Eagles, redheads, hummers, and the great February count

Written by Jack Sanders
Saturday, 24 April 2010 14:36

Eagle’s nest

Chris Burke and Gerry Gibney join readers reporting a Bald Eagle pair has been building a nest in an evergreen tree on the Titicus Reservoir in nearby North Salem, N.Y. Eagles often spend the winter around reservoirs in Westchester, but usually head north in spring. The fact that a pair is nesting here is a good sign.

The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection reports the nesting population in the state has increased gradually. In 2007, 15 pairs made nesting attempts in six of the state’s eight counties. More than 100 eagles winter in Connecticut.

DEP says the recovery of Connecticut’s eagle population has been slow compared to other regions in the nation. Therefore, the Bald Eagle remains a Connecticut endangered species.

Hummer alert

The first Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have been sighted in Connecticut and southern New York — as early as April 2 in coastal Connecticut. Get out those feeders!

Red-heads

Rick Kenneally of Wilton confirms there is at least one Red-headed Woodpecker attempting to nest in Weston. “While visiting family on Easter Sunday, I watched a beautiful Red-headed explore for food and carry food back to a hole in the top of a tall, dead tree,” he said. “The property is just off Lyons Plains Road in Weston.”

“I’m a relatively experienced birder, and have watched many Red-headed Woodpeckers while visiting relatives in Arkansas. So the identification is 100%.

“Hopefully, the nest will be successful and this will become an annual occurrence.”

Rick’s Weston family lives several miles from Jacquie Littlejohn, who had reported last month that a red-head was checking out the woods near her.

“So we may have two birds in Weston,” Rick says.

The count

Speaking of “new” birds in the area, Cornell Lab of Ornithology reports the 13th annual Great Backyard Bird Count was a record-breaker. During the four-day event in February, 63,000 volunteer bird watchers from the United States and Canada submitted more than 97,200 bird checklists.

This year, participants recorded more American Robins than any other bird species-primarily because of a massive roost in St. Petersburg, Fla. — 1,450,058 robins in St. Petersburg alone were reported. For perspective, the entire rest of the continent tallied 400,321 robins. “Reports such as these help document hotspots for robins and year-to-year changes in their movements across the continent,” the Lab said.

Among the top 10, the robin led by a huge margin with 1,850,082. Canada Goose was a distant second, 748,356. Snow Goose, American Crow, and European Starling all came in with about 500,000 each.

You can explore local results. For instance, you can find out that 44 species were sighted in Ridgefield, which, at 46 reporters, had the third highest number of counters in the state. Stratford had the most species spotted: Its 28 reporters saw 102 kinds of birds — it helps to be on the Sound, where seabirds are plentiful.

Incidentally, only three Red-headed Woodpeckers were spotted in all of Connecticut where 153,000 birds of 141 species were tallied.

One of the most dramatic count results was the absence of winter finches such as Pine Siskins and redpolls. Pine Siskins moved south in such great numbers last year that they were on the count’s Top-10 list for the first time ever.

“These fluctuations may be influenced by the birds’ food supply and reproductive success far to the north,” Cornell said. “This year, they presumably didn’t need to travel as far south to find enough food.”

The count documented the continuing expansion of an introduced species across the continent. A dozen years ago, the Eurasian Collared-Dove was reported in nine states. This year more than 14,000 doves were reported in 39 states and provinces. None were seen in New England or New York, but eight were spotted in Pennsylvania. They are coming.

See what others saw at birdsource.org/gbbc

Coming up

Birding By Ear, how and why birds vocalize, learn their sounds, Saturday, May 1, 9:30 to noon, $12/adult, Audubon Greenwich, 613 Riversville Road, RSVP 203-869-5272 x230, Greenwich.audubon.org

Spring migration bird walks, rain or shine, at 7 a.m., about 90 minutes, Wednesdays April 28-May 26, at Fairchild Garden, meet in parking area on North Porchuck Road; Saturdays, April 24, May 1, 15, 22, at Audubon Greenwich, meet in main parking area; Audubon Greenwich, 613 Riversville Road, 203- 869-5272 x230, Greenwich.audubon.org.

Copyright 2010 by Jack Sanders. Send sightings or comments to: jackfsanders [at sign] yahoo.com, or to Bird Notes, Box 1019, Ridgefield, CT 06877; or call 203-438-1183, extension BIRD (2473), and leave a message with your report, spelling your first and last names and telling us your town. If you need help identifying a bird, try your local nature center. If you find an injured bird, call wildlife rehabilitator Darlene Wimbrow of Redding, 203-438-0618, Wildlife in Crisis of Weston, 203-544-9913, or Wild Wings of Greenwich, 203-637-9822. The columnist’s website is www. sandersbooks. com.