Sunday, February 28, 2010

Wrapping up the Great Backyard Bird Count

Though the Great Backyard Bird Count ended on February 15th, online data entry remained open for a time to allow birders enough time to submit reports. The deadline for submitting sightings is tomorrow, March 1st. If you have any extra checklists to submit, now is the time to do it.

The Audubon Magazine blog has a summary of the early results. Some of the unusual reports included Yellow-billed Loon, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Rustic Bunting, and Rufous-capped Warbler. You can see what else was reported on the GBBC's "explore the results" page.

Among the things you can see on that results page are the species reported in each state and locality. The lists are sortable, so it is easy to see which birds have been reported the most at a variety of geographic levels. You can also see data presented in map form and view reports for individual species. Below are two tables of  species reported in New Jersey.

The first shows the species that were reported in the greatest numbers.

Species Number of Birds Number of Checklists
Canada Goose 36408 426
American Crow 25306 716
Dark-eyed Junco 17439 1930
Common Grackle 16458 586
European Starling 13068 994
Snow Goose 10152 30
American Robin 8349 678
House Sparrow 8295 1039
White-throated Sparrow 7900 1204
Mourning Dove 7294 1507

The second shows the species reported on the most checklists.

Species Number of Birds Number of Checklists
Dark-eyed Junco 17439 1930
Northern Cardinal 5233 1797
Mourning Dove 7294 1507
Blue Jay 4836 1472
Tufted Titmouse 3869 1415
Downy Woodpecker 2153 1276
White-throated Sparrow 7900 1204
House Sparrow 8295 1039
European Starling 13068 994
House Finch 4349 972

There is nothing surprising on New Jersey's top ten lists. Birds like Snow Goose and Canada Goose gather in large flocks, so they appear in large numbers on relatively few checklists. Downy Woodpecker and Tufted Titmouse range widely, so they show up on many checklists, but birders usually only see one or two at a time, so they appear in the GBBC results in smaller numbers than other common birds.

One question going into this year's GBBC was how much the Pine Siskin count would differ from last year. In 2009, the GBBC recorded 7,848 Pine Siskins on 664 checklists in New Jersey. This year, New Jersey birders reported 185 siskins on 52 checklists. The difference is remarkable and emphasizes just how extraordinary last year's irruption was.