Special thanks to Tony Licata for organizing the Christmas Bird Count again this year and compiling the following report. It was a great year! For more information or if you are interested in volunteering for next year’s count, contact Tony at aflicata02@gmail.com.
Thank you all for helping on the 2021 Christmas Bird Count on December 18th.
Some interesting observations:
Due to later migration, lingering COVID19-19 pandemic and partly cloudy skies with breezy winds, our total count was DOWN to 12053, a 47% decrease compared to 22865 in 2020; 16446 in 2019; 22330 in 2018; 19,247 in 2017; 21,266 in 2016; 23,272 in 2015. The decrease in numbers in 2021 was due to a 99% decrease in Lesser Scaup 151 versus 11,705 in 2020. An increase of 88% in European Starlings lessened the decrease.
On count day we saw 127 species, an increase of 2% versus 125 in 2020; 120 in 2019; 136 in 2018; 137 in 2017; 140 in 2016; 133 in 2015; 125 in 2014; 143 in 2013. For count week we saw 137 species, an increase of 1% versus 135 in 2020; 125 in 2019; 140 in 2018; 144 in 2017; 145 in 2016; 133 in 2015.
Even though the pandemic lowered the number of participants, we had over 60 participants who spent 100 hours in search of birds by foot, car, golf cart, or boat, and covered over 425 miles by land or sea.
Of note, we recorded on count day for the first time ever five species: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Canada Goose, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Cinnamon Teal and Cinnamon/Blue-winged Teal.
Of the birds we did see, there were 17 species that had at least a 65% decline: Bluebird, Indigo Bunting, Harrier, Scrub Jay, Killdeer, Meadowlark, Great-horned Owl, Semipalmated Plover, Sapsucker, Lesser Scaup, Skimmer, Forster’s Tern, Sandwich Tern, Towhee, Yellow-throated Warbler, Willet, and Greater Yellowlegs.
Counts were up at least 200% for 13 species including Red-winged Blackbird, Coot, Brown-headed Cowbird, Mallard, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Herring Gull, Loon, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Brown Pelican,Least Sandpiper, Roseate Spoonbill, Royal Tern and Tufted Titmouse.
There can be wide fluctuations in counts from one year to the next as with Brown-headed Cowbirds, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Least Sandpiper, Roseate Spoonbill, and Royal Tern, which declined more than 65% in 2020, but rose more than 200% in 2021. The opposite held true for Scrub Jay,and Lesser Scaup which increased more than 200% in 2020, but declined more than 65% in 2021.
2021 The top 10 birds 2020 The top 10 birds
accounting for 59% of the total sightings were: accounting for 79% of the total sightings were:
1. European Starling 1467 (12%) 1. Lesser Scaup 11705 (51%)
2. Mourning Dove 944 2. Mourning Dove 945
3. White Ibis 894 3. Double-crested Cormorant 898
4. Tree Swallow 867 4. White Ibis 846
5. Double-crested Cormorant 742 5. European Starling 782
6. Boat-tailed Grackle 716 6. Boat-tailed Grackle 771
7. Common Grackle 502 7. Common Grackle 756
8. Laughing Gull 391 8. Tree Swallow 528
9. Black Vulture 270 9. Turkey Vulture 469
10. Turkey Vulture 261 10. Laughing Gull 393
Black Vulture was added to the top ten, while Lesser Scaup was deleted; otherwise all the other species just changed their rankings.
The following 5 birds had equal to or higher totals than in any of the last 20 years: Northern Cardinal, Purple Gallinule, Short-tailed Hawk, Ovenbird and Tufted Titmouse.
There were 17 birds that are seen occasionally which we did not record through count week in the last two years: American Bittern, Canvasback, Short-billed Dowitcher, Dunlin, Marbled Godwit, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red Knot, Burrowing Owl, American Redstart, Northern Shoveler, Grasshopper Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Hermit Thrush, Cedar Waxwing, American Wigeon, Marsh Wren and Sedge Wren.
If you are interested, I can send you the 20 year comparison.
