Delaware Reservoir Christmas Bird Count: 2008
The pre-dawn of December 14 was overcast and exceptionally dark. Nonetheless , five of the ten teams were in the field to listen for owls and owls were heard and later seen. In fact, Eastern Screech, Great Horned, and Barred Owls were heard, four Barred Owls, the most ever. Later in the day Long-eared (2 which ties the high count of last year) and Short-eared Owls were seen and Sean Williams and Taylor Bliss saw a Saw Whet Owl, a new species for the Delaware Reservoir Count. That gave us six species of owls, the most ever seen on the count.
With the dawn, four more teams joined the count. The tenth team took to the field in the afternoon. Despite the occasional light rain and frozen water there were an unusual abundance of water birds. Great Blue Herons were seen by most teams and the total of 51 was a new high for the Count. Waterfowl were also unusually abundant with new high counts for Canada Geese (2017), Mallards (804), Ring-necked Duck (106), and Redhead (a new species, 2). Additionally, American Black Ducks (88) were just a three individuals below a record number and there were also an American Wigeon and four Lesser Scaup. Most of the waterfowl were on quarry ponds near Radnor.
Several species of woodland birds were also more common than usual. Not only the owls, but also woodpeckers, most notably the Hairy Woodpecker, which set a record with 17 individuals seen. Chickadees were also at record numbers (227), but numbers of many woodland species (e.g., Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, etc.) were above the 21-yr average as seen in the table of Christmas Count data.
Other species of note: Northern Bobwhite were seen for the only the third time in 21 years. Not one, but two Northern Shrikes were seen. Finally, 108 White-throated Sparrows were seen, a new record. White-crowned Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos were also more abundant than usual.
In summary, two new species seen, which brings the species total in 21 years to 110 species. There were nine species seen in previous years that were seen in record numbers and two species for which the number seen tied a previous record. There were no new low counts although several species were conspicuously absent. Among these were Lapland Longspurs, which were everywhere last year, and Snow Buntings, which were almost as abundant. Pine Siskins, which were abundant in November, were seen, but only six. Where did they go? The vagaries of winter bird populations are what make the counts so very interesting.
Once again our species total was 66. That is the most we have ever seen, but we have seen 66 species in four of the last five years. We had 40 observers and 10 parties participating, the most we have had, but we have had that many in two of the last three years. Lets try to add a couple more observers, another party and four more species in 2009.
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On a final note, Kirsten Lehtoma won the Horned Lark trophy for the second year in a row. While the editorial staff is not at liberty to reveal her secret we are informed by reliable sources that she had developed a mathematical formula based on the weather that allows her to calculate the number of Horned Larks that will visit the count circle on the day of the Count. Congratulations to Kristen.
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| Species | 2008 |
| Common Loon | 0 |
| Pied-billed Grebe | 0 |
| Horned Grebe | 0 |
| Great Blue Heron | 51 |
| Tundra Swan | 0 |
| Swan spp. | 0 |
| Canada Goose | 2017 |
| Snow Goose | 0 |
| Northern Pintail | 0 |
| Wood Duck | 0 |
| Green-winged Teal | 0 |
| Am. Black Duck | 88 |
| Mallard | 804 |
| Gadwall | 0 |
| Am. Wigeon | 1 |
| Ring-necked Duck | 106 |
| Redhead | 2 |
| Lesser Scaup | 4 |
| scaup spp. | 1 |
| Common Goldeneye | 0 |
| Bufflehead | 0 |
| Hooded Merganser | 0 |
| C. Merganser | 0 |
| Red-br. Merg. | 0 |
| Ruddy Duck | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 |
