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The Captree CBC was conducted for the 50th time on 18
December 2011. In the weeks and days leading up to the
count, I spoke with both of the count's founders, Joe
Horowitz and Guy Tudor, who shared some thoughts on the
origins of this count back in December 1962. Neither was
able to join us on Sunday, but we hope they’ll be
pleased to know that the tradition is still going
strong.
We recorded 116 species, which is about average for recent years:
1 Black Rail (see below)
1 Black-legged Kittiwake (Fire Island, 30th time recorded)
1 Chipping Sparrow (Heckscher, 22nd time recorded)
1 Great Egret (Seatuck, 10th time recorded)
1 House Wren (Seatuck, fourth time recorded)
1 Lesser Black-backed Gull (Gardiner, fifth time recorded)
1 Marsh Wren (Heckscher, 30th time recorded)
1 Pine Warbler (Fire Island, 10th time recorded)
1 Red-necked Grebe (Fire Island, 18th time recorded)
1 Seaside Sparrow (Heckscher, 23rd time recorded, but just the first since Dec 2002)
1 Short-eared Owl (Jones, 36th time recorded)
1 Snow Goose (Connetquot, 35th time recorded)
1 Snowy Owl (Fire Island, 19th time recorded)
1 Vesper Sparrow (Fire Island, 9th time recorded)
2 American Bittern (Jones, Heckscher, 37th time recorded)
2 Brown Thrasher (Fire Island, 37th time recorded)
2 Monk Parakeet (North, third time recorded)
2 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Seatuck, East; 22nd time recorded)
3 Cackling Goose (Belmont, Seatuck, Connetquot; third time recorded)
3 Great Horned Owl (North, Gardiner, 35th time recorded)
3 Greater Yellowlegs (Gardiner, 22nd time recorded)
3 Merlin (Jones, Heckscher; 30th time recorded)
4 American Pipit (Heckscher, 27th time recorded)
4 Common Merganser (Seatuck, 24th time recorded)
4 Razorbill (Fire Island,16th time recorded)
4 Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Fire Island, Seatuck, Heckscher; 36th time recorded)
4 Western Palm Warbler (Fire Island, Heckscher, 27th time recorded)
5 Eastern Bluebird (Heckscher, 16th time recorded)
5 Wood Duck (Belmont, Gardiner, East; 37th time recorded)
7 Peregrine Falcon (five areas, 27th time recorded)
8 Cedar Waxwing (North, East; 26th time recorded)
75 Redhead (our max count; Gardiner)
460 Fish Crow (more than three times American Crow total)
On the down side, we finally missed Canvasback, for the
first time ever, after a steady decline over several
decades (this count used to record 1,000+ back in the
1970s).
Northern Pintail was another painful miss (just the
fifth ever), but not surprising in view of recent
trends.
No Gallinaceous birds were found, despite repeated,
massive dumps of baby quail at several sites within the
circle in recent years.
American Kestrel was missed for the fifth time ever, but
for the fourth time in the last 12 years.
Killdeer was missed for the 12th time.
Red-breasted Nuthatch was missed for just the third time
ever, evidence of the species’ scarcity in the region
this winter.
Ipswich Savannah Sparrow was missed for the 13th time.
Eastern Meadowlark was missed for just the fifth time
ever, but for the fourth time in the last nine years.
Other blackbirds were also a weak point on this year’s
count, with four reasonably expectable species missed
(only Red-wing was found).
Finally, finches were completely absent, except for
House and Goldfinch.
A Black Rail was reported from a mainland site where
they have been reported in prior years (never before on
the CBC), but where crepuscular and nocturnal access is
limited. I’m aware that interest in this species is
intense among birders (it would be a lifebird for me,
too!), but the finders and I agree that discretion is
desirable, at the very least until we have a chance to
discuss matters with the managers of the property.
Shai Mitra Bay Shore
49th Annual Captree Christmas Bird Count
Sunday, December 19th, 2010
The Captree CBC was conducted Sunday, December 19th, 2010 on a very
pleasant winter day for birding.
A couple of bouts of sustained cold prior to the
count produced extensively frozen conditions, including
portions of Great South Bay, and quite a few
ice-sensitive species were scarce or absent.
Highlights among the 119 species tallied included the
following:
December 14th, 2008:
The 47th Captree CBC was conducted today in southwestern Suffolk
County. The weather was good—cold and calm at dawn, warming through
the day under a freshening south-southwest breeze.
The preliminary tally was 127 species, plus Ipswich Sparrow.
There were three species new to the count's cumulative list:
· Barnacle Goose at St. Charles Cemetery, Farmingdale (North)
· Cackling
Geese at four sites:
Belmont Lake SP
Pond behind Duck Pond Inn, Bay
Shore
Bayard Cutting Arboretum
Heckscher SP (Belmont, Estates,
Seatuck, and Heckscher, respectively)
· Monk Parakeets at West Islip (Estates)
Surprises included:
· Bald Eagle at Democrat Pt. (Fire)
· 1 Lesser
Yellowlegs (Estates)
· Northern Saw-whet Owl (Jones)
· Grasshopper
Sparrow at Robert Moses State Park (Fire)
· Lincolns Sparrow at Heckscher SP (Heckscher)
Additional highlights, with territory name in parentheses:
Count
Species
Territory Name
9
-
Snow Goose
(Estates & Heckscher)
1
-
Common Eider
(Fire)
1
-
Harlequin Duck
(Seatuck)
2
-
Common Merganser
(Belmont)
2
-
Black-crowned
Night-Heron
(East & Estates)
1
-
American Kestrel
(North)
1
-
Virginia Rail
(Heckscher)
2
-
Greater Yellowlegs
(Estates)
1
-
Wilsons Snipe
(Estates)
3
-
Black-legged
Kittiwake
(Fire)
2
-
Razorbill
(Fire)
2
-
Snowy Owl
(Fire & Jones)
1
-
Short-eared Owl
(Jones)
1
-
Yellow-bellied
Sapsucker
(Connetquot)
4
-
Brown Creeper
(East, Connetquot,
Belmont, & Heckscher)
2
-
Marsh Wren
(Estates, Heckscher)
12
-
Eastern Bluebird
(Heckscher)
2
-
Brown Thrasher
(Estates & Seatuck)
2
-
Palm Warbler
(North and Fire)
4
-
Chipping Sparrow
(Heckscher & Fire)
1
-
White-crowned Sparrow
(Fire)
1
-
Eastern Meadowlark
(Jones)
1
-
Rusty Blackbird
(Fire)
2
-
Common Grackle
(Connetquot)
2
-
Purple Finch
(Fire)
10
-
Pine Siskin
(Fire & Jones)
Big numbers:
27,500
-
Black Scoter
4,528
-
Long-tailed Duck
4
-
Merlin
120
-
Carolina Wren
10
-
Winter Wren
797
-
American Robin
967
-
White-throated
Sparrow
212
-
Brown-headed Cowbird
361
-
American Goldfinch
Bad misses:
Wood Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Wild Turkey
Great Egret
American Bittern (count-week)