Chelsea Lucas (6), Sue Lucas (7), Dave Luning (2), Dave McDonald (3), Doris McGovern (31), Art
McMorris (4), Kathy Meermans (8), Rob Megraw (22), Dolly Mignogna (7),
Alison Mostrom (23), Gregg Nichols (1),
Damon
Orsetti (2), Carl Perretta (25), Jason
Porter (3), John Poynton (1), Chris Pugliese (6), Nick Pulcinella (45), Jim Purtill (5), Brian Quindlen
(8), Tom Reeves (40), Paulette Rhone (1), Ja’Darius Ross (1), Win
Shafer (10), Charles Smith (7), Marilyn
Smith
(2),
Max Smith (1), Gary Stolz
(8), Carol Storey (9), Marcia Tate (4), Gloria Todor (9), Pat Trevelino (10), Scott Tuttle (8), Geoff Veith (1),
Marlise Wise (1),
George Wood
(2),
George Wrangham (6).
Attached
is the final report I submitted
to Audubon which includes the complete species list for this
year’s count.
The
columns to the right of the species names merit some explanation.
The “Max Number” column
lists the historical high number for the species under that common
name.
The number after the slash is the number of the CBC in which that maximum was recorded. The first CBC was Christmas day 1900; that was count #1.
This year’s national count was #115 held in 2014-2015.
The “# of counts column” is supposed to name the number of counts in which that species has been recorded in our circle. Unfortunately for both columns the totals shown are for the species under that common name only! The common names for some species have changed over the years. For example American Robin is listed in only 64 of 94 counts??? The explanation is that for years the species was just listed as “Robin” not “American Robin”. The number on the chart lists the number of times the species was listed under American Robin not the number of counts in which turdus migratorius was recorded. There are multiple other examples of this such as European Starling/Starling, Northern Flicker/ Flicker, American Wigeon/Baldpate, Common Black Duck/Black Duck/Red-legged Black Duck/American Black Duck. It goes on & on rendering those columns basically useless.
The “# of counts column” is supposed to name the number of counts in which that species has been recorded in our circle. Unfortunately for both columns the totals shown are for the species under that common name only! The common names for some species have changed over the years. For example American Robin is listed in only 64 of 94 counts??? The explanation is that for years the species was just listed as “Robin” not “American Robin”. The number on the chart lists the number of times the species was listed under American Robin not the number of counts in which turdus migratorius was recorded. There are multiple other examples of this such as European Starling/Starling, Northern Flicker/ Flicker, American Wigeon/Baldpate, Common Black Duck/Black Duck/Red-legged Black Duck/American Black Duck. It goes on & on rendering those columns basically useless.
For a
detailed exploration of historical data for our count and all CBCs I recommend you check out www.christmasbirdcount.org. On the right hand column click “Results, Data, Research”
and then again on the right click “Results: Current & Historical” Here, by using our count code, PAGL, you can find a detailed report of our count that provides high counts for all species. You can also explore ours and other counts by
species & make nifty graphs of their frequency through the years.
Our CBC is held on the first Saturday of the count period which is December 14
to January 5 every year. Therefore our next Christmas Bird Count will be held on Saturday December 19 2015.
Thank you all once again for your participation, especially
my team captains who make my job so much easier. I hope you are all looking forward to
next year’s CBC so stay healthy, stay in shape and be ready to
get
back out there again!
