Date: 1/19/26 7:07 am From: Harry LeGrand (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Re: Morehead City CBC Results
Marty,
Can you enlighten us readers about the " An Evening Grosbeak was
photographed by one of our feeder watchers one day before count week?" Can
we assume you saw the photo(s)?
I am not aware of any Carolina reports of this species this winter, and
just checking eBird, the only accepted reports in the Eastern US are a few
south to central VA and one far south in central TN. I compile and write
the Chat Briefs, so if you can confirm the report, can you provide a
location, date, and observer -- in case this is the only Carolina winter
report? (We hope a few will be reported on eBird before the winter is
over.) And, a SEVERE winter blast is coming starting Saturday and
continuing into most of next week, so maybe this could finally bring us a
few Pine Siskins, Evening Grosbeaks, and anything even rarer.
Thanks.
Harry LeGrand
Raleigh
On Mon, Jan 19, 2026 at 8:40 AM Marty Wall <carolinabirds...> wrote:
> 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.
>
>
> Marty Wall
>
> Morehead City, NC
>
>
