Here on this eve of Christmas, as many of us prepare to gather with close family and friends, I assume everyone out there is asking the same thing: “why haven’t we gotten a single Christmas Bird Count update from the Bird Report?” To which I say settle down, I’ve got one for you right here. That’s right, we are nearly two weeks into the 126th National Audubon Christmas Bird count period and I haven’t mentioned it once - to the relief of many, I’m sure. But a few of the local counts are in the books, so it’s time to talk results.
First off, I suspect many still don’t know what these things are. These counts, which now dot the entire western hemisphere, began in 1900 as an alternative to competitive Christmas Day hunts popular in that era. Count circles are 15 miles in diameter and each count is held on one day between December 14 and January 5. The circle is divided into sectors, each with a leader, and teams traditionally convene somewhere at the end of the day to tally results and hopefully eat some hot food.
The Buzzard’s Bay and so-called “Cape Cod” counts are always the first ones around here, usually both are held the first count weekend sometime around the 14th. The venerable Cape Cod count is 95 years old and covers sites from Harwich to Wellfleet. If you are a geography expert, you may realize that is a lot more than a 15-mile circle – apparently the originators took a fairly liberal view of the count parameters, feeling cheated by all the inaccessible open ocean in the count circle, and the tradition of covering sites well outside the circle has continued.
In any case, the old Cape count, which produced 128 species, had an old-school feel this year, with an actual pre-Christmas snowstorm on count day. I helped cover Harwich, where I had the surreal experience of watching a flock of Tree Swallows flying slowly around over our heads among thick, fluffy snowflakes, like we were all in a snow globe together. They were clearly questioning their decision not to head to Florida sooner, as this species does not typically winter in places where it snows. But unlike other swallows, they can survive on bayberries, allowing them to get by without flying insects. A tropically technicolor male Painted Bunting wintering at a feeder in Brewster was present on count day, creating a similar cognitive dissonance in the snow.
The newsworthy bird on the Buzzard’s Bay count this past weekend was a Black-throated Gray Warbler, rare vagrant from the western US, seen briefly among cedars in a West Falmouth stream thicket. The always productive Crane Wildlife Management area in Falmouth, a vast grassland/shrubland mix managed by the state for rare breeding species, came through with several birder-pleasing rare species, including a Short-eared Owl, a Western Tanager, a Northern Shrike, and a Clay-colored Sparrow. That’s some good one-stop rare bird shopping right there.
I don’t have a species total for Sunday’s Mid-Cape count yet, but it’s always the highest of the Cape and Island counts. It runs from Sandwich to Dennis, and I have covered North Dennis for what has to be over 25 years now. I had the help of a few relatively young birders - high school through early twenties. The highlight for me, hands down, was sharing with these new birders the experience of a close, performative, totally enchanting Snowy Owl sitting on a jetty just west of Corporation Beach in perfect early morning light. This was a life bird for all three. It sat for us for several minutes, then later flew directly over our heads, low, as we counted more seabirds from the parking lot. We last saw it sitting on the roof of some vacant beach house to the east. The encounter was made ever the sweeter by the utter lack of Snowy Owl sightings on the Cape so far this winter, and the fact that this was the only one seen on the count.
Since I’ll be busy overseeing the Truro count this time next week, it will be two weeks before I can do the final wrap on the counting season, including results from Truro and the various island counts. I just hope you can wait that long.
Bird Report 12.24.25 – Christmas Bird Counts
Mark Faherty
Here on this eve of Christmas, as many of us prepare to gather with close family and friends, I assume everyone out there is asking the same thing: “why haven’t we gotten a single Christmas Bird Count update from the Bird Report?” To which I say settle down, I’ve got one for you right here. That’s right, we are nearly two weeks into the 126th National Audubon Christmas Bird count period and I haven’t mentioned it once - to the relief of many, I’m sure. But a few of the local counts are in the books, so it’s time to talk results.
First off, I suspect many still don’t know what these things are. These counts, which now dot the entire western hemisphere, began in 1900 as an alternative to competitive Christmas Day hunts popular in that era. Count circles are 15 miles in diameter and each count is held on one day between December 14 and January 5. The circle is divided into sectors, each with a leader, and teams traditionally convene somewhere at the end of the day to tally results and hopefully eat some hot food.
The Buzzard’s Bay and so-called “Cape Cod” counts are always the first ones around here, usually both are held the first count weekend sometime around the 14th. The venerable Cape Cod count is 95 years old and covers sites from Harwich to Wellfleet. If you are a geography expert, you may realize that is a lot more than a 15-mile circle – apparently the originators took a fairly liberal view of the count parameters, feeling cheated by all the inaccessible open ocean in the count circle, and the tradition of covering sites well outside the circle has continued.
In any case, the old Cape count, which produced 128 species, had an old-school feel this year, with an actual pre-Christmas snowstorm on count day. I helped cover Harwich, where I had the surreal experience of watching a flock of Tree Swallows flying slowly around over our heads among thick, fluffy snowflakes, like we were all in a snow globe together. They were clearly questioning their decision not to head to Florida sooner, as this species does not typically winter in places where it snows. But unlike other swallows, they can survive on bayberries, allowing them to get by without flying insects. A tropically technicolor male Painted Bunting wintering at a feeder in Brewster was present on count day, creating a similar cognitive dissonance in the snow.
The newsworthy bird on the Buzzard’s Bay count this past weekend was a Black-throated Gray Warbler, rare vagrant from the western US, seen briefly among cedars in a West Falmouth stream thicket. The always productive Crane Wildlife Management area in Falmouth, a vast grassland/shrubland mix managed by the state for rare breeding species, came through with several birder-pleasing rare species, including a Short-eared Owl, a Western Tanager, a Northern Shrike, and a Clay-colored Sparrow. That’s some good one-stop rare bird shopping right there.
I don’t have a species total for Sunday’s Mid-Cape count yet, but it’s always the highest of the Cape and Island counts. It runs from Sandwich to Dennis, and I have covered North Dennis for what has to be over 25 years now. I had the help of a few relatively young birders - high school through early twenties. The highlight for me, hands down, was sharing with these new birders the experience of a close, performative, totally enchanting Snowy Owl sitting on a jetty just west of Corporation Beach in perfect early morning light. This was a life bird for all three. It sat for us for several minutes, then later flew directly over our heads, low, as we counted more seabirds from the parking lot. We last saw it sitting on the roof of some vacant beach house to the east. The encounter was made ever the sweeter by the utter lack of Snowy Owl sightings on the Cape so far this winter, and the fact that this was the only one seen on the count.
Since I’ll be busy overseeing the Truro count this time next week, it will be two weeks before I can do the final wrap on the counting season, including results from Truro and the various island counts. I just hope you can wait that long.