David Eberly
112 S Princeton Ave
Swarthmore, PA 19081
610 543 3499
david.eberly@gmail.com
Count Name:
|
Delaware County
(Glenolden)
|
Count Code:
|
PAGL
|
Count Date:
|
12/20/2014
|
Organizations &
Sponsors:
|
# of Party Hours:
|
173.50
|
Species reported on count date:
|
89
|
Compiler(s)
First
Name
|
Last Name
|
Email
|
Is Primary Compiler
|
David
|
Eberly
|
Yes
|
Start & End Times
Start
time
|
End time
|
04:30
AM
|
04:15
PM
|
Effort
Observers
|
||
In Field
|
Total
Number:
|
68
|
Minimum
Number of Parties (daylight):
|
30
|
|
Maximum
Number of Parties (daylight):
|
30
|
|
At Feeders
|
Total
Number:
|
11
|
Party Hours
and Distance (excludes viewing at feeders and
nocturnal birding)
|
||||
By
|
Hours
|
Distance
|
Units
|
|
Foot
|
133.75
|
110.00
|
Miles
|
|
Car
|
39.75
|
345.00
|
Miles
|
|
Air
|
||||
All-Terrain Vehicle
|
||||
Bicycle
|
||||
Dog Sled
|
||||
Golfcart
|
||||
Horseback
|
||||
Motorized Boat
|
||||
Non-Motorized Boat
|
||||
Skis/Xc-Skis
|
||||
Snowmachine
|
||||
Snowshoe
|
||||
Wheelchair
|
||||
Other
Time and Distance
|
||||
Hours
|
Distance
|
Units
|
||
At Feeders
|
42.50
|
|||
Nocturnal Birding
|
14.75
|
38.00
|
Miles
|
Total Party
|
173.50
|
455.00
|
Miles
|
Weather
Temperature
|
Minimum:
|
33.0
Fahrenheit
|
Maximum:
|
35.0
Fahrenheit
|
Wind Direction
|
Northwest
|
|||
Wind Velocity
|
Minimum:
|
6.00
Miles/hour
|
Maximum:
|
18.00
Miles/hour
|
Snow Depth
|
Minimum:
|
0.00
Inches
|
Maximum:
|
0.00
Inches
|
Still
Water
|
Partly
Frozen
|
|||
Moving
Water
|
Open
|
|||
AM and
PM Conditions
|
||||
Cloud Cover
|
AM:
|
Cloudy
|
PM:
|
Cloudy
|
AM Rain
|
None
|
|||
AM Snow
|
None
|
|||
PM Rain
|
None
|
|||
PM Snow
|
None
|
Checklist
Species
|
Number
or cw
|
Flags
|
Max Number
|
# Of Counts
|
Editor
Comm.
|
Snow Goose
|
1059
|
2115/112
|
27
|
||
Canada Goose
|
5476
|
15880/109
|
64
|
||
Tundra Swan
|
80
|
172/114
|
42
|
||
Gadwall
|
78
|
82/102
|
42
|
||
American Black Duck
|
117
|
4700/63
|
56
|
||
Mallard
|
604
|
2245/76
|
81
|
||
Northern Shoveler
|
314
|
HC,
|
314/115
|
49
|
|
Northern Pintail
|
3
|
13000/68
|
55
|
||
American Green-winged
Teal
|
37
|
3000/68
|
27
|
||
Bufflehead
|
11
|
85/79
|
68
|
||
Hooded Merganser
|
45
|
95/114
|
52
|
||
Common
Merganser
|
91
|
335/90
|
55
|
||
Ruddy
Duck
|
10
|
20188/57
|
73
|
||
Wild Turkey
|
5
|
22/114
|
8
|
||
Pied-billed Grebe
|
1
|
24/80
|
58
|
||
Red-necked Grebe
|
cw
|
1/61
|
2
|
||
Double-crested
Cormorant
|
90
|
HC,
|
90/115
|
33
|
Great
Cormorant
|
4
|
5/97
|
19
|
||
Great Blue Heron (Blue form)
|
31
|
96/93
|
75
|
||
Black
Vulture
|
120
|
191/111
|
28
|
||
Turkey
Vulture
|
84
|
322/111
|
71
|
||
Bald Eagle
Adults: 7
Immatures: 4
Unknowns: 1
|
12
|
13/114
|
35
|
||
Northern Harrier
|
1
|
33/63
|
52
|
||
Sharp-shinned Hawk
|
17
|
45/102
|
63
|
||
Cooper's Hawk
|
20
|
26/108
|
73
|
||
Northern Goshawk
|
1
