Taunton/Middleboro Christmas Bird Count - 12/30/2012

As compiler for this count, I have access to all of the high counts for all of the species that have been recorded on the CBC over the past 42 years. I have included some species and high counts from the past that I thought you would all find interesting. Given the recent publication of “The State of the Birds” by MassAudubon, I think it is interesting to see evidence of the species numbers from years ago. I think the numbers for certain grassland birds are particularly sobering. However, it is not all bad news. There are species that have dramatically increased in numbers and species that have been turning up on the count with regularity over the past 10 years or so. The species high count information will appear at the end of this year’s species list and totals.

*The center of this 15 mile wide count circle is 1 mile south of E. Taunton.

Snow Goose (1)
Canada Goose (1,467)
Mute Swan (73) High Count
American Wigeon (9)
American Black Duck (267)
Mallard (427)
Green-winged Teal (2)
Ring-necked Duck (6)
Greater Scaup (84)
Lesser Scaup (50)
Scaup sp. (81)
Bufflehead (125)
Common Goldeneye (36)
Hooded Merganser (97)
Common Merganser (57)
Red-breasted Merganser (21)
Ruddy Duck (40)
Wild Turkey (5)
RED-THROATED LOON (1)
Pied-billed Grebe (3)
Horned Grebe (4)
Great Cormorant (2)
Great Blue Heron (6)
Bald Eagle (3)
Northern Harrier (14) High Count
Sharp-shinned Hawk (3)
Cooper’s Hawk (3)
Red-shouldered Hawk (3)
Red-tailed Hawk (35)
Rough-legged Hawk (1)
American Kestrel (1)
Peregrine Falcon (1)
Virginia Rail (2)
American Coot (4)
NORTHERN LAPWING (1) Continuing bird at Summer St.
in Bridgewater
Killdeer (3)
Ring-billed Gull (464)
Herring Gull (510)
Great Black-backed Gull (115)
Rock Pigeon (175)
Mourning Dove (141)
Eastern Screech-Owl (8)
Great Horned Owl (1)
Northern Saw-whet Owl (1)
Belted Kingfisher (4)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (26)
Downy Woodpecker (50)
Hairy Woodpecker (8)
Northern Flicker (18)
EASTERN PHOEBE (1)
Blue Jay (125)
American Crow (64)
COMMON RAVEN (1)
Horned Lark (22)
Black-capped Chickadee (154) Low Count
Tufted Titmouse (75) Low Count
Red-breasted Nuthatch (17)
White-breasted Nuthatch (54)
Brown Creeper (4)
Carolina Wren (44)
Winter Wren (3)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (18)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1)
Eastern Bluebird (26)
Hermit Thrush (2)
American Robin (417)
Gray Catbird (1)
Northern Mockingbird (25)
European Starling (967)
American Pipit (79) High Count
Cedar Waxwing (28)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (1)
Pine Warbler (10)
Palm Warbler (2)
American Tree Sparrow (118)
Field Sparrow (4)
Savannah Sparrow (97) High Count
Fox Sparrow (1)
Song Sparrow (153)
Swamp Sparrow (14)
White-throated Sparrow (136)
Dark-eyed Junco (787)
Snow Bunting (4)
Northern Cardinal (112)
Red-winged Blackbird (601) High Count
Eastern Meadowlark (27)
Rusty Blackbird (23)
Common Grackle (2)
Brown-headed Cowbird (4)
Purple Finch (1)
House Finch (106)
Common Redpoll (30)
Pine Siskin (6)
American Goldfinch (51) Low Count
House Sparrow (216)

Total: 94 species

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Ring-necked Pheasant – 30 in 1972
Northern Bobwhite - 260 in 1971
American Kestrel – 26 in 1973

American Crow – 1,512 in 1989
Greater Scaup – 4,300 in 1971
Evening Grosbeak – 878 in 1972 (now that’s an irruption!)

Happy New Year!

Jim Sweeney