This year’s Pawling count was held on its traditional date
of January 1st. The Pawling/Hidden Valley circle includes eastern
Dutchess north to Wingdale, bounded on the west by Poughquag and
Greenhaven. In addition, the northern portion of Putnam County, including
Kent, Carmel, and Patterson, is part of the circle, as are Sherman,
parts of New Milford, and Danbury, CT.
The day started out cloudy but not very cold—the low
was 34F—a comfort plus for those who headed out at
3am to go owling. But by mid-morning the cloudy skies darkened
and we were beset with drizzle and rain for the rest of the
day.
This reduced the number of birds we were able to
observe as they cleverly sought shelter in the dark, dry
recesses where we could not find them. Nonetheless, it was
an enjoyable day and we did count some interesting birds
among our sightings.
As always, Angela Dimmitt and the Connecticut contingent
wowed us with Eastern Screech-Owls, a total of 16 this year.
This was down from last year’s record-breaking total
of 19, but a great count in view of the less than optimal
weather conditions. Carena Pooth found a total of 5 Great
Horned
Owls in three locations—two pairs and one loner, and
a sixth GHO was heard by feeder watcher Elvira Stogner in Holmes.
Waterfowl counts were very low this year because of the
severe cold that preceded our count day, which left most
bodies of water completely (or nearly completely) frozen
over. However,
there were some interesting species noted: one Snow Goose,
one Gadwall, one American Wigeon, on Northern Pintail, three
Buffleheads, sixteen Common Goldeneyes, three Ruddy Ducks,
and good numbers of both Hooded and Common Mergansers. Canada
Geese were way down this year, with a total of only 398. Even
Mute Swan numbers were muted, with a total of only 9 for
the circle.
Among the corvids, only one raven was seen this year, but
there were six Fish Crows. Interesting sparrows were around,
including Field, Savannah, Fox, and Swamp. Two Hermit Thrushes
were seen on count day, and a Gray Catbird was recorded during
the count week. A lone Ruby-crowned Kinglet was seen, and
the Putnam contingent found an Eastern Phoebe.
Unfortunately, Sibyll Gilbert, who usually leads the count
and compiles the results, needed to leave town before Christmas
for family reasons, so Carena
Pooth coordinated the NY side of the count, while Angela
Dimmitt handled not only the Connecticut results (as she
always does) but also the circle compilation as a
whole.
Many thanks to our 25 field observers and 18 feeder watchers.
The field observers were:
In NY: John Askildsen, Barbara Butler, Peggy Fasciani, Dot
Fleury, Mike Leser, Louise Leske, Kelly Liao, Maryanne Pitts,
Carena Pooth, Jim Utter and Bill Wallace.
In CT: Elliot Ashe, Pat Bailey, Don Breeger, Bob Cartoceti,
Angela Dimmitt, Florence Duncan, Linton Hamilton, Allen & Jenabay
Hupman, Bill & Nancy Liedlich, Carolyn Longstreth, Sally
Spence, Nick Thold.
9,391 birds were counted, 71 species plus two in count week.
This was down from 14,967 individuals and 79 species plus
three in count week last year.
| SPECIES |
#
Found
1/1/03
|
|
SPECIES
|
#
Found
1/1/03
|
| Great Blue Heron |
3
|
|
Eastern Phoebe |
1
|
| Black Vulture |
cw
|
|
Blue Jay |
398
|
| Snow Goose |
1
|
|
Common Raven |
1
|
| Canada Goose |
398
|
|
American Crow |
791
|
| Mute Swan |
9
|
|
Fish Crow |
6
|
| Gadwall |
1
|
|
Horned Lark |
40
|
| American Wigeon |
1
|
|
Black-capped Chickadee |
477
|
| American Black Duck |
58
|
|
Tufted Titmouse |
283
|
| Mallard |
517
|
|
White-breasted Nuthatch |
126
|
| Northern Pintail |
1
|
|
Brown Creeper |
5
|
| Bufflehead |
3
|
|
Carolina Wren |
34
|
| Common Goldeneye |
16
|
|
Winter Wren |
5
|
| Hooded Merganser |
42
|
|
Golden-crowned Kinglet |
24
|
| Common Merganser |
196
|
|
Ruby-crowned Kinglet |
1
|
| Ruddy Duck |
3
|
|
Eastern Bluebird |
101
|
| American Black x Mallard |
8
|
|
Hermit Thrush |
2
|
| Bald Eagle |
4
|
|
American Robin |
252
|
| Sharp-shinned Hawk |
5
|
|
Gray Catbird |
cw
|
| Cooper's Hawk |
1
|
|
Northern Mockingbird |
29
|
| Red-tailed Hawk |
40
|
|
Cedar Waxwing |
786
|
| Ring-necked Pheasant |
4
|
|
European Starling |
891
|
| Wild Turkey |
170
|
|
American Tree Sparrow |
257
|
| American Coot |
15
|
|
Field Sparrow |
2
|
| Ring-billed Gull |
453
|
|
Savannah Sparrow |
2
|
| Herring Gull |
56
|
|
Fox Sparrow |
3
|
| Great Black-backed Gull |
8
|
|
Song Sparrow |
156
|
| Rock Dove |
170
|
|
Swamp Sparrow |
3
|
| Mourning Dove |
437
|
|
White-throated Sparrow |
316
|
| Eastern Screech Owl |
16
|
|
Dark-eyed Junco |
689
|
| Great Horned Owl |
6
|
|
Northern Cardinal |
165
|
| Belted Kingfisher |
9
|
|
Red-winged Blackbird |
1
|
| Red-bellied Woodpecker |
73
|
|
Brown-headed Cowbird |
4
|
| Yellow-bellied Sapsucker |
6
|
|
Purple Finch |
6
|
| Downy Woodpecker |
140
|
|
House Finch |
166
|
| Hairy Woodpecker |
30
|
|
Pine Siskin |
30
|
| Northern Flicker |
32
|
|
American Goldfinch |
128
|
| Pileated Woodpecker |
2
|
|
House Sparrow |
306
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| Total Birds (2003) |
9,391
|
|
| Total Species |
71+2cw
|
| Number of Field Birders |
25
|
| Date of Count |
Jan. 1
|
