My #GBBC Summary

Usually when the Great Backyard Bird Count comes around, I submit checklists for my backyard each day and augment them by visiting some of the local parks and submitting separate checklists to document the birds there. I was all set to participate as usual this year, but at the start of the weekend, I came down with a nasty toothache. To avoid stressing it more than necessary before I could get to a dentist, I stuck to backyard birding this year.

As one might expect, the number of species per checklist was rather small from my short counts, but I feel they were a representative sample of what is normally present at this time of year. One highlight was watching a small flock of robins work their way through the trees around the yard yesterday afternoon. At the same time, two cardinals were singing (on either side), and some of the male House Finches were singing as well. Combined with the mild temperature, it felt very much like spring already.

Even without much participation from me, my town (Highland Park) is eighteenth in species observed and tied for third in the number of checklists submitted among New Jersey localities as of the time I am writing this post. A total of 151 species have been reported from my state, with Common Grackle being the most numerous (followed closely by Snow Goose and Canada Goose) and Mourning Dove the most frequently reported (followed closely by Northern Cardinal). Those numbers will probably change a bit as more species are reported, but they are in line with past years. By the way, if you recorded birds this weekend but have not reported them yet, now is the time to do it. Checklist submissions will be accepted until March 5.

Great Backyard Bird Count Coming Soon #GBBC

Tomorrow, February 17, is the start of this year's Great Backyard Bird Count. This four-day, continent-wide bird survey is traditionally held on President's Day weekend to give as many birders as possible a chance to participate. As in past years, this year's count aims to account for every species present in North America during the winter. Everyone with an interest in birds is invited to participate, regardless of skill level.

If you are new to the GBBC and plan to do it this year, check out the how to participate page to learn how to record birds and report your observations. The basic idea is that you watch and count birds in one location for at least 15 minutes and then enter the sightings through a form on the GBBC website. The location can be your backyard, out of the window at work (if your office has a window), in a local park, in a nature preserve, or in some other location where birds might show up. Counts can be conducted as a stationary count (like out a window) or a traveling count (like a walk through a park). Each count should be recorded on a separate checklist.

The GBBC website has some useful resources. First, there is a page to learn more about identifying birds. Here are some highlights from the 2011 GBBC. You can download or print a checklist for your zip code, based on what birders there reported in past years.

I encourage all readers to submit at least one checklist during this year's count.

Great Backyard Bird Count: Day 4 #GBBC

Yesterday was mostly gray with a bit of snow and rain. This seemed to make some birds stay under cover, and parts of the local parks became inaccessible due to flooding. On the upside, it brought a lot of birds to the feeders, so there was a steady stream of common birds to watch.

The birds that captured my attention the most were the Mourning Doves. A group of them alternated between perching out on a wire despite the unfavorable conditions and foraging under the bird feeders. Seeing them backlit on a wire against a gray sky emphasizes their shape: a small head and bill, a puffed up body (almost round on some of the birds), and a long, narrow tail. Even with barely any color, they were still recognizable as Mourning Doves.

This Mourning Dove was showing off its warm brown breast feathers and white-tipped tail feathers as it took shelter in the branches of a tree. The feature I found particularly intriguing was the white puff above its bill. It seems that the doves can fluff out those feathers in a way I had not previously noticed. Now matter how many times I have looked at a bird, there is always something new to see!

Yesterday was the last day to observe birds for the Great Backyard Bird Count, but you can continue to enter checklists from the weekend until March 1. So if you watched birds this weekend but have not entered them into the GBBC website yet, make sure you enter them this week!

Great Backyard Bird Count: Day 3 #GBBC

Yesterday I walked through my local patch again to look for new birds for the Great Backyard Bird Count. I did find one that was new for my GBBC lists this year: Carolina Wren. Other than that, I found mostly the same birds as I did on Friday. It is clear that migrating Canada Geese, Mallards, and Ring-billed Gulls are all staging in the area right now. All three continue to appear in higher numbers than they did for the previous few weeks. The goose with a collar on its neck appears to have moved on, since I did not spot it among the 400 geese in the park today. One treat was a close look at some American Robins running and searching for worms in the wet grass. One is pictured above; I have a few more photos at the bottom of this post.

