Date: 5/14/26 3:39 pm From: Will Cook <cwcook...> Subject: 2026 Chapel Hill Spring Bird Count — Compiler's Comments
2026 Chapel Hill Spring Bird Count — Compiler's Comments
/by Will Cook/
The 70th annual Chapel Hill spring bird count, held on Saturday, May 2, 2026, recorded 125 species and 8814 individual birds, both well above the average of 120.7 species and 8049 individuals for the past 10 counts. We were helped by the weather - cool, in the 50s, with cloudy skies and light winds, perfect for keeping the birds active all day. The forecast had called for heavy rain, but we actually got just a little bit of light intermittent drizzle, good fortune for the counters (but not the drought-thirsty plants). Effort on the count was completely average, with 126 party hours and 42 counters in 21 parties. The number of birds per party hour, 70, was well above the average of 64.7 and the highest in a dozen years. It was a decent passerine migration day, with an excellent 23 warbler species and 1025 individuals (average 21 species, 758 individuals) and 39 through-migrant thrushes (average 24 individuals), though not for flycatchers (234, average 299 individuals), and the early date and cool weather hindered the count of cuckoos as well.
The highlight of this count was Lincoln's Sparrow, surprisingly not just one, but two spotted independently - one flushed from the edge of the field at the Parker Preserve by Alex Nickley, one seen in the Cub Creek Marsh near Jordan Lake by Matt Spangler. Other rarities included our 5th Anhinga (Alex Nickley at the Little Creek marshes), our 7th Marsh Wren (Matt Spangler at Bush Creek Marsh near Jordan Lake), 9th American Pipit (Roger Shaw, Dairyland Road area), 10th Dark-eyed Juncos (Loren Hintz), and 12th records of Gray-cheeked Thrush and Bay-breasted Warbler (both Will Cook at Mason Farm). Great Egrets, formerly rare here in spring, exploded in numbers this year, with 32 total (5 parties) plus documentation by Alex Nickley of them nest building at the Lower Little Creek Waterfowl Impoundment on Farrington Road.
We set a good number of record highs, highlighted by the astounding 32 Great Egrets (previous high 10, average of 2 in the past 10 counts), along with 13 Yellow-crowned Night-Herons (average 3.7), 138 Great-crested Flycatchers (average 103.3), 76 Song Sparrows (average 46.3), 26 Swamp Sparrows (average 5.2), 25 Northern Waterthrushes (ties count in 1976, average 10.2). Several other species were much higher than usual: 43 Tree Swallows, 78 White-breasted Nuthatches (highest since 2003), 107 Brown-headed Nuthatches (3rd highest count), 253 House Finches, 108 White-throated Sparrows (highest since 2005), 42 Yellow-breasted Chats (highest since 2004), 125 Red-winged Blackbirds (average 63), 20 N Yellow Warblers (average 7.6).
There were no big misses this year, but several species proved unusually hard to come by: 3 Yellow-billed Cuckoos ties a record low (average 20.8), 13 E Wood-Pewees (average 13, lowest since 1999), 31 Acadian Flycatchers (average 79.3), 3 Eastern Meadowlarks (record low tie, average 11.1), 69 Common Grackles (average 123.5, lowest since 1969), 7 Prairie Warblers (average 21, lowest since 1969), 27 Blue Grosbeaks (average 42.9), and 114 Indigo Buntings (average 142).
Team honors: Will Cook covering both Mason Farm and the Jordan Lake game lands near the 751 bridge, had top honors with 85 species and 820 individual birds. Alex Nickley was a close second with 83 species, the second year in a row with that count. Tom Driscoll's team had the second highest tally of individual birds, with 731.
Amusing note: The Chapel Hill count finished 1 species ahead of the Jordan Lake count thanks in part to Norm Budnitz hearing the only American Woodcock of the count. Norm is the Jordan Lake count compiler.
Weather in brief: low 53F, high 58F; wind NE 0-10 mph; cloudy, intermittent light drizzle.
Thanks to all participants for helping make this a great count!
