Ruby-throated Hummingbird on the 2024 Chapel Hill CBC!
Lena Gallitano photographed this young male Ruby-throated Hummingbird at a feeder in the Carol Woods retirement community
Ruby-throated Hummingbird on the 2024 Chapel Hill CBC!
Lena Gallitano photographed this young male Ruby-throated Hummingbird at a feeder in the Carol Woods retirement community |
The Chapel Hill Christmas Bird Count on Sunday, 22 December 2024, was frigid, normally good for bird activity, but with sunny skies, which usually means decreased bird activity. This count was a little below average in number of species (87, ten-year average 88.5), and far below average in individual birds (total of 10441, ten year average 16597). On a birds per party hour basis, it was a slow count, with 83 versus an average of 112, our second lowest in the past 27 counts.
The big find of the count was a Golden Eagle, seen by Alex Nickley flying over the beef farm adjacent to the Parker Preserve. It was a bit distant, but Alex's careful observation and series of photos taken through binoculars eventually convinced him and reviewers that it was a Golden Eagle, the first in 95 years of Chapel Hill Christmas Bird Counts! Alex also found 5 other goodies no one else had on count day, on his perhaps best ever count in area 21 (Laurel Hill): Wild Turkey, Pied-billed Grebe, Herring Gull, American Kestrel, and Common Yellowthroat. You can read Alex's full trip report, with photos, at https://ebird.org/tripreport/308298
A second for the count was the Virginia Rail heard by Mark Montazer and Fleeta Chauvigne at the Bush Creek swamp. Our third Ruby-throated Hummingbird was nicely photographed by Lena Gallitano at the Carol Woods retirement community. A Yellow-throated Warbler at the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery, seen and photographed by Marc, Ezra, and Laurie Howlett, furnished our 9th count record. Seen increasingly in winter, a Fish Crow provided only our 8th report (Marc Ribaudo). Other goodies included 2 Green-winged Teal (Ribaudo), 2 Black-and-white Warblers (Judy Murray, Deb Fowler), and an Orange-crowned Warbler (Howlett).
We set record highs for Bufflehead (132, previous high 92 in 2020) and Ruddy Duck (142, previous high 52 in 2020), with big flocks at the Governor's Club and Briar Chapel development ponds. Also a record was 71 Winter Wrens (previous high 67 in 2014, average 48), with a strong showing of 19 at Mason Farm. The total of 5 Palm Warblers ties our previous record set in 1973. Also in good numbers: 61 Eastern Phoebes (average 42.9) and 1566 White-throated Sparrows (average 1124).
Misses this year were American Pipit and Common Grackle (first miss since 1997). Other remarkable scarce species, the lowest counts in 15 years or more: Ring-billed Gull (56, average 1071, lowest since 1981, before Jordan Lake had completed filling), Red-tailed Hawk (15, average 28), Red-bellied Woodpecker (174, average 251), Blue Jay (173, average 284), Carolina Chickadee (354, average 488), Carolina Wren (294, average 448), Eastern Bluebird (266, average 401), American Robin (243, average 942), Cedar Waxwing (40, average 484, lowest since 1990), American Goldfinch (226, average 382, lowest since 1996), Chipping Sparrow (223, average 371), Myrtle Warbler (115, average 232, lowest since 1989), and Northern Cardinal (374, average 521).
Top honors for highest number of species this year goes to Alex Nickley, who found a remarkable 61 species in area 21 (Laurel Hill), which includes the NC Botanical Garden and the Parker Preserve. The team of Fleeta Chauvigne, Mark Montazer, and Matt Spangler tallied the greatest number of individual birds, with 1254.
Weather: Temperature 25-40 F, wind N 0-9 mph, fair, water mostly open. Effort: 47 observers in 23 field parties, 125.4 party hours (118.8 by foot, 6.6 by car) and 146 party miles (97.8 by foot, 48.2 by car), 1.8 hours and 1.8 miles owling, 5 people and 22.5 hours watching feeders.
Thanks to all the participants for your help!
-- Will Cook, compiler