BIRDS:
Count Day
December
30, 2004
By
E. Vernon Laux
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Eyes to the sky! Photo by Susan Safford
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Today, December 30, 2004, the last Thursday of the year, is a red-letter
day in the annual ornithological happenings on the Vineyard. Hopefully,
as you read this on Dec. 30, the entire Island is being scoured
by up to 100 birders in search of every bird, of every species.
The goal is to find and count all the birds on Martha’s Vineyard
in a 24-hour time frame. It creates a snapshot of wintering bird
life.
If this sounds impossible, then good for you for being a rational
and realistic being. While the goal is virtually impossible, it
nonetheless opens up an intriguing idea and is the premise for the
myriad observers to fan out and see what they can find in the 24-hour
period of December 30.
The Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is officially midnight to midnight,
but no one actually spends 24 hours outside in the cold in late
December: even hardcore birders are not daft. Only the hardest of
the hardcore will venture out in darkness in search of owls.
So when attempting to find, locate, and identify every bird of every
species, one must naturally include nocturnal birds. The only nocturnal
species present in winter are owls; the insectivorous Caprimulgidae,
Whip-poor-wills and Chuck-will’s-Widow, are wisely well south
of these harsh weather conditions for the winter. To find owls,
the weather conditions are of paramount importance.
Specifically, the wind conditions are the most critical factor.
If the wind is blowing more than 10 miles per hour, the success
at finding owls decreases exponentially. Ideal conditions were encountered
last year on the CBC (dead calm, not a breath of wind) early in
the morning on count day and some dozen birders ventured out at
3 am. A staggering number of owls, new high counts for three species,
were heard calling and a few were even spot-lighted so participants
could get a look at these reticent birds.
While hoping for a repeat of the ideal conditions this year, it
is most unlikely. However, as the CBC is only once a year, a dedicated
(some would say lunatic fringe) group will attempt to find some
owls regardless of the weather. One can sleep another morning —
not on count day. Then after the owls have retired (some screech
owls call just as the light comes up at dawn, about 6:50 am), it
is time to begin birding in earnest.
The Island is divided into approximately a dozen sections and groups
spend the remainder of the day attempting to cover their respective
areas. Places that are rarely, if ever, visited by birders get coverage
on this day. More birders are out looking over more of the Island
on CBC day than on any other day of the year. The small army of
observers invariably turn up a few surprises as well as count impressive
numbers of birds that we generally presume are scarce.
As of this writing (on Monday morning), the Island has just been
hammered by a major snowstorm. Most areas are covered with between
12 and 18 inches of snow. This will impact the CBC in a less than
favorable way. Snow cover and frozen thickets will force many birds
out of areas where they have been spending the winter, and feeders
gain in importance. It also makes owling more difficult: it is noisy
crunching around on frozen snowpack.
The Mid-Cape CBC was conducted on Dec. 26. The weather conditions
were fairly good in the morning but deteriorated during the day,
with driving rain and snow hammering participants by mid-afternoon.
A remarkable 120 species were recorded. This was the highest species
total of the three Cape counts and the number the islands are trying
to beat. Some highlights were two rough-legged hawks, eight great
horned owls, 20 screech owls, a saw-whet owl, a short-eared owl,
black guillemot, lesser black-backed gull, black-headed gull, common
yellowthroat, two pine warblers, brown thrasher, Lapland longspur,
and two white-crowned sparrows.
Today’s CBC is quite an experiment of weather, coverage, and
availability of birds. As you read this, look outside and imagine
the pros and cons of looking for birds in this weather. Most important
after snow or rain is wind direction and speed. Ideally, it is sunny
and warm with little wind — but these wishes are more fantasy
than reality. Cob’s often have the worst weather imaginable,
yet participants manage to have fun even if they see far fewer birds
in lousy weather.
The social aspect is important on these counts and having fun while
looking for birds is as important as taking part on these cold-weather
counts. Many layers, warm boots, good gloves, and a warm hat are
all key ingredients for CBC participants. So if you are going to
participate, make sure you have fun — no matter what the weather
is.
Bob Norton of Edgartown reports being amazed by a Baltimore oriole
eating fruits from an ornamental cherry on Dec. 11 near Cannonball
Park. This bird did not migrate and will try to survive eating berries
and suet if it can find some. Lanny McDowell of West Tisbury was
out scouting his area for the CBC on Dec. 26 and found a couple
of pine warblers among a small flock of eastern bluebirds.
Lastly, good luck on the Vineyard CBC! Most participants will read
this after doing the count. I am predicting a final count of 123
species on count day. Results next week!
Most important, Happy New Year to one and all. Hope you see lots
of birds and have a healthy new year.
Until next year — keep your eyes to the sky!
To contribute news
about your birding activities or sightings, call The Times Birdline,
508-693-6100, extension 33; or e-mail birds@mvtimes.com.
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