In the evening I took a walk around the neighborhood to see if I could hear any owls. Previously I have heard Great Horned Owls calling a few blocks away, and I am pretty sure that some live in the area even though I have not heard them here for a few years. I had walked a few walks when I was stopped short by the sound of an Eastern Screech Owl calling. I listened and heard it give its tremolo call several more times over the course of a few minutes. After listening long enough to be sure I was hearing an owl rather than some other sound, I kept going in the hopes of find the larger owl species, but I came up empty-handed. Eastern Screech Owl was a new bird for me in New Jersey; I had previously seen them in DC and heard them in Massachusetts.

Great Backyard Bird Count: Day 2 #GBBC

Yesterday morning I did some birding for the Great Backyard Bird Count. Unfortunately, it was extremely windy, and that wind suppressed a lot of bird activity, especially songbird activity and activity in open areas. Gulls did not seem particularly bothered by the wind. They just hunkered down in an open field or played in the wind. Crows, too, seemed to find the wind to their liking. Not many other birds braved the gusts, though. Some Canada Geese and Common Mergansers flew over, but they seemed to have some trouble keeping their formations aligned. Songbirds stayed under cover. I heard a few recognizable cheeps coming from the bushes, but none of their sources popped into view.

There are still two days left for the Great Backyard Bird Count, so there is still time to record and submit checklists if you have not done so already. If you are curious about what birds have been reported so far, you can explore the results on the GBBC website.

Great Backyard Bird Count: Day 1

Yesterday morning I did some birding for the Great Backyard Bird Count. First, I did a short count in the yard. The highlight was a flock of Fish Crows passing overhead. Fish Crows have mostly been absent this winter, except for a stray individual here and there. So it is exciting to see their return, and yesterday's flock was the first I have seen since sometime last year. Blackbird flocks have also returned this week, and a few were around the yard yesterday. They are not yet at their peak migration numbers, when flocks of a thousand or more will sometimes appear in the trees around the house.

I followed that with a walk around the local park. There were no redpolls this time, unfortunately; those birds seem to appear and disappear quickly around here. I did see a lot of sparrows, including a couple of American Tree Sparrows, which I had not seen at that location so far this year. There were more Fish Crows; in fact the Fish Crows outnumbered the American Crows yesterday. A few hundred blackbirds were spread over several flocks. Somewhat surprisingly, Brown-headed Cowbirds outnumbered the others, but Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles both were well represented. Other returning birds included Killdeer, which has been mostly absent this winter. This week the local gull population has been shifting. For most of the winter, Herring Gulls were in the majority by far, with small numbers of Ring-billed Gulls and Great Black-backed Gulls. This week, Ring-billed Gulls have had a clear majority. Yesterday they outnumbered Herring Gulls about 5:1.

One other interesting bird was this Canada Goose, wearing an orange neck collar with the code H8W1. It was with a group of about 20 geese. Most of them were wearing metal leg bands, but this was the lone goose with a neck collar. I took some photos of it and reported the code on the collar to the Bird Banding Laboratory. It will probably take a few weeks before I get a response, but I will post it here when I do.

Great Backyard Bird Count 2011

The upcoming weekend is Presidents Day weekend, and that means that it is time again for the Great Backyard Bird Count! This count is an attempt to record all of the birds found across the United States and Canada over a four-day period. Doing this requires participation from thousands of observers across the continent. During this weekend, people count and report birds in their backyards, in local parks, in wildlife refuges, at the beach, in the mountains, in cities, on farms, or anywhere else where they happen to encounter birds. Anyone can participate, whether a skilled field birder or someone who just started paying attention to birds. In fact, this count more suited to amateur participation than most bird surveys since it uses simplified protocol and checklists are reviewed promptly by one of the many volunteer regional reviewers.

The bird count website has instructions on how to participate. Find a time and a place where you can watch birds for at least 15 minutes. Record the birds that you see and note the number of each species. Then visit http://www.birdcount.org and submit a checklist with your sightings. You can submit as many checklists as you want during the weekend of the count, and each time that you watch birds should be recorded on a separate checklist. If you have further questions about the protocols, check the FAQs.

