Raritan Estuary CBC 2008

Yesterday my mother, sister, and I participated in the 2008 Raritan Estuary Christmas Bird Count. As we have for the past several years (see previous accounts from 2005, 2006, and 2007), we covered a section along the Raritan River in Highland Park and Piscataway. One additional birder joined us this year, so we were able to split into two equal parties to cover our territory more thoroughly.

Despite our best efforts, the numbers of many species seemed down this year. Whether it was the balmy temperatures, the general gloominess of the day, or some other combination of factors, birds were not active or vocalizing in the morning. We had record lows among Song Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos. Songbirds generally seemed scarcer than usual in both numbers and species.

All was not gloom, however. We had two new species for our section: Green-winged Teal, found by my sister in a Johnson Park pond, and Brown-headed Cowbird. Raptors included a Peregrine Falcon and eight Red-tailed Hawks. One of the latter, a local nester, was almost all white, matching what Brian Wheeler describes as "incomplete albinism." We flushed another (normal) Red-tailed Hawk, which flew off clutching a squirrel. Aside from that, the many flocks of geese, gulls, and starlings kept us busy counting.

We ended the count day by watching an adult Bald Eagle harass gulls in Donaldson Park.

Species	Number
Canada Goose	1795
American Black Duck	3
Mallard	76
Green-winged Teal	2
Common Goldeneye	10
Hooded Merganser	2
Common Merganser	19
Double-crested Cormorant	5
Great Cormorant	2
Great Blue Heron	2
Black Vulture	2
Turkey Vulture	6
Bald Eagle	1
Red-tailed Hawk	8
Peregrine Falcon	1
Killdeer	1
Ring-billed Gull	163
Herring Gull	315
Great Black-backed Gull	396
Gull-sp.	220
Rock Pigeon	37
Mourning Dove	69
Belted Kingfisher	4
Red-bellied Woodpecker	2
Downy Woodpecker	3
Hairy Woodpecker	1
Northern Flicker	7
American Crow	7
Fish Crow	12
Crow-sp.	6
Black-capped Chickadee	2
Tufted Titmouse	5
Brown Creeper	2
Carolina Wren	10
American Robin	17
Northern Mockingbird	1
European Starling	474
Song Sparrow	17
White-throated Sparrow	60
Dark-eyed Junco	20
Northern Cardinal	10
Red-winged Blackbird	12
Brown-headed Cowbird	6
House Finch	65
American Goldfinch	18
House Sparrow	35
Total Species	44
Total Individuals	3931