Date: 1/19/26 5:40 am From: Marty Wall (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Morehead City CBC Results
The 49th Morehead City Christmas Bird Count was held Sunday, December 14,
2025. The count was started by Carteret County Birding Guru John Fussell
in 1974 and has been held every year since except for three (2007, 2022,
2023). John’s absence is sorely felt by many here. There was a count held
December 26, 1971 by eight observers with a slightly different count
circle, so I haven’t included it in the statistics. The day started clear
and mild (58-60 degrees F, falling to 38 degrees F by sunset) with a
breeze. The Geminid Meteor Shower put on a spectacular show before dawn.
By 9 am the heavy clouds rolled in, and by 10 am the rain began. With the
rain came strong winds out of the southwest. The rain ended after lunch
and the sun appeared for the rest of the breezy day. Thanks to all the
participants who braved the weather and got out there to count birds. A
special thanks to the three boat crews that got out and back safely. We
found 149 species, 7 below average. Our total bird count was the lowest
ever at 12266 (Highest 60541 in 1980, average 34185). We had seven notable
birds, seven significant misses, and three count week birds. The weather
was a huge factor. We were down some observers and had limited effort on
the ocean and in marshes which are significant on this count. It feels
like this count is in a rebuilding phase after John’s passing, but there
are many of us working to keep it going. There are plenty of great areas
that went unsurveyed if you are interested in helping next year.
Effort
Feeder Watchers: 11 at nine locations
Boat Crews: 8 on three boats
Field Parties: 28 in 17 parties
Party Hours: 107.5
Owling Hours: 4.75
Feeder Watching Hours: 30
Miles by: Foot = 24, Car = 90, Boat = 43, Golf Cart = 6
Notable Birds
Greater White-fronted Goose (1) First Time on Count
Common Eider (3)
Sandhill Crane (10)
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (1) First Time on Count
Yellow-breasted Chat (1)
Bullock’s Oriole (1) third winter for this bird
American Redstart (1) Second Time on Count
Misses
Sora 92% of counts, 4th miss
Piping Plover 92% of counts, 4th miss
Red Knot 84% of counts, 8th miss
Red-throated Loon 98% of counts (First Miss in 49 counts)
Barred Owl 92% of counts, 4th Miss
Brown Creeper of counts 86%, 7th miss
American Pipit 86% of counts, 7th miss (count week)
High Counts were reached for Black Skimmer (930), Osprey (14), and Painted
Bunting (6).
Low counts were common and partly due to the weather, but some notable low
counts include American Coot (1), Dunlin (179), Laughing Gull (478),
Ring-billed Gull (1255), American Herring Gull (167), Northern Gannet (42),
Double-crested Cormorant (236), previous five probably due to low effort on
the ocean, Fish Crow (4), and Boat-tailed Grackle (79).
Count Week Birds were White-winged Dove, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and
American Pipit. An Evening Grosbeak was photographed by one of our feeder
watchers one day before count week (ouch!).
I downloaded all the data for this count and put it in a spreadsheet for
analysis. Below are a few of the interesting things I saw.
Of Interest
Dark-eyed Junco: Between 1974 and 2004 the count averaged 102 per year.
From 2005 to present the average has been 19, but in the past four counts
it has fallen to just 3 per count. They just don’t seem to make it down
here anymore.
Piping Plover: In the 1970s the count averaged over 44 birds per count. In
the 1980s it averaged almost 28 per count. In the 1990s that fell to
almost 11. By the 2000s that had fallen to under 7 per count with the
first misses (Three missed in nine counts). The 2010s didn’t have any
misses, but the average dipped to just over 6 birds per count. So far, the
2020s are averaging 5.5 Piping Plovers per count with one miss (this year)
in four counts.
In the early years, many birds were not identified to species. Many birds
such as hummingbirds, screech-owls, and Solitary Vireos, were only
identified as hummingbird sp., screech-owl sp., and solitary vireo sp.
There could be a few reasons for this including lumps and splits, and a
still developing understanding of wintering habits of many species.