For more information:

• My blog posts on Great Backyard Bird Counts from previous years
• How to participate
• Highlights from the 2010 Great Backyard Bird Count
• Top ten lists for 2010
• 2010 Results from each state and province

Finally, check out the incredible tally for St. Petersburg, Florida, which reported 1.45 million American Robins over the four days of the count.

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.

A Hybrid Goose Found During the GBBC

Yesterday while watching birds at Johnson Park, I encountered a very odd goose. As you can see from the photo, it has a pale orange bill with a dusky tip, white feathers at the base of the bill, light cheek patch, dark brown crown and neck, grayish brown wings, light undersides with barred flanks, white undertail, and orange legs. The bird is most likely a hybrid, probably the offspring of one of the zoo's domestic Graylag Geese (Anser anser) and one of the semi-wild Canada Geese that forage within the zoo. This is a known hybrid type; Kevin McGowan has documented several examples around Ithaca, New York.

At Johnson Park, the line between "wild" and "domesticated" can be difficult to define. This bird was within the fenced boundaries of the park's zoo, but not within any of the completely enclosed cages. As far as I can tell, the zoo's waterfowl do not have their wings clipped, so that birds inside the fence are not necessarily owned by the zoo, and birds outside the fence are not necessarily wild. Many nominally wild Canada Geese and Mallards congregate around the open water and free food offered within the zoo's fence. While there they mix freely with the zoo's domestic geese and ducks. I have seen birds similar to this one on a few occasions at this and other local parks, so that interaction between wild and domestic birds clearly includes occasional breeding.

Visitors often feed the birds in and around the zoo, so that some of the waterfowl have lost their fear of humans. As I knelt to photograph the hybrid goose, one of the Canada Geese that was with it walked up, stuck its bill through the fence, and started pulling on my glove. It must have expected me to give out food instead of just take pictures.

GBBC Day 3: The Peregrine Show

 

For day 1 and day 2 of the Great Backyard Bird Count, I covered my local patch, Donaldson Park, in addition to some feeder watching. Yesterday I stayed in my town but covered a different location where I rarely bird. The site is a very small nature reserve adjacent to Donaldson Park. It used to be a marina but was purchased and remediated by the county after the marina closed its operations. Now it is covered partially with early-succession vegetation.

On most days one can find a few sparrows around the edges of the site, but yesterday the snow depth forced most of them to seek food elsewhere. (As I was leaving the site later, I found two dozen White-throated Sparrows and one American Tree Sparrow at a house with feeders just outside the site.) I could see that there were still many Common Mergansers on the river. I counted 17 and found one female Hooded Merganser among them. Gulls were also present but in smaller numbers; there were only a few dozen of each of the common species.

As I was watching the gulls, a lot started taking off, and three American Crows arrived and started cawing. This could only mean one thing – a predator. Expecting an eagle, I looked up and instead saw an adult Peregrine Falcon calling loudly and flying slowly over my head in level flight. I watched until it disappeared over the far treeline. A few minutes later it returned, this time accompanied by a second, slightly smaller, adult Peregrine. The size difference was significant enough that I think these were a male and a female. The female continued to call and maintained level flight. The male wove back and forth over and around her, at times appearing to tag her on the back. After disappearing over the trees again, they came back two more times, executing the same maneuvers. This is not listed among the falcon's courtship displays in my raptor books or in Birds of North America. However, it seems likely to be some sort of mating-related aerial play given the time of year and lack of aggression.

Despite walking around the site, I did not add many more birds after seeing the Peregrines. On my way out I saw the sparrows mentioned above and a small flock of Cedar Waxwings. The birds around my home were mostly the same as usual except for a Northern Flicker that flew over the yard. In the evening, I walked around the neighborhood to listen for owls, but I did not hear any.

GBBC Day 2: Hordes of Mergansers

More snow than the Winter Olympics

The last month or so has been very tough for birds in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, with very cold temperatures and several heavy snowstorms. Here in central New Jersey, we have at least a foot of snow on the ground, burying trails and making ground-feeding birds scarce. This creates a challenge for birding, particularly surveying birds for the Great Backyard Bird Count.

