I've been going to the Eastern Shore for decades and have always thought
Red-breasted Nuthatches to be way more numerous on odd-numbered years. I
wrote a piece for The Raven in 2007 that outlined the birds of the Kiptopeke
Challenge for 1995-2006 and found not only that they were recorded every
odd-numbered year, they were never found for even-numbered years.....with the
exception of 2003, when Isabel came through and disrupted things mightily.
I just checked the "Gold Book" and found that two out of three peak counts
for coastal plain were odd years and that the piedmont peaks were all odd
years, but that the mountains and valleys spring and summer peaks were even
years as was the one on the December date.
Everyone seems to be seeing them this year, even already at feeders. Go
figure!
Brian Taber
Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory
