Date: 1/5/26 12:52 pm From: Shaibal Mitra <Shaibal.Mitra...> Subject: [nysbirds-l] Southern Nassau County CBC, 3 January 2026--Revised
Note--several corrections to the count summary were omitted from the version sent a few minutes ago.
The Southern Nassau County CBC was conducted for the 86th time on 3 January 2026, by 85 dedicated and talented participants in nine territories. In contrast to the recent trend on Long Island toward warmer and less frozen early winters, this year’s count was conducted under conditions in which patches of snow were present and most freshwater, including slowly moving streams, was frozen. The weather was generally favorable, or at least tolerable: the west-northwest wind was worst in the morning (about 12 mph) when temperatures were lowest (26 F), but the afternoon was actually pleasantly calm, with a bright overcast sky and the temperature rising to 32 F.
Four trends were evident this year. First, the frozen landscape caused an understandable reduction in ice-sensitive species. Second, the benign conditions on count day resulted in many high counts for species for which high winds and precipitation tend to constrain effort and hinder detection. Third, only four expected species were missed: Snow Goose, American Woodcock, Red Knot, and Great Horned Owl; and among the less expected (but still not truly unusual species), no fewer than eight were found in more than one territory: Wood Duck, Clapper Rail, Semipalmated Plover, Iceland Gull, Red-shouldered Hawk, Marsh Wren, Purple Finch, and Palm Warbler. Finally, genuinely rare species, which have historically been a conspicuous feature of this CBC, were completely absent. The most unusual birds were a Eurasian Green-winged Teal at Smith Pond in Roosevelt, Rough-legged Hawk and Short-eared Owl in Five Towns, and an Eastern Bluebird in Baldwin. To put these in perspective for birders unfamiliar with the idiosyncrasies of western Long Island ornithology, the teal is oddly regular on this count (Pat and I have seen it in our Baldwin territory six times in the past quarter century); the hawk and the owl were formerly much more numerous here in winter but still occur often enough that their presence on the count is not surprising (each has occurred on about 30% of recent counts); and the Eastern Bluebird was the undoubted rarest bird of the day, the first recorded on this count since 2012. Similarly, unseasonal species were unusually scarce—a lingering Marbled Godwit moved on, we recorded just three species of warblers, etc.
Thus, the freezing conditions prior to the count and the absence of rarities and half-hardies lowered the ceiling on what was present in the circle, but the favorable conditions and highly experienced personnel maximized detection of the birds that were there, resulting in a very respectable total of 132 species on count day, just four below our average of 136 over the past ten years.
Low counts were recorded for just 12 species, half or more of which are sensitive to freezing conditions. Great Horned Owl was missed for the first time since 2012, and this is concerning because conditions for owling were not bad, and this species has recently been thought to be suffering more than most from avian influenza.
High counts were recorded for a very large and diverse set of species—32, not including the “unusual species” mentioned above. Although such a large number of unusual counts defies a singular explanation, many of the species involved have been trending upward in recent years, have counts that are sensitive to effort and detection variables, or both. Great Cormorant and American Kestrel are exceptional among these, as species that have been trending downward in recent years.
For the second year, we finished our CBC season with a festive compilation at Fabio’s on the Water in Merrick. We extend our gratitude to all our participants for their dedication and skill, to our territory leaders for their patience and attention to detail, and to the New York State Parks for facilitating access and granting permits in support of the Christmas Bird Counts. Our target date for next year’s count (subject to revision) is Saturday, 2 January 2027.
Patricia J. Lindsay and Shaibal S. Mitra
Bay Shore, NY
Low Counts recorded on the Southern Nassau County CBC, 3 January 2026.
Bold font denotes 10-year low count or first miss in 10 or more years.
Species
Total 1/3/26
10-yr Avg
86-yr Avg
Snow Goose
0
3
5
American Coot
15
29
71
American Woodcock
0
3
1
Red Knot
0
7
18
Great Black-backed Gull
123
363
648
Northern Gannet
13
340
140
Black-crowned Night-Heron
62
83
70
Great Egret
3
9
4
Red-tailed Hawk
14
25
11
Great Horned Owl
0
3
1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
7
13
4
Winter Wren
18
27
7
Ten-year High Counts recorded on the Southern Nassau County CBC, 3 January 2026.
Bold font denotes all-time high count.