For yesterday's GBBC walk, I returned to my local park. With knee-high boots, I was able to wade through the snow and survey some good songbird areas more thoroughly than I had the day before. Almost immediately I came upon a large patch of songbird activity – mostly House Finches, White-throated Sparrows, Blue Jays, House Sparrows, and the like. Then there was one surprise bird, a Gray Catbird. Back in December, we had recorded one for the Raritan Estuary CBC at a different location, but I had not seen one since then, so it was a pleasant surprise to see that one had survived this long through the winter. The flight feathers on this bird appeared rather worn, though that may have been an illusion prompted by the angle at which the bird was holding its wings. Scanning through the two dozen House Finches, I found one bird that was somewhat smaller and more crisply streaked, which turned out to be a Pine Siskin, the first I have seen this winter. Perhaps it got pushed south in the last few weeks.

As I was finishing my songbird counts, I spotted one of the local Red-tailed Hawks fly overhead. A pair has been nesting near the park for several years. On my way towards the river, I could see that the usual horde of gulls was waiting for me. Seeing another gray bird lift up near the river, I first thought just another gull, but then it morphed into a different familiar shape – a Northern Harrier! It was only the second I have seen at that location, in several years of observations.

Canada Geese were again strangely absent. I am not sure where they went, but yesterday there were only 20 along the river. Mallards were in their usual numbers. Common Mergansers, though, were present in much larger numbers than I am used to seeing. There were at least 70, the vast majority of which were males. This is probably low compared to what some areas get, but I usually do not see more than about 10 at a time at this site. It is possible that some birds were forced to relocate to the Raritan's open water by frozen water elsewhere.

There was nothing unusual among the birds around my home, except perhaps for a group of Canada Geese that flew overhead – notable in that I don't usually see them from inside the house. Otherwise it was just the same groups of House Sparrows, House Finches, and Dark-eyed Juncos that usually hang around at the feeders and bushes.

First Day of the GBBC

Yesterday, for various reasons, I was not able to count birds as much as I would have liked. However, I did get a chance to do a bird walk in my local park in the late afternoon. As I mentioned in a previous post, we got a heavy snowstorm this week. There has been some melting since then, but there is still a foot or more of snow on the ground in any unplowed areas. When it comes to birding this means two things. First, my normal birding route through the park is not as passable as I would like, especially without waterproof boots. Second, many ground-feeding birds are harder to find than usual.

Many of the Canada Geese that normally inhabit the park have departed; I am not sure where they went, but only about 100 remained yesterday. On the other hand, gulls seem to be more numerous; a mixed species flock numbering well over 1000 was loafing on the river, either on exposed mudflats or on ice. I estimated about a third were Ring-billed Gulls, and reported 400 Ring-billed Gulls, 800 Herring Gulls, and 17 Great Black-backed Gulls (a species that is easier to pick out and count than the other ones). A flock that large is likely to have some odd gulls, but unfortunately viewing conditions were not favorable for picking them out.

The only songbird I saw in significant numbers was European Starling. One large flock and a few smaller ones flew overhead. There was also a flock of about 15 American Robins, feeding on what little bare ground they could find around the trunks of bushes and trees. Very few other songbirds were present. The river held about a dozen Common Mergansers, a beautiful species that I never tire of seeing.

Overall today was not as productive as I would have liked. This week's snowstorm could produce some interesting results for the Great Backyard Bird Count. Some species might virtually disappear from areas affected by the storm, but there will probably be some strange concentrations elsewhere. It may end up being a good weekend for feeder watching.

Great Backyard Bird Count Coming Soon

Pine Siskin / Photo by Maria Corcacas, NY

This weekend, February 12-15, will be the annual Great Backyard Bird Count. The count is an opportunity for thousands of bird lovers to watch birds and provide observation data for scientists who monitor bird populations. Bird distribution is constantly changing, and a large-scale survey like the GBBC can provide a picture of where birds are located at a single point in time. Last winter was notable for a heavy influx of Pine Siskins into the eastern United States; participants recorded 279,469 siskins on 18,528 checklists, a record year for the species on this count.

Bird watchers of all skill levels are invited to submit sightings. To participate, set aside at least 15 minutes sometime during the weekend of February 12-15. Count all the birds that you see during that period, and report the results on the GBBC website. The website will update in real time, so participants can see what birds are being reported in their towns or states and view maps of recent sightings.