|
3/83
|
20
|
||
Red-shouldered Hawk
|
13
|
15/52
|
82
|
||
Red-tailed Hawk
|
70
|
117/102
|
94
|
||
Merlin
|
2
|
3/103
|
21
|
||
Peregrine Falcon
|
2
|
3/112
|
28
|
||
Killdeer
|
4
|
313/55
|
82
|
||
Greater
Yellowlegs
|
1
|
8/80
|
12
|
||
Ring-billed Gull
|
959
|
4003/84
|
83
|
||
Herring
Gull
|
27
|
10000/71
|
89
|
||
Great
Black-backed Gull
|
29
|
220/93
|
66
|
||
Rock
Pigeon
|
538
|
869/112
|
12
|
||
Mourning Dove
|
653
|
1743/93
|
79
|
||
Eastern
Screech-Owl
|
27
|
66/83
|
33
|
||
Great
Horned Owl
|
2
|
LC
|
44/89
|
56
|
|
Northern Saw-whet Owl
|
1
|
4/79
|
29
|
||
Belted
Kingfisher
|
14
|
41/99
|
73
|
||
Red-bellied Woodpecker
|
154
|
205/112
|
58
|
||
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
|
9
|
21/112
|
54
|
||
Downy Woodpecker
|
217
|
262/82
|
93
|
||
Hairy Woodpecker
|
45
|
50/108
|
90
|
||
Northern Flicker
|
41
|
134/85
|
8
|
||
Pileated Woodpecker
|
9
|
17/108
|
49
|
||
Northern Shrike
|
1
|
1/115
|
5
|
||
Blue Jay
|
134
|
1158/82
|
88
|
||
American Crow
|
573
|
4164/93
|
68
|
||
Fish Crow
|
82
|
220/70
|
73
|
||
Common
Raven
|
1
|
US,
|
1/115
|
4
|
|
Carolina Chickadee
|
458
|
1045/82
|
74
|
||
Black-capped Chickadee
|
1
|
530/81
|
73
|
Tufted
Titmouse
|
276
|
605/83
|
90
|
||
Red-breasted Nuthatch
|
7
|
325/82
|
68
|
||
White-breasted Nuthatch
|
182
|
242/83
|
91
|
||
Brown
Creeper
|
29
|
45/83
|
88
|
||
Carolina Wren
|
182
|
401/93
|
92
|
||
Winter
Wren
|
24
|
40/113
|
6
|
||
Golden-crowned Kinglet
|
33
|
123/93
|
83
|
||
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
|
7
|
33/73
|
67
|
||
Eastern
Bluebird
|
129
|
132/106
|
69
|
||
Hermit
Thrush
|
12
|
29/108
|
73
|
||
American Robin
|
3135
|
9867/102
|
64
|
||
Gray Catbird
|
2
|
23/85
|
55
|
||
Northern Mockingbird
|
55
|
284/83
|
56
|
||
European Starling
|
2223
|
19000/71
|
55
|
||
Cedar Waxwing
|
17
|
4649/86
|
69
|
||
Yellow-rumped Warbler
|
6
|
63/85
|
8
|
||
Eastern
Towhee
|
24
|
136/112
|
28
|
||
American Tree Sparrow
|
35
|
3700/66
|
64
|
||
Chipping Sparrow
|
4
|
19/114
|
43
|
||
Field Sparrow
|
33
|
320/67
|
90
|
||
Savannah Sparrow
|
4
|
68/59
|
71
|
||
Fox Sparrow
|
11
|
248/59
|
85
|
||
Song Sparrow
|
645
|
3600/67
|
94
|
||
Swamp
Sparrow
|
30
|
520/66
|
87
|
||
White-throated Sparrow
|
1265
|
2926/58
|
94
|
||
Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco
|
1556
|
2071/82
|
80
|
||
Northern Cardinal
|
482
|
967/89
|
56
|
||
Red-winged Blackbird
|
398
|
6300/66
|
90
|
||
Rusty
Blackbird
|
43
|
400/41
|
68
|
||
Common
Grackle
|
16
|
9377/95
|
56
|
||
Brown-headed Cowbird
|
3
|
1500/71
|
63
|
||
Purple
Finch
|
4
|
557/78
|
84
|
||
House Finch
|
240
|
2673/94
|
57
|
||
Pine Siskin
|
14
|
324/78
|
45
|
||
American Goldfinch
|
317
|
1400/62
|
67
|
||
House Sparrow
|
529
|
1600/72
|
65
|
||
Total Individuals
|
24350
|
||||
Total Species Reported
|
89
|
||||