Fall Roundup 2013 - 9/21/13

This Roundup is one of the longest running fall migrant studies in New England, and possibly the country. It occurs on the third Saturday of September and is composed of 7 teams of 2-6 birders. It runs like a CBC and numbers of each species recorded are even more important than the total species list. It starts before dawn and ends when the groups assemble for the tally about 6:30 p.m. Each team follows a traditional schedule/route, has a variety of habitats (100 species is possible), and is named for the town where most of the
route is located; Quincy, Hingham, Scituate, Marshfield, Duxbury, Plymouth, with a 7^th team called Inland whose territory runs from Lakeville Ponds to Route 28. The total area is from the Neponset River/Blue Hills to Manomet/Lakeville; it is a rectangle of about 40x20 miles.

This year we tallied 159 species – see below for the details. While there were no new species this year 2 Whip-poor-wills in Plymouth were unusual; the species had been recorded in 1959, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1983.   In the most recent 32 years the count averaged 156. This year was warm (57-77F) sunny, with a few passing clouds and a modest south breeze. The four prior days also had been warm and sunny so a migration was not in evidence. Birders often ask what species were the worst missed. Based on the prior six years the following were seen in 4 or more roundups: Merlin (6), Willet (5), Field Sparrow (5), Saltmarsh Sparrow (5), Piping Plover (4), Whimbrel (4), Philadelphia Vireo (4), Golden-crowned Kinglet (4) Gnatcatcher (4), and Black-throated Blue Warbler (4).

Birders often comment “there are not nearly as many birds as in the old days”. A quick bit of research involving Vireos and Warblers 20 and 40 years ago shows the following:

Species/individuals                         1973                       1993                       2013

Vireos species/individuals             4/26                         3/33                         3/21

Warblers species/individuals       25/267                   22/163                      21/173

Another measure you might try – the "David Clapp review" - he would take this year’s totals and note what species are there with but one bird seen; see how close we were to missing many species.

Canada Goose   474

Mute Swan   62

Wood Duck   99

Am. Black Duck   96

Mallard   496

Blue-winged Teal   4

Northern Pintail   3 - Duxbury sector

Green-winged Teal   5

Ring-necked Duck   4 - Duxbury sector

Common Eider   155

Surf Scoter   2

White-winged Scoter   27

Black Scoter   1 - Scituate sector

Red-breasted Merganser   2

Wild Turkey   51

Red-throated Loon   1

Common Loon   5

Pied-billed Grebe   2

Northern Gannet   2

Double-crested Cormorant   2194

Great Cormorant   5

Great Blue Heron   66

Great Egret   70

Snowy Egret   92

Green Heron   2

Black-crowned Night-Heron  4

Turkey Vulture   16

Osprey   10

Bald Eagle   3

Northern Harrier   8

Sharp-shinned Hawk   3

Coopers Hawk   10

Red-shouldered Hawk   5

Red-tailed Hawk   25

American Kestrel   3

Peregrine Falcon   3

Virginia Rail   1

Sora   1 - Burrage Pond WMA

Black-bellied Plover   51

Am. Golden Plover   2

Semipalmated Plover   451

Killdeer 76

American Oystercatcher   3

Greater Yellowlegs   142

Lesser Yellowlegs   7

Solitary Sandpiper   7

Spotted Sandpiper   24

Ruddy Turnstone   7

Sanderling   609

Semipalmated Sandpiper   888

Least Sandpiper   49

White-rumped Sandpiper   7

Pectoral Sandpiper   5

Dunlin   38

Short-billed Dowitcher   11

Wilson's Snipe   2

American Woodcock   1

Laughing Gull   181

Bonaparte's Gull 10

Ring-billed Gull   1169

Herring Gull   1481

Great Black-backed Gull   271

Caspian Tern   16 - Quincy sector

Common Tern   4

Forster's Tern   18

Rock Pigeon   137

Mourning Dove   167

Eastern Screech Owl   41

Great Horned Owl   19

Barred Owl   9

Northern Saw-whet Owl   1 - Scituate sector

Whip-poor-will   2 - Plymouth sector

Chimney Swift   3

Ruby-throated Hummingbird   3

Belted Kingfisher   28

Red-bellied Woodpecker   31

Downy Woodpecker   83

Hairy Woodpecker   9

Northern Flicker   43

Eastern Wood-pewee   2

empidonax sp.   3

Eastern Phoebe   71

Great Crested Flycatcher   1 - Cumberland Farm Fields

Eastern Kingbird   1

Blue-headed Vireo   4

Warbling Vireo   1

Red-eyed Vireo   16

Blue Jay   269

American Crow   107

Fish Crow   21

Common Raven   2 - Hingham sector

Horned Lark   3

Tree Swallow   7904

Northern Rough-winged Swallow   1 - Scituate sector

Bank Swallow   6

Barn Swallow   11

Black-capped Chickadee   238

Tufted Titmouse   146

Red-breasted Nuthatch   7

White-breasted Nuthatch   88

Brown Creeper   2

Carolina Wren   99

House Wren   8

Winter Wren   1

Marsh Wren   3

Ruby-crowned Kinglet   2

Eastern Bluebird   20
Veery  1
Swainson's Thrush   1
Hermit Thrush   4
Wood Thrush   1
American Robin   4154
Gray Catbird   250
Northern Mockingbird   27
Brown Thrasher   2
European Starling   3631
American Pipit   6
Cedar Waxwing   85
Blue-winged Warbler   2
Nashville Warbler   7
Northern Parula   14
Yellow Warbler   2
Chestnut-sided Warbler   1
Magnolia Warbler   4
Yellow-rumped Warbler   6
Black-throated Green Warbler   9
Blackburnian Warbler   1
Pine Warbler   9
Prairie Warbler   1
Palm Warbler  7
Blackpoll Warbler   26
Black and White Warbler   13
American Redstart   19
Ovenbird   1
Northern Waterthrush   1
Connecticut Warbler   2 - Cumberland Farm Fields
Common Yellowthroat   43
Wilson's Warbler   4
Canada Warbler   1
Scarlet Tanager   6
Eastern Towhee   31
Chipping Sparrow   36
Clay-colored Sparrow   1 - Quincy sector
Savannah Sparrow   65
Song Sparrow   234
Lincoln's Sparrow   7
Swamp Sparrow   17
White-throated Sparrow   6
Northern Cardinal   93
Indigo Bunting   6 - Cumberland Farm Fields
Dickcissel   1 - Marshfield sector
Bobolink   200
Red-winged Blackbird   825
Common Grackle   6217
Brown-headed Cowbird   22
Baltimore Oriole   2
House Finch   39
American Goldfinch   84
House Sparrow   438 

Total species: 159

Thanks again, we want you with us on the 3^rd Saturday of September in 2014 - so save the date please.

Bob & Dana Fox