Despite its name, the Great Backyard Bird Count is not solely about backyards. Feeder-watching is probably the activity most associated with the count since it is one of the most common ways that bird lovers interact with birds. If you do not have feeders or a backyard, you can submit checklists for your neighborhood or local parks. Since the count is intended to record all species of North American birds, submissions for wildlife refuges or seawatches are also encouraged. If you already submit sightings to Project FeederWatch or eBird, you can submit those checklists for the GBBC as well.

If you use social media, you can become a fan of the GBBC on Facebook or tweet your sightings on Twitter using the hashtag #gbbc.

The Great Backyard Bird Count is a joint project of the National Audubon Society, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and Bird Studies Canada.

GBBC Wrap-Up

I just submitted my final checklist, containing observations from yesterday, to the Great Backyard Bird Count. The submission form will remain public through the end of the month, so if any readers have bird counts they would like to submit, there is still time to add them.

It looks like my town will finish with 52 species. That's pretty diverse for a 1.8-square-mile town in the middle of winter. The number also excludes some obvious misses. (Where were the Double-crested Cormorants and Belted Kingfishers that we saw on the Christmas Bird Count?)

As for my reviewing assignment, DC finished the weekend with 72 species, including one that I have not seen in the District, White-winged Scoter. As of now, 47 checklists have been submitted, bringing participation in line with previous years.

GBBC Day 3

Yesterday I continued birding around my town to see if I could find any additional species for the Great Backyard Bird Count. The feeders at home had mostly the same species as the past two days, with the highlight being a trio of Pine Siskins on the thistle feeder in the morning.

In the early afternoon I walked around the local park to see what was there. I saw very few Canada Geese, but the local Mallards were still around, including one very manky-looking one that must have some domesticated ancestry. As I was combing through a large flock of House Finches and I happened to look up and saw two very high adult Red-tailed Hawks, both with the wings set and heading due NW. They passed over so high and so quickly that I have to think that these were migrants rather than a local pair. For the rest of my walk, I scoured up some more passerines – nothing unusual, just the standard local ones. The very last species of the walk was a Peregrine Falcon, presumably the local one that hangs out at the bridge.

In the evening, I took a stroll around my neighborhood to see if I could hear any owls, especially the local Great Horned pair. Owls tend to be undercounted on citizen science surveys; this year in New Jersey, Eastern Screech Owl appears on only four checklists and Great Horned Owl on only seven, with one Long-eared and one Short-eared. There must be more findable owls than that in the state. Unfortunately last night I heard no owls along my walking route.

If you have time today, watch some birds and submit a checklist – especially if you have not yet submitted one for this year's count. It's easy, and a great excuse to do some birding for a good cause.

GBBC Update

We are now about halfway through the 2009 Great Backyard Bird Count. Rob says that submissions now match last year's, after there was some worry that this year's count was falling behind last year's pace. (He also presents some dubious evidence for Obama being a birder.) We will not really know until the weekend is over, of course.

It looks like DC is going give me more review work than in previous years, even though submissions seem to be down a bit. So far DC's birders have reported 68 species on 15 checklists. The species count exceeds any previous year for the GBBC in DC.

For my own counts, I have focused on places close to home. I have submitted a few counts from the bird feeders. I felt lucky to record a Pine Siskin on the first day of the count (but look at how many Bev got!). On an afternoon walk around Donaldson Park on Friday, I recorded a Snow Goose, two Cackling Geese, and hundreds of Canada Geese and gulls. Two Egyptian Geese added an exotic flavor. From the nearby "Meadows" preserve, I spotted a Peregrine Falcon fly up to its customary roost underneath the Route 1 bridge. When I arrived back at home, there was a flock of several hundred blackbirds, of all three locally common varieties, waiting for me. If I remember correctly, the first large flocks of blackbirds of 2008 appeared during the Great Backyard Bird Count as well. I like having them back, as it is a sign the rest of the spring migrants will be here soon.

On Saturday, I was down at Cheesequake State Park. There were no unusual birds but overall the diversity was good. I had hoped that perhaps the many conifers around the park would harbor some unusual winter migrants – perhaps some winter finches, or perhaps a Red-breasted Nuthatch. But that was not the case. Instead, there were some Hooded Mergansers, a couple Red-tailed Hawks, a Northern Harrier, and a lot of Carolina Chickadees and Tufted Titmice.

