Winter Bird Highlights 2006 - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Mid-Atlantic, East Central, Northeast, GreatLakes, Allegheny, & Atlantic Canada RegionsTop 25 List: 5,417 Sites ReportingRank% Sites2005–06 Average Species 2005–06 Average1 1 Chickadee* 97 952 2 Mourning Dove 94 923 3 Dark-eyed Junco 93 904 4 Blue Jay 91 905 5 Downy Woodpecker 90 866 7 American Goldfinch 90 837 6 Northern Cardinal 86 848 9 White-breasted Nuthatch 84 769 9 House Finch 75 7710 11 Tufted Titmouse 64 6211 18 American Robin 63 4512 10 European Starling 63 6813 12 House Sparrow 62 6414 15 Hairy Woodpecker 58 5115 18 Red-bellied Woodpecker 57 4616 15 Common Grackle 53 5217 16 American Crow 53 5118 20 White-throated Sparrow 50 4119 17 Song Sparrow 49 4720 20 Red-winged Blackbird 44 4121 23 Red-breasted Nuthatch 43 3222 24 Carolina Wren 40 3023 22 American Tree Sparrow 36 3724 22 Brown-headed Cowbird 36 3525 22 Purple Finch 33 36* Includes Black-capped Chickadee and Carolina Chickadee.FeederWatchers in these regions reportedseveral species in record-high numbersin 2005–06, including Mourning Dove,Dark-eyed Junco, Downy Woodpecker,American Goldfinch, White-breastedNuthatch, American Robin, WhitethroatedSparrow, Red-winged Blackbird,Brown Creeper, Cooper’s Hawk,Pileated Woodpecker, and Wild Turkey.Considering the record-lows recorded inthe Southeast (see previous page), theseresults suggest that many birds winteredfarther north than usual last year.On the down side, it was a relativelypoor winter for seeing the irruptive finchesin the region, with neither CommonRedpoll, Pine Siskin, Evening Grosbeak,nor Pine Grosbeak ranked in the top 30.Some redpolls were reported as far southas Pennsylvania and New Jersey, but thespecies primarily stayed in Canada andNew England. FeederWatchers reportedfew large flocks of siskins outside of theupper Great Lakes.Among the many rare bird highlightsfrom the region was the extraordinarysighting of a Cape May Warbler thatspent much of the winter at the feedersof Fred Bates in Rutland, Vermont. Seethe rare bird section of the FeederWatchweb site for more reports and photos.70Percentage of FeederWatch locations605040302010American RobinCooper’s HawkCommon Redpoll01988 1993 1998 2003Percentage of FeederWatch locations reporting American Robin (blue), Common Redpoll(red), and Cooper’s Hawk (green) at least once per season since 1989.Red-breasted Nuthatch by Lyn Winans, Minden, Ontario.