Yesterday, Jane and I covered the "Greenland Sector" of the Coastal, NH
Christmas Bird Count. Other birders were scouring the seacoast region
counting birds in other areas. I've covered this exact same area every
year since 1984! An overall eBird checklist with a map is below.
With Jane and Ethan Ring. Kurk Dorsey couldn't make it this year.
Seasonable weather with very little snow. HOWEVER, the month of
December had been very cold for most of the month with below average
temperatures each day. This changed with very warm weather and a heavy
rain fall in the two days before the count. Winds were strong in the AM
and not good for owls. Great Bay was open with very little ice......it
was iced in along east side a week earlier.
Generally an average to below average count. Despite nice conditions,
some species of ducks were absent and numbers and diversity of land
birds was generally low with a few exceptions. Lowest species total
since 2019 when there was bad weather. Most sparrows were in low
numbers despite the fact that we walked around Great Bay farm back
fields and both fields along Squamscott Road. Continued increase in
sightings of Yellow-belled Sapsucker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, and
Eastern Bluebird.
It was also a big year for Gray Squirrels with a big acorn crop. We
counted 87 Gray Squirrels (and 1 Red Squirrel). Most of these were
counted from just a few neighborhoods.
53 species
-----------------
Canada Goose 698 Less than 100 on Great Bay during the day;
however, 600 were counted at dusk as they flew north up Rt. 108
presumably coming from nearby corn fields to spend the night on the
bay. Recent low counts in 300's during counts with bad visibility. Most
counts since 2000 have been in the range of 1,000 to 2,000 (high of 4,000).
American Wigeon 0 First miss since 2010.
Mallard 1
American Black Duck 290
Greater Scaup 1,000
Lesser Scaup 12 From Great Bay Discovery Center. Maybe more. I
think these are Exeter birds.
Bufflehead 74 New high count for sector. Most from western part of
bay.
Common Goldeneye 155 About 120 from Sunset Farm on eastern shoreline.
Hooded Merganser 0 Only 2nd miss in last 16 years.
Red-breasted Merganser 0 4th miss in last 17 years. ZERO
mergansers of any type on the bay despite excellent visibility and open
water. Scott Heron reports zero from the Newmarket shoreline as well.
Wild Turkey 27 24 of these counted as they dropped down out of
roost trees at dawn right into the road in front of us!
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 124
Mourning Dove 31
Ring-billed Gull 30
American Herring Gull 39
Great Blue Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Adult male. Now uncommon on count.
Cooper's Hawk 4
Bald Eagle 2
Red-tailed Hawk 10
Eastern Screech-Owl 0 We tried in morning and again at dusk, but no
luck.
Barred Owl 1 Uncommon to rare in sector. First record since 2007!
More incredible was that this bird was hooting in response to my calls
in mid-morning!
Belted Kingfisher 1
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER 4 Ties for high count. Now regular in
winter. First recorded in 2019 and recorded in 6 out of last 7 counts
since then.
Red-bellied Woodpecker 17 2nd highest count.
Downy Woodpecker 33
Hairy Woodpecker 7 Ties high count.
Pileated Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 8 2nd highest count.
Blue Jay 27
American Crow 21
Common Raven 2
Black-capped Chickadee 92
Tufted Titmouse 25
RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET 1 Becoming more regular on count. Now
recorded in 6 out of the last 10 counts. This bird was seen (once
again!) along Dearborn Road near Brackett Brook.
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 39
Brown Creeper 1
Carolina Wren 9
European Starling 312
Northern Mockingbird 14 Highest count since 2001.
Eastern Bluebird 85 Huge count for this increasingly common species
in winter. Shatters the previous high count of 51 in 2020. From 1984
through 1999 (16 years), bluebirds were only recorded in 2 years for a
total of 9 birds in this area.
Hermit Thrush 2
American Robin 7 Very low as compared to recent years. Lowest
count since 2002 and most recent counts have been in the range of 70 to
700 birds.
Cedar Waxwing 19
House Sparrow 158
House Finch 103
American Goldfinch 46
American Tree Sparrow 20 Low count and continued low trend for this
species.
Dark-eyed Junco 93
White-crowned Sparrow 0 This species has been regular at Great Bay
Farm over the years. This is the first miss since 2016.
White-throated Sparrow 30 A bit on the low side compared to recent
years.
Savannah Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 23 Lowest count since 2017.
Swamp Sparrow 0 First miss since 2017.
Red-winged Blackbird 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 6 Highest count since 1997. 4 along Dearborn
Road near Brackett Brook feeding on poison ivy fruit.
Northern Cardinal 41
Steve & Jane Mirick, and Ethan Ring
Bradford, MA & Beverly Hills, FL