In the afternoon I did some birding around home again, covering some territory I had not covered on Friday. My afternoon walk was mainly notable for large flocks of juncos – I counted 29 in a single flock, and 15 more in a separate flock. I also saw about a dozen American Robins and more large flocks of blackbirds. It feels good to go out and find birds locally.

Last Call for the GBBC

Today is the final day for the Great Backyard Bird Count. Birders may continue to submit sightings online through the end of the month, but the observations must have been made no later than today. Here is how to participate.

There are some interesting photos turning up in the GBBC photo galleries, like this white-headed northern cardinal or this unusual feeder visitor.

GBBC Notes

Yesterday I was up in Hunterdon County and saw a Barnacle Goose at Califon. This goose had previously been reported on JerseyBirds. The species is a major rarity for North America. It breeds in the European Arctic and normally winters in northern Europe. Bird guides state that most individuals of this species roaming in North America are of captive origin, but that some are wild birds. I am not sure how one would distinguish between the two except for obvious things like clipped flight feathers or bands around the neck or legs. The individual in Califon showed none of those things. Assuming that it is a wild bird, this Barnacle Goose is a life bird - the fifth for 2008 (or fourth, depending on who is counting).

The Barnacle Goose is a really beautiful bird, so it is worth seeing even if the NJ Records Committee does not accept the sighting.

Also, since Rob asked for it, I added the sighting to the Great Backyard Bird Count for 2008.

I have further comments up on the GBBC blog.

Wrapping Up the Great Backyard Bird Count

The public reporting period for the Great Backyard Bird Count is now over. Some totals may change in the next few weeks as reviewers finish editing the results and as reports are solicited for missing species. However, the numbers are not likely to change greatly at this point. So let's take a look at this year's local results.

First, here is the list of species reported for the District of Columbia.

Species	Birds	Checklists
Canada Goose	1,642	7
Wood Duck	61	3
American Black Duck	3	1
Mallard	492	12
Redhead	4	1
Lesser Scaup	12	1
Hooded Merganser	12	1
Red-breasted Merganser	1	1
Great Blue Heron	8	2
Turkey Vulture	3	3
Bald Eagle	1	1
Sharp-shinned Hawk	2	1
Cooper's Hawk	10	8
Red-shouldered Hawk	2	2
Red-tailed Hawk	6	4
American Kestrel	4	3
Merlin	3	3
American Coot	6	1
Bonaparte's Gull	4	2
Ring-billed Gull	630	19
Herring Gull	296	2
Great Black-backed Gull	90	1
Rock Pigeon	480	13
Mourning Dove	137	36
Eastern Screech-Owl	1	1
Belted Kingfisher	4	3
Red-bellied Woodpecker	32	18
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	4	4
Downy Woodpecker	47	27
Hairy Woodpecker	6	6
Northern Flicker	14	5
Pileated Woodpecker	7	4
Blue Jay	75	17
American Crow	133	16
Fish Crow	28	4
Carolina Chickadee	52	18
Tufted Titmouse	53	16
White-breasted Nuthatch	49	20
Brown Creeper	5	3
Carolina Wren	56	27
Winter Wren	1	1
Golden-crowned Kinglet	3	2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	3	2
Eastern Bluebird	19	2
Hermit Thrush	4	3
American Robin	951	18
Northern Mockingbird	49	22
Brown Thrasher	5	3
European Starling	981	35
Cedar Waxwing	18	2
Yellow-rumped Warbler	6	1
Eastern Towhee	18	5
American Tree Sparrow	19	4
Field Sparrow	13	3
Fox Sparrow	2	2
Song Sparrow	65	20
Swamp Sparrow	2	1
White-throated Sparrow	304	29
White-crowned Sparrow	3	1
Dark-eyed Junco	259	27
Northern Cardinal	158	32
Common Grackle	2	1
Purple Finch	3	1
House Finch	52	13
American Goldfinch	51	12
House Sparrow	1,067	42
Total	8,533

There are not many surprises in that list. Redheads are fairly unusual for D.C., though a few show up every winter, usually on one of the reservoirs. These appeared in the Constitution Gardens pond, and apparently they were still there as of this afternoon. Merlins spend the winter on the Hains Point golf course, and sometimes appear elsewhere in the city as they forage. Eastern Screech Owl was a nice find for one observer; it was our only owl reported this year. I myself have only ever seen one American Tree Sparrow in D.C.; these birds most likely appeared at a backyard feeder. Fox Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows, and Purple Finches are are in about the numbers I would expect for this city.