Again, thank you all for helping on the count this year. If I have missed anyone please forward the email to them.
Tony Licata
| Common Name of bird | 2021 | % 21 to 20 | 2020 |
| Anhinga | 95 | -22% | 122 |
| Bittern American | 0 | 0 | |
| Bittern Least | 0 | 3 | |
| Blackbird Brewer’s | 0 | 0 | |
| Blackbird Red-winged | 112 | 331% | 26 |
| Blackbird Rusty | 0 | 0 | |
| Blackbird Yellow-headed | cw | ||
| Bluebird Eastern | 2 | -82% | 11 |
| Bobwhite Northern | 0 | -100% | 21 |
| Bufflehead | 0 | cw | |
| Bunting Indigo | 3 | -67% | 9 |
| Bunting, Painted | 6 | 20% | 5 |
| Canvasback | 0 | 0 | |
| Caracara, Crested | 0 | -100% | 2 |
| Cardinal Northern | 96 | 75% | 55 |
| Catbird Gray | 64 | -42% | 111 |
| Coot American | 57 | 714% | 7 |
| Cormorant Double-crested | 742 | -17% | 898 |
| Cowbird Brown-headed | 28 | 2700% | 1 |
| Cowbird Shiny | 0 | 0 | |
| Crane Sandhill | 32 | 100% | 16 |
| Crow American | 57 | -42% | 98 |
| Crow Fish | 217 | -4% | 227 |
| Dove Common Ground | 43 | 65% | 26 |
| Dove Eurasian Collared | 176 | 151% | 70 |
| Dove Mourning | 944 | 0% | 945 |
| Dove Ringed Turtle | 0 | 0 | |
| Dove Rock (Rock Pigeon) | 74 | 196% | 25 |
| Dove, White-winged | 55 | -34% | 83 |
| Dowitcher Short-billed | 0 | 0 | |
| Dowitcher Long-billed | 0 | -100% | 56 |
| Duck Mallard | 9 | 200% | 3 |
| Duck Mottled | 204 | 20% | 170 |
| Duck, Mallard/Mottled | 1 | 0 | |
| Duck Muscovy | 56 | 24% | 45 |
| Duck Ring-necked | 50 | *** | cw |
| Duck Ruddy | 0 | -100% | 1 |
| Duck Whistling-Black Bellied | 238 | 1090% | 20 |
| Duck, Wood | 0 | 0 | |
| Dunlin | 0 | 0 | |
| Eagle Bald | 23 | 5% | 22 |
| Egret Cattle | 170 | 95% | 87 |
| Egret Great | 114 | -7% | 123 |
| Egret Reddish | 0 | 0 | |
| Egret Snowy | 51 | -14% | 59 |
| Falcon, Peregrine | 0 | 0 | |
| Finch, House | 3 | 0% | 3 |
| Flicker Northern (Yellow-shafted) | 6 | -45% | 11 |
| Flycatcher Great Crested | 1 | -50% | 2 |
| Flycatcher, Least | 0 | 0 | |
| Flycatcher, Scissor-tailed | 1 | *** | |
| Frigatebird Magnificent | 1 | *** | 0 |
| Gadwall | 0 | 0 | |
| Gallinule Common | 91 | -27% | 124 |
| Gallinule Purple | 3 | *** | 0 |
| Gnatcatcher Blue-gray | 138 | -2% | 141 |
| Godwit, Marbled | 0 | 0 | |
| Goldeneye Common | 0 | 0 | |
| Goldfinch American | cw | 36 | |
| Goose Canada | 1 | *** | |
| Goose Snow | 0 | 0 | |
| Grackle Boat-tailed | 716 | -7% | 771 |
| Grackle Common | 502 | -34% | 756 |
| Grebe Eared | 0 | 0 | |
| Grebe Horned | 0 | cw | |
| Grebe Pied-billed | 29 | 93% | 15 |
| Gull Bonaparte’s | 0 | 0 | |
| Gull Franklin’s | 0 | 0 | |