| N. Harrier | 22 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 12 |
| Accipiter sp. | 3 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 |
| Red-shld. Hawk | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 46 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 1 |
| Buteo sp. | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 |
| Am. Kestrel | 30 |
| Ring-necked Pheasant | 11 |
| Wild Turkey | 2 |
| Northern Bobwhite | 1 |
| Killdeer | 1 |
| Laughing Gull | 0 |
| Bonaparte’s Gull | 0 |
| Ring-billed Gull | 71 |
| Herring Gull | 0 |
| Rock Pigeon | 196 |
| Mourning Dove | 290 |
| American Coot | 0 |
| E. Screech Owl | 4 |
| Gr. Horned Owl | 6 |
| Barred Owl | 4 |
| Short-eared Owl | 2 |
| Long-eared Owl | 2 |
| Saw-Whet Owl | 1 |
| Belted Kingfisher | 10 |
| Red-headed Wdp. | 0 |
| Red-bellied Wdp. | 69 |
| Yellow-blld. Sapsucker | 1 |
| Downy Wdp. | 104 |
| Hairy Wdp. | 17 |
| N. Flicker | 30 |
| Pileated Wdp. | 3 |
| Horned Lark | 133 |
| Blue Jay | 113 |
| Am. Crow | 134 |
| chickadee sp. | 227 |
| Carolina Chickadee | 5 |
| Black-capped Chick. | 0 |
| Tufted Titmouse | 47 |
| Red-br. Ntch. | 0 |
| White-br. Ntch. | 92 |
| Brown Creeper | 17 |
| Carolina Wren | 32 |
| Winter Wren | 0 |
| Golden-cwnd. Kglt. | 0 |
| Ruby-cwnd. Kglt. | 0 |
| E. Bluebird | 25 |
| Am. Robin | 140 |
| N. Mockingbird | 9 |
| Gray Catbird | 0 |
| American Pipit | 0 |
| Cedar Waxwing | 190 |
| E. Starling | 3429 |
| Northern Shrike | 2 |
| shrike sp. | 0 |
| Yellow-rumped W. | 28 |
| Palm W. | 0 |
| Common Yellowthroat | 0 |
| N. Cardinal | 297 |
| Eastern Towhee | 3 |
| Am. Tree Sp. | 303 |
| Fox Sp. | 1 |
| Field Sp. | 0 |
| Chipping Sparrow | 0 |
| Song Sp. | 74 |
| Swamp Sp. | 5 |
| White-thr. Sp. | 108 |
| White-cr. Sp. | 50 |
| Dark-eyed Junco | 468 |
| Lapland Longspur | 0 |
| Snow Bunting | 0 |
| Red-winged Blkb. | 5 |
| Eastern Meadowlark | 0 |
| Rusty Blkb. | 0 |
| Brewer’s Blackbird | 0 |
| Common Grackle | 5 |
| Brown-hd. Cowbird | 17 |
| Purple Finch | 0 |
| House Finch | 193 |
| C. Redpoll | 0 |
| Pine Siskin | 6 |
| Am. Goldfinch | 242 |
| Evening Grosbeak | 0 |
| House Sp. | 605 |
| Total individuals | 11019 |
| 2008 | |
| Total species | 65 |
| Observers | 39 |
| Parties | 10 |
| Total party hr. | 83.8 |
| Owling hr. | 8.8 |
| Party miles | 532 |
2008 Christmas Card Bird Count
This year the count was conducted along State Routes 23 and 35 south from Columbus south to the Ohio River. The count was done entirely from the car and distance covered was approximately 93 miles. The weather was a mix of snow, sleet, freezing rain, and overcast. We had to delay some of the verifications of species until later as Pam, who was driving was not able to study the species carefully at the time of opening.
The list was unusually diverse. Whether this was due to the severe weather affecting postal delivery or the diversity of habitats along the roadside is uncertain. The species are as follows (in alphabetical order by common name):
American Goldfinch 1
Black-billed Magpie 1
Bohemian Waxwing 1
Canada Goose 9
Chickadees (spp.?) 2
Common Goldeneye 2
Emperor Penguin 1
European Robin 1
Evening Grosbeak 1
Japanese Crane 1
Lesser Snow Goose 1
Northern Cardinal 5 males 3 females
Osprey 3
Pine Grosbeak 2
Red Crossbill 2
Rock Pigeon (albino) 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Saw Whet Owl 1
Snow Bunting 4
Snowy Owl 2
The diversity is higher than usual due primarily to the influx of northern species (e.g., grosbeaks, crossbills, Snow Buntings, etc.), but despite the northern bias an Emperor Penguin showed up, possibly having a hard time walking on the icy roads. As usual cardinals were the most abundant species, with males predominating. This was the first time Osprey had been seen on the count and, oddly enough, all three were juveniles despite it being early winter.
This is the tenth Count. The number of observers remains at two, but the species total has been creeping up. It now stands at 43. Happy New Year to all!!