This year does present some possible undercounts. First off, many waterbird species are entirely missing as a result of normally open water being frozen over. Thus, no loons or grebes of any species, no Common Mergansers, no Ring-necked Ducks, and no Buffleheads. Lesser Scaup numbers are notably low for February. Aside from the waterbirds being frozen out, there are a few other oddities. No Eastern Phoebes were reported, for the first weekend this year. The proportion of American to Fish Crows seems to me to be a little off; from my experience the relative populations are closer to even. It is possible that inexperienced birders assume American as the default. Blackbirds of all species were notable for their absence; two Common Grackles represented the whole of the icterid clan.

In sum, birders reported a total of 66 species in D.C. via 64 checklists, breaking the previous records of 59 and 51, respectively. The total number of birds also set a new record, which had been 5,162. All three previous records had been set in 2005. The high level of participation was especially encouraging in the light of the adverse conditions during that weekend. Below is the participation map for this year's GBBC.

Reporting locations were distributed fairly evenly around the District, but it is unfortunate that we did not get any reports from east of the Anacostia. I had planned to visit Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens or Anacostia Park myself, but I was a bit scared off by the icy conditions. (I was worried less about the parks than about conditions on the sidewalks and bridges I use to reach the parks.)

One thing that becomes apparent when you compare the results from D.C. from one year to the next is that participation levels vary greatly. In some years - like this year - there have been many checklists submitted and many species reported. In other years, participation has been very low. In one year, the total count of individual birds was under 200! The more birders participate, the more useful the results are likely to be.

You can explore the results from the GBBC further by visiting the project's website.

I reported on my own participation in the count here, here, here, and here.

GBBC Day 4: National Zoo

This afternoon I visited the National Zoo to see if I could round up any additional species for the Great Backyard Bird Count. I was successful in finding a red-shouldered hawk, a species that had gone unreported in D.C until today. It was perched high above the the bird house. Overall, it was a good afternoon for raptors. Aside from the red-shouldered, I also saw two red-tailed hawks and two Cooper's hawks, both species down by the creek. Separating Cooper's and sharp-shinned hawks is always tricky; this afternoon one of the hawks assisted the identification by calling repeatedly. (Cooper's hawks have a deeper and wheezier call.)

My strangest sighting of the day was a great blue heron. It was not particularly close to a body of water - either the creek or a good fishing spot. Instead, it was perched in a tree about fifty feet above the eagle enclosure.

Wood ducks and mallards were present in good numbers. A very large flock of mallards was feeding in the flamingo pond. I estimated about 120, though it was hard to count them because they were so densely packed together and moving around quickly. Almost all of the wood ducks were along the creek. The path by the creek, by the way, is still covered with snow and ice, though it is not as treacherous as the ice around Hains Point or the Arboretum.

I do not have photographs from this afternoon because I forgot to bring my camera with me.

Here is the checklist I submitted:

Wood Duck	45
Mallard	140
Great Blue Heron	1
Cooper's Hawk	2
Red-shouldered Hawk	1
Red-tailed Hawk	2
Ring-billed Gull	2
Red-bellied Woodpecker	4
Downy Woodpecker	3
Hairy Woodpecker	1
Pileated Woodpecker	2
Blue Jay	1
American Crow	3
Fish Crow	4
Carolina Chickadee	2
Tufted Titmouse	4
White-breasted Nuthatch	1
American Robin	60
Northern Mockingbird	2
European Starling	200
Song Sparrow	1
White-throated Sparrow	13
Northern Cardinal	4
House Sparrow	120

As of 8:55 pm, Washington is up to 63 species and 7,847 individuals for the count. So far 50 checklists have been submitted; this is just one short of the D.C. record. You can follow the D.C. results here. Data entry will be open until February 28, so you still have time to submit a report from this weekend if you have not done so already. I will post the final total at that time.