| Gull Great Black-backed | 0 | 0 | |
| Gull Lesser Black-backed | 1 | *** | |
| Gull Herring | 21 | 425% | 4 |
| Gull Laughing | 391 | -1% | 393 |
| Gull Ring-billed | 132 | 181% | 47 |
| Harrier Northern | 1 | -80% | 5 |
| Hawk Cooper’s | 2 | cw | |
| Hawk Red-shouldered | 32 | -42% | 55 |
| Hawk Red-tailed | 4 | 0% | 4 |
| Hawk Sharp-shinned | cw | cw | |
| Hawk, Short-tailed | 4 | *** | cw |
| Hawk,Broad-winged | 0 | 0 | |
| Hawk, Swainson’s | 0 | 0 | |
| Heron Great Blue (Blue form) | 67 | -30% | 96 |
| Heron Great Blue (White form) | 0 | 0 | |
| Heron Green | 16 | 78% | 9 |
| Heron Little Blue | 143 | 101% | 71 |
| Heron Tricolored | 29 | 7% | 27 |
| Hummingbird Ruby-throated | 1 | *** | 0 |
| Ibis Glossy | 84 | -38% | 136 |
| Ibis White | 894 | 6% | 846 |
| Jay Blue | 116 | -8% | 126 |
| Jay Scrub | 2 | -90% | 21 |
| Kestrel American | 21 | 62% | 13 |
| Killdeer | 27 | -70% | 89 |
| Kingbird,Eastern | 0 | 0 | |
| Kingfisher Belted | 26 | 73% | 15 |
| Kinglet Ruby-crowned | 1 | *** | 0 |
| Kite Snail | 1 | 0% | 1 |
| Knot Red | 0 | 0 | |
| Limpkin | 22 | 10% | 20 |
| Loon Common | 4 | 300% | 1 |
| Meadowlark Eastern | 7 | -76% | 29 |
| Merganser Hooded | 15 | 0% | 15 |
| Merganser Red-breasted | 47 | *** | 0 |
| Merlin | 2 | *** | 0 |
| Mockingbird Northern | 205 | -6% | 219 |
| Night-Heron Black-crowned | 7 | -36% | 11 |
| Night-Heron Yellow-crowned | 21 | 200% | 7 |
| Nuthatch Brown-headed | 4 | *** | cw |
| Oriole, Northern | 0 | 0 | |
| Osprey | 62 | 17% | 53 |
| Ovenbird | 2 | 100% | 1 |
| Owl Burrowing | 0 | 0 | |
| Owl Eastern Screech | 0 | cw | |
| Owl Great Horned | 1 | -67% | 3 |
| Owl,Barred | 0 | -100% | 2 |
| Owl, Barn | 0 | 0 | |
| Oystercatcher American | 0 | 0 | |
| Parakeet Monk | 20 | -17% | 24 |
| Parula, Northern | cw | 3 | |
| Pelican Brown | 148 | 229% | 45 |
| Pelican White | 9 | 13% | 8 |
| Phoebe Eastern | 24 | -8% | 26 |
| Pintail Northern | 0 | 0 | |
| Pipit, American | 0 | 0 | |
| Plover Black-bellied | 2 | *** | 0 |
| Plover Semipalmated | 18 | -75% | 71 |
| Rail Clapper | 1 | *** | 0 |
| Rail, King | 0 | -100% | 1 |
| Rail, Virginia | 0 | -100% | 1 |
| Redhead | 0 | -100% | 1 |
| Redstart, American | 0 | 0 | |
| Robin American | cw | 94 | |
| Sanderling | 8 | *** | 0 |
| Sandpiper Least | 29 | 1350% | 2 |
| Sandpiper Spotted | 8 | -27% | 11 |
| Sandpiper Western | 0 | 0 | |
| Sapsucker Yellow-bellied | 1 | -80% | 5 |
| Scaup Lesser | 151 | -99% | 11705 |
| Scaup, Greater | 0 | 0 | |
| Scoter, Black | 0 | 0 | |
| Shoveler Northern | 0 | 0 | |
| Shrike Loggerhead | 166 | -1% | 167 |
