2014 Boston CBC - good weather, fair birding in the JP sector
This year’s Boston Christmas Bird Count went off without a hitch on Sunday December 12th; last year’s count had to be postponed because of a bad snowstorm. No weather problems this year, but the birding did not match the weather. This was the 114th CBC in the Jamaica Plain sector. We fielded eight birders to work the birding hot spots from the Landmark Center on the Riverway up the Emerald Necklace thru Franklin Park, including Forest Hills Cemetery and ending up at Mass Audubon’s Boston Nature Center in Mattapan. A hardy (or foolish) threesome from the group began at 4:30 AM seeking owls; they then joined the others at Jamaica Pond at 7:00 AM and we finished up at 3:00 PM. Later that evening a final listing of all the birds seen in the 15 mile diameter Boston circle was compiled.
The Jamaica Plain species count was 49 for the day. The species with the highest numbers in JP was Canada Goose –1169 to be exact. Most of those were found on the golf course in Franklin Park; local golfers will not be happy to hear that! We also tallied 82 robins, 59 chickadees and 45 doves. Some of our “best” birds were a Gadwall duck and a House Wren, both in Franklin Park. Other “good” birds were seen in the Arnold Arboretum. Oddly, three of them were found within six feet of each other; Orange-crowned Warbler, Hermit Thrush and Gray Catbird. Catbirds are a very common migratory bird in Boston during the spring and summer, but by early fall they all head south . All but this one- it was the only catbird seen in Boston in this year’s CBC! Stragglers like this have a very tough haul to reach the spring sunshine; he or she will probably perish over the long cold winter. That tempers the excitement of finding an out-of-season bird.
Just as there were some great finds in JP, there were unexpected misses as well. Most surprising, the two hours of “owling” in the early dawn came up empty. We seldom fail to find at least a few Eastern Screech-owls and Great Horned Owls on the JP CBC. This doesn’t mean they weren’t there, just that they didn’t respond to imitations of their calls or show themselves in the developing light. One of our group, who lives on the edge of Forest Hills Cemetery, actually heard two Great Horned Owls calling to each other just two days after the Sunday count. Note that this year Boston had an all time high count for Great Horned Owl- 18.
Below is the official list of birds recorded in the full Boston Count. I have highlighted some of the special birds that our local group added to the count. All of this information will be compiled into a data set for all of North America and much of Central and South America.
The CBC provides highly significant information on those bird species that are increasing in number or becoming endangered, as well as showing geographic shifts in response to climate change or habitat loss.
Here is the BCBC list and summary, compiled by Bob Stymeist who has been leading this effort for many years:
Greater Boston Christmas Bird Count
The 42nd Greater Boston Christmas Bird Count (CBC) (actually the 114th- Belmont, Jamaica Plain and Winchester have been covered since the very first CBC in 1900!) was held yesterday with very nice weather conditions. We recorded 120 species and so far there were an additional NINE species that were seen within count period. We added ONE new species to the overall list- a Semipalmated Plover that was found and photographed on Thompson Island, this brings the total number of species seen on the Boston CBC to 229! We had all time high counts for: Cackling Goose-2, Northern Shoveler-11 Ruddy Duck-310, Wild Turkey-125, Common Loon-107, Peregrine Falcon-11, Great Horned Owl-18, Downy Woodpecker-382, Northern Flicker-46, White-breasted Nuthatch-358, Carolina Wren-115, House Wren-3, Winter Wren- 11, and Orange-crowned Warbler-8
There were many highlights: Cackling Goose 2 at Clay Pit Pond, Belmont, Harlequin Duck in Winthrop, the Barrow’s Goldeneye from Deer Island, Rough-legged Hawk 2 from Saugus, the Semipalmated Plover on Thompson Island, 14 Snowy Owls (13 at Logan, 1 in Saugus), House Wrens in three areas, and an Indigo Bunting in Newton. And as always the case a few birds were surprisingly missed; big misses were Lesser Scaup, Sanderling, and Bonaparte’s Gull.
