Date: 5/14/26 7:58 am From: Norman Budnitz (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Jordan Lake Spring Bird Count
Jordan Lake Spring Bird Count 2026
May 3, 2026, was our 50th Jordan Lake Spring Bird Count! We held our first
spring count on May 8, 1977, just 3 years after the New Hope Audubon
Society (now the New Hope Bird Alliance) received its provisional charter.
Barbara Roth and Julie Moore, two of our founding foremothers, had the
insight to start the bird count as water was beginning to be impounded for
Jordan Lake.
The weather was beautiful for our 50th, a bit cold at dawn but warming
moderately throughout the day with temperatures ranging from 41°F to 63°F.
Winds were variable from calm to 10 mph with gusts to 20 mph in the
afternoon. The sky was clear all day, and there was no precipitation.
Forty-seven (47) observers in 27 parties participated. We tallied 10,229
individual birds (10-year average 8,311) in 124 species (avg. 118) in 121
party hours (avg. 121). These effort numbers show that in the beautiful
weather, our observers maintained their excellent dedication. Special
thanks go to Tom Driscoll for his efforts in wrangling people to cover most
of our count circle.
Several parties found notable species that are not regularly seen in the
spring:
· *CLAY-COLORED SPARROW* (first ever for this count with
confirmation photo)—1 bird found by Joe Donahue
· Caspian Tern (only seen twice in the past 10 years)—3 birds found
by Kerry and Trish MacPherson
· Pied-billed Grebe (only seen twice in the past 10 years)—1 found
by Alan Avakian and 1 by Noah Rokoske
· Swainson’s Warbler (last seen in 2013)—1 bird found by Matt
Spangler
In the nice weather, we set many new species high counts (old records in
parentheses).
Great Blue Heron—306 (266 in 2008)
Brown-headed Nuthatch—140 (139 in 2022)
Osprey—76 (69 in 2012)
Veery—9 (5 in 1990)
Bald Eagle—63 (62 in 2023)
House Finch—132 (117 in 2023)
Red-shouldered Hawk—49 (40 in 2002)
Northern Waterthrush—28 (9 in 1983)
Downy Woodpecker—58 (56 in 2023)
Black-and-white Warbler—123 (121 in 2022)
White-eyed Vireo—151 (124 in 2023)
Northern Cardinal—511 (469 in 2025)
Tufted Titmouse—402 (379 in 2003)
Noah Rokoske found 99(!) species altogether in the area on the west side of
the Jordan Lake Dam. This is an all-time record for our spring count. Noah
had found 98 species at the end of his daylight birding (missing Chimney
Swift, American Robin, and Hairy Woodpecker!) but went back after dark to
try to pick up 2 more nocturnal species (an owl or an Eastern
Whip-poor-will). Alas, he only got one, a Barred Owl. So, he just missed
the century mark.
Two observers found 17 species of warblers—Matt Spangler and Noah Rokoske.
There was a time when finding 21 or 22 species of warblers in our part of
the Piedmont could reasonably be expected on a good spring day during
migration with appropriate effort. Those days may be gone.
If you would like to see a spreadsheet of this count and a cumulative
spreadsheet of all our counts, please visit the Community Science page on
the New Hope Bird Alliance website. These latest spreadsheets will be
posted in about 2 weeks.
