Forwarded at the request of H. T. Armistead.
Robert L. Ake
6603 Catherine Street
Norfolk VA 23505
I'm doing an ABA Big Year in 2010 - If you'd like to follow along, my blog is
at http://bobsbirds.blogspot.com/ ;
----- Original Message -----
From: Harry Armistead
To: Bob Ake
Sent: Tuesday, December 22, 2009 12:32 PM
Subject: Nassawadox Christmas count - preliminary results.
Bob, Please forward as requested. Many thanks. - Harry.
Nassawadox, 4th Christmas Bird Count, December 20, 2009. Cloudy, becoming fair
in the early morning, then mostly clear for the rest of the day, 30-35 degrees
F., strong NW winds 15-25 m.p.h. Tide way above normal in the morning. High
winds combined with the cold made landbirding very difficult. Snow – more than
a dusting, less than an inch, most of which melted during the day. Hardly any
ice anywhere.
Preliminary highlights. A complete list with all the excruciating
detailed minutia will be issued sometime in early January.
The boat trip is scrubbed for the 3rd straight year due to the high
winds. This means we automatically miss 12 or more species (scoters, gannets,
Sanderling, etc.)
Tundra swan 64. brant 5 – another casualty of no boat. 8 species
of dabbling ducks (very good), most of which are scarce here. hooded merganser
103. COMMON MERGANSER 4, a 1st for this count. wild turkey 24. northern
bobwhite 15. bald eagle 30 (will be adjusted to try to compensate for
duplicate sightings).
northern harrier 19. clapper rail 0, many killed by this fall’s
nor’esters. Killdeer 412 (Jared & I find 195 in one field!). semipalmated
plover 17. American oystercatcher 0, in an area where there are hundreds,
another boat casualty. Willet 99 – actually a low count. marbled godwit 98,
also low. RED KNOT 3, new for the count. American woodcock 7. great
black-backed gull 4, absurdly low.
Pileated woodpecker 8. fish crow 0. red-breasted nuthatch 3.
house wren 5. eastern bluebird 172. American pipit 50. pine warbler 7. palm
warbler 24. chipping sparrow c. 155. Nelson’s sparrow 3. fox sparrow 27.
white-crowned sparrow 21, a new high count. eastern meadowlark 138. rusty
blackbird 25, an excellent count for this scarce species. boat-tailed grackle
0. BALTIMORE ORIOLE 1. purple finch 1.
SPECIES TOTAL c. 107 (I don’t have all the lists on hand to 2X-chck
this and some other totals).
PARTICIPANTS: Paul & Ann Smith, Susan & Wes Brown, Roberta Kellam,
Andrew Baldelli, Bob Anderson, Bob Ake, Renee Hudgins & John Young, Harry
(compiler) and George (assistant compiler) Armistead, Dot Field & Richard
Ayers, Jared Sparks, Kathy Bender, Steve Parker, Ned Brinkley.
MANY THANKS to Steve Parker for hosting us for the compilation at
Brownsville and providing great food, and to Roberta Kellam for bringing on the
fine wine.
Best to all. – Harry Armistead, Philadelphia, where we officially
got 23.2 inches of snow, the 2nd highest snowfall on record here.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. Sign up now.
