by Will Cook
The 69th annual Chapel Hill spring bird count, held on Saturday, May 3, 2025, recorded 117 species and 7884 individual birds, both a little below average for the past 10 counts. The weather was mild and cloudy, with no rain, but we were hindered by the steady 10-20 mph SSW wind. Effort on the count was the lowest in over 30 years, with only 93.9 party hours, though with a typical 40 counters in 20 parties. The number of birds per party hour, 67.1, was a little above the average of 64.7. It was a below average passerine migration day, with 20 warbler species and 682 individuals (average 21 species, 758 individuals) and 19 through-migrant thrushes (average 24 individuals), though average for flycatchers (300, average 299 individuals).
The highlight of this count was our third Common Merganser, a male spotted by Frank and Shara Laccone at Briar Chapel. Other goodies included a Cape May Warbler (Jin Bai) and 2 Black-throated Green Warblers (Jon Bennett, Deb Fowler).
We set no record highs, and only a couple of species were found in remarkably high numbers: 75 Purple Martin (average 35.2) and 5 Great Egrets (average 2).
There were no big misses this year, but many species proved unusually hard to come by: 3 Rock Pigeons (avg 14.8), 41 Chimney Swifts (avg 87.2), 16 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (avg 33), 10 Spotted Sandpipers (avg 23.2), 16 Double-crested Cormorants (avg 115), 5 Northern Flickers (avg 10.1), 2 Field Sparrows (avg 8.6).
Team honors: Alex Nickley covering both Parker Preserve and the lower Little Creek marshes, had the top species count with 83, followed closely by Will Cook's 80 covering both Mason Farm and the Jordan Lake game lands near the 751 bridge. Tom Driscoll's team had the highest tally of individual birds, with 828, with Will Cook second with 659.
Weather in brief: low 68F, high 84F; wind SSW 10-20 mph; cloudy, no precipitation.
Detailed Results (PDF format)