2010 Bird Totals

Clark's Grebe

                                                        Mountain Bluebird

 2010 was a great year for my birding. I was able to travel a decent amount this year and my regular visits to Oxley Nature Center for the Adopt-a-Trail program helped sharpen my birding skills.
 
The vacation I took to Colorado really boosted my Life List, as well as the year-end bird totals. Some of the new species observed during the Colorado-New Mexico trip were: Pinyon Jay, Stellar Jay, Clark's Grebe, Black-headed Grosbeak, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, and the Mountain Bluebird.
 
   One thing to note is the unusually low numbers for certain "urban birds" (i.e.- House Sparrows, European Starlings, Northern Cardinals, Northern Mockingbirds, Mourning Doves, etc) is due to the fact that I generally don't record the numbers for birds I see when not birding. Sometimes, I note if I see a raptor or other strange bird near my apartment, but for the most part I don't record every bird I see. I think it would become too time-consuming (especially the giant groups of starlings I see near I-244/Utica), though I might want to consider recording more of the birds I see in the city (when not birding).
 
   Also, the jump in numbers seen during the winter is due to the large amount of waterfowl that winter in the ponds and lakes in the area. On a single birding trip during the winter it isn't unusual to see 250-500 waterfowl on the ponds/lakes of Oxley Nature Center. The large groups of Canada Geese also help boost my individual counts.
 
Annual Total:
 
2010 - 128 Species / 8,004 Individuals / 73 Checklists
 
Monthly Totals:
 
April 2010 - 18 Species / 143 Individuals / 3 Checklists
 
May 2010 - 37 Species / 349 Individuals / 9 Checklists
 
June 2010 - 48 Species / 330 Individuals / 18 Checklists
 
July 2010 - 22 Species / 87 Individuals / 3 Checklists
 
August 2010 - 36 Species / 364 Individuals / 5 Checklists
 
September 2010 - 55 Species / 1,689 Individuals / 14 Checklists
 
October 2010 - 55 Species / 2,489 Individuals / 12 Checklists
 
November 2010 - 35 Species / 1,159 Individuals / 4 Checklists
 
December 2010 - 45 Species / 1,394 Individuals / 5 Checklists
 
Bird Species Totals:
 
Greater White-fronted Goose    1
Canada Goose    568
Trumpeter Swan   2
Wood Duck   149
Gadwall    833
Mallard   576
Blue-winged Teal   254
Northern Shoveler   69
Northern Pintail    25
Green-winged Teal    100
Bufflehead    8
Common Goldeneye    1
Hooded Merganser    16
Ring-necked Pheasant    1
Wild Turkey    17
Pied-billed Grebe   50
Clark's Grebe    1
American White Pelican    1,212
Double-crested Cormorant    166
Great Blue Heron   114
Great Egret    88
Snowy Egret   26
Little Blue Heron    8
Green Heron   10
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron    2
White-faced Ibis   1
Black Vulture    3
Turkey Vulture   37
Osprey    8
Mississippi Kite    4
Bald Eagle   2
Northern Harrier   2
Cooper's Hawk   2
Red-shouldered Hawk   22
Red-tailed Hawk   9
American Kestrel   28
American Coot   198
Killdeer   285
Greater Yellowlegs   1
Lesser Yellowlegs   2
Wilson's Snipe   3
Ring-billed Gull   293
Rock Pigeon   2
Eurasian Collared-Dove   2
Mourning Dove   15
Yellow-billed Cuckoo   4
Barred Owl   1
Common Nighthawk   15
Ruby-throated Hummingbird   37
Broad-tailed Hummingbird   1
Belted Kingfisher   27
Red-headed Woodpecker   80
Red-bellied Woodpecker   24
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker   2
Ladder-backed Woodpecker   2
Downy Woodpecker   16
Northern Flicker  67
Pileated Woodpecker   24
Eastern Wood-Pewee   6
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher   1
Eastern Phoebe   7
Great Crested Flycatcher   2
Western Kingbird   14
Eastern Kingbird    27
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher   15
Bell's Vireo   2
Yellow-throated Vireo   1
Warbling Vireo   6
Red-eyed Vireo   4
Steller's Jay   2
Blue Jay   46
Pinyon Jay   2
Black-billed Magpie   6
American Crow   278
Common Raven   3
Purple Martin   3
Bank Swallow   22
Barn Swallow   416
Carolina Chickadee   170
Tufted Titmouse   77
Red-breasted Nuthatch   1
White-breasted Nuthatch   8
Brown Creeper   1
Carolina Wren   64
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   39
Golden-crowned Kinglet   1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet   3
Eastern Bluebird   17
Mountain Bluebird   2
Swainson's Thrush   2
Hermit Thrush   3
American Robin   335
Gray Catbird   6
Northern Mockingbird   14
Brown Thrasher   15
Curve-billed Thrasher   1
European Starling   85
Cedar Waxwing   24
Nashville Warbler   2
Yellow Warbler   1
Yellow-rumped Warbler   18
Black-and-white Warbler   2
Prothonotary Warbler   4
Ovenbird   1
Mourning Warbler   1
Wilson's Warbler   2
Spotted Towhee   3
Eastern Towhee   8
Chipping Sparrow   6
Lark Sparrow   2
Song Sparrow   29
White-throated Sparrow   49
Dark-eyed Junco   70
Summer Tanager   3
Western Tanager   1
Northern Cardinal   168
Black-headed Grosbeak   2
Indigo Bunting   52
Painted Bunting   3
Dickcissel   4
Red-winged Blackbird   57
Western Meadowlark    5
Common Grackle   228
Baltimore Oriole   2
American Goldfinch   26
House Sparrow   40

Location Totals:

Oxley Nature Center, North Woods 2010 Total: (5 months of observations)
 
73 Species / 2,659 Individuals / 16 Checklists
 
Mohawk Park - Oxley Nature Center (eastern section of ONC) 2010 Totals : (6 months of observations)
 
57 Species / 2,291 Individuals / 12 Checklists
 
Mohawk Park /Oxley Nature Center, All Areas 2010 Total: (6 months of observations)
 
85 Species / 4,950 Individuals / 28 Checklists
 
Colorado/New Mexico Vacation Total:
 
40 Species / 198 Individuals / 16 Checklists

Oklahoma 2010 Totals: (9 months of observations)

115 Species / 7,515 Individuals / 62 Checklists


Clark's Grebe photo courtesy of Calibas, via Wikipedia.org

Mountain Bluebird photo courtesy of Elaine R. Wilson (NaturesPicsOnline), via Wikipedia.org

-SPQ 1/4/2011