Christmas Bird Count results in sightings of rare species in Pittsburgh region
With few exceptions, this winter hasn’t presented a fit night out for man nor beast. Arctic temperatures are blamed for low participation among humans and some bird species during the Audubon Society’s recent Christmas Bird Count.
Still, during the Pittsburgh-area count, conducted Dec. 30, 2017, 190 volunteer counters — a 25 percent decrease since 2016 — documented 27,209 birds of 78 species, a slight increase from the 10-year average of 72 species. And for the first time, they spotted a bird in Hampton that typically winters in western Mexico.
In the world’s longest-running citizen science project, volunteers in individual U.S. regions document every bird species they see on the same day. The results present a snapshot of avian activity throughout the United States. Aggregated since Audubon’s first nationwide count in 1901-02, the data has real scientific value in the assessment of North American bird populations, migrations, and territorial expansions and contractions over nearly 120 years.
Nationwide the count was held Dec. 14, 2017, through Jan. 5.
In Pittsburgh, the numbers of red-tailed hawks and eastern bluebirds were down, but organizers suspect that could have been because counters spent less time outside braving the bitter bomb cyclone.
Increases in the numbers of northern cardinals and dark-eyed juncos also were attributed to human actions — Cardinals were easy to see against the white snow background, and a higher percentage of volunteer counters stayed inside and watched bird feeders through the window.
Brian Shema, who directed the recent count for the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, said
a sighting of one wayward bird was a Christmas Count first and set an Allegheny County record.
“On occasion, we do see unusual or rare birds,” he said. “During the 2017 count, one truly rare bird was found –— a Bullock’s oriole in Hampton.”
A U.S. western-breeding species that typically winters in western Mexico, the bird had been seen hanging around Hampton since Dec. 8, 2017.
“Other unusual birds found included the great black-backed gull, lesser black-backed gull and Iceland gull,” said Mr. Shema. “Although these gulls are expected to be found in winter, finding them on count day is not necessarily a guarantee. These gulls move south, as waters freeze or weather inhibits their ability to be successful in northern latitudes. The rivers in Pittsburgh, as well as other rivers throughout the region, serve as a congregating place for gulls to safely roost each night.”
Additional Christmas Bird Count notes:
• The great black-backed gull (common along the Atlantic coast in summer and winter but less common inland), Iceland gull (an arctic breeder that normally winters in Newfoundland and along the Atlantic coast), and lesser black-backed gull (a European species increasingly found in southwestern Pennsylvania in winter) were found roosting at The Point, Downtown, with thousands of ring-billed gulls and about 100 herring gulls.
• Documentation of bald eagles, turkey vultures, fish crows and eastern towhees were notable because those species were not common on the Pittsburgh count 10 years ago.
• The majority of birds documented in the region were found in numbers similar to their 10-year count averages.
Check Christmas Bird Count results since 1901-02 at www.audubon.org, and regional activities at www.aswp.org.