On January 2, 2016 thirteen teams comprising sixty-one birders ventured out into the unseasonable, yet seasonably cold weather to participate in the Martha’s Vineyard 2015 Christmas Bird Count. Some began their quest in the predawn hours by hooting, squeaking—and making other even stranger noises!—in an attempt to attract several species of owls.
The strong winds made for less-than-ideal conditions for hearing owls, but eleven Eastern Screech Owls and one Northern Saw-whet owl were tallied. A Great Horned Owl had been heard calling the night before and so was added to the list of “count week” birds. Barn Owls already at the northern extreme of their range apparently were hard hit by last winter’s weather on the island. The cold and heavy snow cover made it difficult to find food, and many are believed to have starved. Only 2 were found this year. One Snowy Owl made for a great photo op for some lucky team members.
Even though some puddles and birdbaths had a skim of ice on them, most of the fresh water ponds on the Vineyard were open. This allowed the waterfowl to have their choice of places to “hide” from the birders. Despite this challenge, highlights include 6 Pintails, 11 Green-winged Teal, 3 Common Mergansers, and 101 Ruddy ducks.
The gusty winds also made it difficult to count waterfowl and the like in the choppy ocean as well as in Nantucket Sound. Birders did find 59 Harlequin Ducks, 1,043 Buffleheads, and 3 Barrows Goldeneye among others. Also seen bobbing about in the swells were 404 Red-throated Loons, 130 Common Loons, and 19 Red-necked Grebes. Especially notable was a Pacific Loon seen during count week!
New to the Martha’s Vineyard CBC were 4 Manx Shearwaters seen cruising through Nantucket Sound. While most of their kind is known to winter off the coast of West Africa and northern South America, a very small number have been noted this year on some of the Cape Cod and on the Nantucket CBCs. More expected, yet still unusual, were 2 Great Egrets discovered lingering north late into the season.
Quite exciting were several reports of an immature Bald Eagle. These birds have only been recorded twice before in the years from 2004-2013 on this count. It is still being determined if the sightings this year represent one or more individuals.
Illustrating the change in bird life a few miles can make was the difference in the variety and numbers of gulls found on the Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket CBCs. No Iceland or Lesser Black-backed gulls were seen on the former’s count, where their numbers have always been traditionally low. In contrast, as usual, good numbers of both were seen on Nantucket’s CBC.
180 Tufted Titmice represented a good number of these birds on an island not too long ago devoid of them. This again is in sharp contrast to Nantucket, on which Tufted Titmouse have never been recorded. These birds are known to have a strong aversion to flying over bodies of water.
A Western Kingbird was a great find on Count Day! Its sighting represents only the third time one has ever been recorded on the Martha’s Vineyard count since 1960!
6 Species of warblers were discovered including 1 Common Yellowthroat, a Prairie Warbler, and 2 Yellow-breasted Chats. An elusive Ovenbird made the count week list but could not be relocated on count day.
Adding to the totals of birds seen were the efforts of 21 folks watching and recording birds coming to their own feeders. An important contribution indeed to the day’s tally of 22,033 individuals of 120 species seen.
So while the final numbers are yet to be crunched, it would seem that Nantucket’s total of 124 species puts them just ahead of Martha’s Vineyard, and secures the bragging rights for the most species seen on the 2015 Christmas Bird Count for these islands. This longstanding friendly inter-island rivalry will of course be continued in 2016!