Within the last few days of work before the end of the year I was battling a cold and the urge to get out and bird. Birding won. My first official National Audubon Christmas Bird Count was on Dec. 15th in New Haven. As a little prep for it and to also see if any important birds on West Campus weren't found during the actual count day, I went out on the Friday before to do a mini-CBC here.
I'll just put the list in below but the end results were this. Total bird numbers were down and total species (25) were down, likely do to the lack of berries and fruit out in the wild this winter. Though there were some species lingering probably because of the warmer weather we have been experiencing. It was a fun morning to get outside. Here's the results.
WC CBC-
Sharp-shinned Hawk (1)
Red-tailed Hawk (1)
Ring-billed Gull (2)Herring Gull (8)
Rock Pigeon (9)
Mourning Dove (4)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (2)
Downy Woodpecker (3)
Northern Flicker (1)
Blue Jay (5)
American Crow (27)
Black-capped Chickadee (3)
White-breasted Nuthatch (3)
Carolina Wren (5)
Winter Wren (1)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (3)
American Robin (36)
Gray Catbird (1)
European Starling (6)
Cedar Waxwing (4)
Song Sparrow (3)
White-throated Sparrow (34)
Dark-eyed Junco (15)
Northern Cardinal (6)
American Goldfinch (5)
Nothing was outstanding although the Gray Catbird and Carolina Wren are good birds for this late in the season (at least it found some food). Some interesting misses are the lack of Canada Geese on our grassy areas, House Finch, Fish Crow, and any exceptional winter finches. It really would have been a good time to find a Common Redpoll, Red Crossbill, or White-winged Crossbill. These three finches are irruptive during years of poor seed crops up north.
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| "whitewash"- fecal evidence of an owl... no owl though :-( |
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