| Skimmer Black | 8 | -90% | 77 |
| Snipe, Wilson’s | 5 | 0% | 5 |
| Sora | cw | cw | |
| Sparrow Bachman’s | cw | *** | 0 |
| Sparrow Chipping | 0 | 0 | |
| Sparrow Grasshopper | 0 | 0 | |
| Sparrow House | 23 | 44% | 16 |
| Sparrow Savannah | 4 | 100% | 2 |
| Sparrow Song | 0 | 0 | |
| Sparrow Swamp | 0 | -100% | 3 |
| Sparrow, Vesper | 0 | 0 | |
| Sparrow, White-throated | 0 | 0 | |
| Spoonbill Roseate | 6 | 500% | 1 |
| Starling European | 1467 | 88% | 782 |
| Stork Wood | 40 | 11% | 36 |
| Swallow Barn | 0 | 0 | |
| Swallow Northern Rough-winged | 0 | 0 | |
| Swallow Tree | 867 | 64% | 528 |
| Swan Mute | 0 | 0 | |
| Tanager, Scarlet | 0 | 0 | |
| Tanager, Summer | cw | *** | 0 |
| Teal Blue-winged | 48 | 41% | 34 |
| Teal Cinnamon | 1 | *** | |
| Teal Cinnamon/Bluewinged Hybrid | 1 | *** | |
| Teal Green-winged | 0 | -100% | 1 |
| Tern Caspian | 0 | 0 | |
| Tern Common | 0 | 0 | |
| Tern Forster’s | 1 | -94% | 17 |
| Tern Royal | 117 | 485% | 20 |
| Tern Sandwich | 1 | -80% | 5 |
| Thrasher Brown | 1 | 0% | 1 |
| Thrush Hermit | 0 | 0 | |
| Titmouse Tufted | 9 | 350% | 2 |
| Towhee Eastern | 6 | -65% | 17 |
| Turkey Wild | 0 | 0 | |
| Turnstone Ruddy | 2 | *** | cw |
| Vireo, Bell’s | 0 | -100% | 1 |
| Vireo, Solitary (Blue-headed) | 1 | -50% | 2 |
| Vireo White-eyed | 5 | -17% | 6 |
| Vireo Yellow-throated | 0 | 0 | |
| Vulture Black | 270 | -19% | 332 |
| Vulture Turkey | 261 | -44% | 469 |
| Warbler Black-and-white | 6 | 20% | 5 |
| Warbler, Orange-crowned | 0 | -100% | 1 |
| Warbler Palm | 168 | 5% | 160 |
| Warbler Pine | 210 | 64% | 128 |
| Warbler Prairie | 1 | -50% | 2 |
| Warbler Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) | 168 | -45% | 306 |
| Warbler Yellow-throated | 3 | -70% | 10 |
| Warbler Yellow | 0 | 0 | |
| Warbler Black-throated Blue | 0 | 0 | |
| Waxwing Cedar | 0 | 0 | |
| Whip-poor-will | 0 | -100% | 1 |
| Wigeon, American | 0 | 0 | |
| Willet | 2 | -78% | 9 |
| Woodcock, American | 0 | 0 | |
| Woodpecker Downy | 6 | -45% | 11 |
| Woodpecker Hairy | cw | 1 | |
| Woodpecker Pileated | 9 | -44% | 16 |
| Woodpecker Red-bellied | 78 | -25% | 104 |
| Woodpecker Red-cockaded | 2 | -33% | 3 |
| Woodpecker Red-headed | 1 | 0% | 1 |
| Wren Carolina | 18 | 13% | 16 |
| Wren House | 11 | -21% | 14 |
| Wren Sedge | cw | *** | 0 |
| Wren,Marsh | 0 | 0 | |
| Yellowlegs Greater | 3 | -67% | 9 |
| Yellowlegs Lesser | 3 | 50% | 2 |
| Yellowthroat Common | 9 | -57% | 21 |
| Yearly Totals | 12053 | -47% | 22866 |
| number of species | 127 | 2% | 125 |
| including count week | 137 | 1% | 135 |