Trip Highlights

It was a cool morning, 45 degrees and sunny when six members gathered in the morning. The first 100yards from where we parked at the edge of the field were the best.  We had 29 species for the day.  We probably would have had a few more if a more experienced birder was with us.  I’ll try to get Tim to co-lead next year. I know he would have picked up many more.  Highlights were a Chestnut-sided Warbler (so beautiful) and a Wilson’s (one of my favorites)!  We saw multiple Great Blue and Green Herons. Trying to point out the Green Herons was a challenge, as Lake Wallace is more like a swamp out of the Shrek movie, and the little Green Herons just like to blend in.  There were also a ton of swallows all over the fields and the water; Tree, Barn, and Rough-winged (maybe?).

No members found their way to the Rail Trail for this field trip.  I expect COVID risks are keeping participation down for many of these, usually popular, spring offerings.

Six members gathered at Stebbins and garnered a total of 31 species.

We saw many Black-and-white Warblers and Ruby-crowned Kinglets.  Other warblers were Yellow, Parula, Yellow-rumped,and a Black-throated Green, which was a lifer for a few of us.  MJ was able to capture a beautiful photograph of it as well.

We attempted to see the Screech Owl, but he was not having it.  I was able to point out his usual location though for those that did not know.

The star of the day was the beautiful Rose-breasted Grosbeak,who was singing away in the top of the tree with the sunlight hitting it just right!  Perfect view.

The walk finished up around 10:30, but some continued on,birding Pondside Rd for another hour.  An additional 12 species were seen here, including a Belted Kingfisher, a few Great Blue Herons, a Great Egret, and a beautiful Blue-Headed Vireo!

It was a good day, some lifers, as well as some FOY’s.  Everyone seemed happy!

The trip went great!  The weather was cool, sunny, and probably around 48-50 degrees when we set out.  We had a total of 41 species!  Might have even had more, but Steve was calling them out really quickly.  In the parking lot where we met, we spotted 4 Killdeers. The highlight birds on the walk at Ashley were the many Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers.  We saw a Blue-Headed Vireo, 3 Brown Creepers, and a pair of beautiful Ospreys. The warblers for the day were Palm, Pine, and Yellow-rumped.  We ended the walk with a Carolina Wren singing its little heart out.

Steve also showed us what pishing can do, a ton of birds came down, it was quite funny.  He was actually laying on the ground doing the sounds.  We less experienced birders all learned a lot, and throughout the walk he was doing bird sounds, talking about how to pick out binoculars, just all kinds of stuff.

This was our 30th year of participation as Cobble Mtn Circle in National Audubon’s Christmas Count.  Many thanks for all those counters who have stayed the course, braving the early morning cold temperatures and a myriad of weather conditions over the years.

The following is a brief rundown of how we did this year compared to past years, though it will not be as eloquent as when Seth was at the helm.  There were several species found in higher numbers than usual.  Any averages mentioned are 30-year averages.  Canada Goose (2621) was the second highest number of individuals recorded in any year.  Hooded Merganser (31) was well above the average of 10 birds.  The year 2004 was the last and only other time the number for Raven reached as high as 19 individuals.  Field Sparrow was identified in 20 of 30 years, but only topped this year’s number (7) by one bird in 1991 on our first Cobble Mtn Count.

There were more species found in lower than usual numbers.  Black Duck (4), with an average of 54, was a disappointment.  There were only two other years that the total was in the single digits.  We only counted 9 Ring-billed Gulls, and while the average is 136, the numbers are all over the place year to year.  Also, low was Downy Woodpecker at 35, where our average is 70.  Golden-crowned Kinglet had several years of very high numbers swinging the average up to 30, but we almost missed it altogether this year, counting only one.  Waxwings (3) and Goldfinch (44) had the lowest counts in 30 years.  Tree Sparrow at 19 was the second lowest count ever.
We had many extra good finds this year.  Green-winged Teal (1) was only seen in two other counts. Black Vulture (1) was identified in only one other year, 2009.  Winter Wren (1) only shows up in three other years.  The first time counted in the last five years were Savannah Sparrow (1), Swamp Sparrow (2) and Purple Finch (6).  Finally, White-crowned Sparrow (1) has not been on the list since 2006.

Unfortunate misses this year were Cooper’s Hawk, counted each previous year going back to 1996, Herring and Great Black-backed Gull, Screech, Barred and Great Horned Owls (more effort needed predawn), and Horned Lark, which we counted in each of the previous six years.
Count week birds added by Dorrie Holmes were Evening Grosbeak and Saw-whet Owl in Granville, and Bufflehead on Congamond.  Hermit Thrush was identified by Katie Doe (nonmember) in Stanley Park.

Click below to view or download complete count results.

2020 Cobble Mtn Christmas Count