Thanks to the over 115 birders who canvassed the area to make the count successful. 120 species plus nine additional birds seen during count week but not on count day
- Brant 61
- Cackling Goose 2
- Canada Goose 5417
- Mute Swan 68
- Wood Duck 4 2 Leverett Pond
- Gadwall 8 1 Scarborough Pond, Franklin Park
- American Wigeon 4
- American Black Duck 561
- Mallard 2041
- Northern Shoveler 17
- Northern Pintail 1
- Green-winged Teal 11
- Canvasback 1
- Ring-necked Duck 190
- Greater Scaup 315
- Lesser Scaup CW (Count Week)
- Common Eider 1487
- Harlequin Duck 1 Winthrop
- Surf Scoter 548
- White-winged Scoter 534
- Black Scoter 82
- Long-tailed Duck 42
- Bufflehead 629
- Common Goldeneye 157
- Barrow’s Goldeneye 1 Deer Island
- Hooded Merganser 372
- Common Merganser 323
- Red-breasted Merganser 282
- Ruddy Duck 310
- Ring-necked Pheasant CW Watertown
- Wild Turkey 125
- Red-throated Loon 62
- Common Loon 107
- Pied-billed Grebe 8 6 Jamaica Pond
- Horned Grebe 121
- Red-necked Grebe 7
- Northern Gannet 3
- Double-crested Cormorant 46
- Great Cormorant 2
- Great Blue Heron 38
- Black-crowned Night-Heron CW
- Northern Harrier 2
- Sharp-shinned Hawk 5
- Cooper’s Hawk 21
- Bald Eagle 2
- Red-tailed Hawk 107
- Rough-legged Hawk 2
- American Coot 176 44 Jamaica Pond
- Semipalmated Plover 1
- Greater Yellowlegs 1
- Ruddy Turnstone 2
- Dunlin 54
- Purple Sandpiper 5
- Wilson’s Snipe 1
- Black Guillemot 2
- Ring-billed Gull 1512
- Herring Gull 2845
- Iceland Gull CW
- Lesser Black-backed Gull 1
- Great Black-backed Gull 270
- Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 1710
- Mourning Dove 704
- Eastern Screech-Owl 23
- Great Horned Owl 18
- Snowy Owl 14- 13 at Logan, 1 in Saugus
- Barred Owl 2
- Belted Kingfisher 9
- Red-bellied Woodpecker 51
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2
- Downy Woodpecker 382
- Hairy Woodpecker 34
- Northern Flicker 46
- American Kestrel 4
- Merlin 4
- Peregrine Falcon 11
- Monk Parakeet CW
- Blue Jay 617
- American Crow 385
- Fish Crow 36 35 Franklin Field
- Common Raven 1
- Horned Lark 59
- Black-capped Chickadee 1044
- Tufted Titmouse 327
- Red-breasted Nuthatch 3 2 Arnold Arboretum
- White-breasted Nuthatch 358
- Brown Creeper 21
- House Wren 3 1 Franklin Park
- Winter Wren 11
- Marsh Wren 1
- Carolina Wren 176
- Golden-crowned Kinglet 18
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2
- Eastern Bluebird 3
- Hermit Thrush 18 1 Arnold Arboretum
- American Robin 3388
- Gray Catbird 1 Arnold Arboretum
- Northern Mockingbird 118
- European Starling 5850
- American Pipit CW
- Cedar Waxwing 24
- Lapland Longspur 1
- Snow Bunting 67
- Ovenbird 1
- Orange-crowned Warbler 8 1 Arnold Arboretum
- Palm Warbler 1
- Pine Warbler 1
- Yellow-rumped Warbler 15
- Eastern Towhee 3
- American Tree Sparrow 205
- Chipping Sparrow 2
- Field Sparrow CW
- Savannah Sparrow 11
- Fox Sparrow 3
- Song Sparrow 440
- Swamp Sparrow 23
- White-throated Sparrow 563
- Dark-eyed Junco 1178
- Northern Cardinal 400
- Indigo Bunting 1
- Red-winged Blackbird 37
- Common Grackle 4
- Baltimore Oriole CW
- House Finch 279
- Purple Finch 1
- Common Redpoll 19
- Pine Siskin 13 6 Forest Hills Cemetery
- American Goldfinch 472
- House Sparrow 4244
Good Birding and Happy Holidays!