COMMON GOLDENEYE: in decline along the Mid-Atlantic coast?
Goldeneyes have become hard to find along much of our coastlines in
recent years. Didn’t used to be this way. About 7 years ago I spent several
days in the greater Ocean City, MD, area and found 32 species of waterfowl but
no goldeneyes (yet the CBC there this year had 55).
It has become a “squeaker” on the Cape Charles Christmas count but
in the 1st 10 years of that CBC (1965-1974) the totals were 89, 130, 90, 90,
120, 110, 140, 164, 308, and 181 respectively.
By way of illustration here’s totals for the most recent CBCs
running roughly north to south from the central NJ coast to the southern NC
coast.
NJ: Barnegat 15. Oceanville 0. Cape May 1. DE: Cape
Henlopen-Prime Hook 31. Rehoboth 21. MD Ocean City 55. VA: Chincoteague 0.
Wachapreague 5. Nassawadox 2. Cape Charles 2. Little Creek 1. Back Bay 0.
NC: Kitty Hawk 0. Bodie-Pea I. 0. Cape Hatteras 2. Ocracoke I. 0.
Portsmouth I. 0. Morehead City 0. Southport-Bald Head-Oak I. 3. Wilmington 0.
It seems they’re still doing OK in the Delaware-Ocean City, MD,
segment of the coast, or perhaps this is just the luck of the draw this past
CBC period.
Whatever the case, it was a nice surprise for Ned Brinkley and me
to see 13 flying north beyond the breakers off Assowoman Island, VA, last
Saturday.
The goldeneye situation up Chesapeake Bay in MD is still good with
these current CBC totals: St. Michaels 322. Point Lookout 113. Lower Kent
County 544. Annapolis-Gibson Island 135. Jug Bay 90.
However, the VA CBCs up the Bay a ways still offer a somewhat bleak
picture: Newport News 17. Mathews 9. Nansemond River 0. Washington’s
Birthplace 49 (that’s better!). Williamsburg 2.
Anyone have ideas on why they’ve declined along our immediate
coast? Or is it just my imagination?
The Gulf CBCs in TX even get a few way down there. Of twelve
coastal TX CBCs I checked ten recorded Common Goldeneyes ranging from one to
Galveston’s 132 and Matagorda County-Mad Island Marsh’s 160 with 77 at Aransas.
It’s also interesting that 5 of these TX counts also found Greater
Scaup ranging from one to 328 at Matagorda County-Mad Island Marsh. I always
think of greaters as being ratherly northerly, at least on the East Coast,
where - correct me if I’m wrong - they dominate over Lessers, sometimes, in the
upper Chesapeake Bay and from northern NJ on north.
The commentary above applies to these 2 species on the few coastal
Louisiana CBCs.
Common Goldeneyes seem to be in best numbers in winter at the
interior and upper Mid-West locales. The 14 highest totals on the recent CBCs,
ranging from 1723-8694, at counts in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, New York state,
Vermont, Wisconsin, Colorado, Ontario, Montana, Iowa, and Missouri.
On the Eastern Shore goldeneyes are known locally as clubheads,
whistlers, or, even, whifflers.
Some of you will receive this on your individual e-mail accounts,
but I’m also posting it on several LISTSERVs. Best to all. – Harry
Armistead, Philadelphia.
