- Established 1982 -

HOME: www.hiltonpond.org


THIS WEEK at HILTON POND
1-17 December 2016

Installment #648---Visitor #AmazingCounters.com

Subscribe for free to our award-winning nature newsletter

(Back to Preceding Week; on to Next Week)


26th ANNUAL YORK/ROCK HILL (SC)
CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT

All text, maps, charts & photos © Hilton Pond Center

Each winter--in cooperation with the National Audubon Society--Hilton Pond Center implements and compiles a Christmas Bird Count (CBC) for York/Rock Hill in York County, South Carolina (see map above). Christmas Bird Counts--perhaps the first big organized "citizen science" effort--originated 116 years ago as an alternative to traditional holiday bird hunts when folks young and old used newly gifted guns to see who could bring down the most birds. For that first CBC in 1900, ornithologist Frank Chapman organized 25 counts from Toronto to Pacific Grove CA and involved 27 participants who tallied 89 combined species. That's a far cry from 2011 when 2,248 CBCs in the United States, Canada, and Latin America involved more than 63,000 participants who tallied more than 60 million birds, with nearly 650 species in the U.S. alone!

All text, maps, charts & photos © Hilton Pond Center

We started the York/Rock Hill count in 1991 to help provide a snapshot of numbers and species of winter birds present in central York County--in the heart of the Carolina Piedmont Region. Beginning before sunrise and finishing at dusk, participants identify and tally birds seen and/or heard in an area inscribed by a standard circle 15 miles in diameter (see map above)--centered where Tools Fork Creek flows beneath SC Hwy 5 (West Main Street) just west of Northwestern High School. (Count-center coordinates are 34° 57' 23.57" N, 81º 06' 24.64" W; in decimal degrees that's N34.956547, W81.106844.)

All text, maps, charts & photos © Hilton Pond Center

The count circle includes all of Hilton Pond Center (above), as well as a mix of urban/suburban/rural habitats and large sections of southern Lake Wylie on the Catawba River. Participants are assigned one or more of the circle's 11 sectors and are expected to spend all (or part of) the day covering one or more area(s) by car and on foot--perhaps even by canoe or bicycle! This year our 26th annual York/Rock Hill CBC--typically held the Saturday before Christmas if weather allows--was implemented on 17 December.

We had advance commitments from four participants, all of whom did show up for at least part of the day: Third-time counter Tom Anderson; long-time veteran Bob Olson (our second-most-faithful counter with 19 years); first-timer Lauren Mobley (who had to leave mid-morning to open her Wild Birds Unlimited store in Rock Hill); and founder/compiler Bill Hilton Jr. (all 26 counts).

Our 2016 count started out as a true anomaly. Weather predictions the evening before indicated overnight lows would be at or near freezing, with light precipitation leading to a glaze of ice on roads and power lines. Since we normally start the York/Rock Hill count period at 6:30 a.m., we knew there was a chance for dangerous black ice conditions on local byways before first light; thus, Friday evening we sent word we'd operate the next morning on a two-hour delay. We also suggested participants start birding their own yards on foot at dawn; this turned out to be very fortuitous, with Bob Olson reporting not one but two migratory Brown Creepers in his neighborhood (file photo above right). We've had this infrequently seen species on just ten of 26 counts.

All text, maps, charts & photos © Hilton Pond Center

By the time participants gathered at 8:30 a.m. pavement was essentially clear, in part because highway crews had spread brine on many roads the day before. However, low temperatures still a few degrees below freezing combined with high humidity meant we started out in a heavy fog that never really cleared until dusk--the first time we can remember witnessing an all-day mid-winter fog across York County SC. Amid the gloominess (above), our still-optimistic and energetic birders split into two parties and drove off to their assigned sectors.

At socked-in Lake Wylie--typically an important locale for sighting water birds and other species--observers could barely make out flocks of gulls, waders, and the like. Very few birds were out and about in the cool, damp air. (They may have been in the treetops, but we certainly couldn't see them 'way up there!) The weather also wasn't very amenable to good photography, so we regret we weren't able to include herein very many decent images of birds seen during count day.

All text, maps, charts & photos © Hilton Pond Center

Fortunately, the feeders at Hilton Pond Center were active; there we tallied a respectable 23 species in 45 minutes of mid-morning observation. Despite this variety, however, there were very few total birds. A hoped-for migratory Red-breasted Nuthatch spotted a day earlier at the Center never appeared, meaning we could only list it for "count week" and not the count itself. A male White-breasted Nuthatch (above) did pose long enough for a photo after grabbing some suet outside the kitchen window; this species tied a record of three for the most seen on a York/Rock Hill count. Lauren Mobley did get the increasingly uncommon Brown-headed Nuthatch in her Rock Hill neighborhood and called in to report 14 House Sparrows at her Wild Birds Unlimited store when she opened at mid-morning. (For some reason, a second non-native species--Rock Dove--was not at the usual Farmers Exchange feed store hangout, so we missed them entirely this year.)

All text, maps, charts & photos © Hilton Pond Center

As might be expected, "big birds" were not flying in the fog and for the first time in 26 years we did not record a single Turkey Vulture; only 18 of the increasingly more common Black Vultures appeared. True raptors were equally hard to come by. Those we did find were typically hunkered down on perches, including a pair of Red-tailed Hawks on an electrical tower, a solitary male American Kestrel on a power pole, and a soggy Red-shouldered Hawk on a wire (above). (We can thank Duke Power and York Electric Coop for provided places for these birds to sit in the fog!) The nicely plumaged (and apparently citified) red-shouldered adult sat damply and nearly motionless for a long time on the line above Rey Azteca Restaurant in York, allowing close enough access for several exposures. And lest you think we whited-out the background in our photo just above, that's actually how the foggy sky looked the whole live-long day!

Two Bald Eagles spotted near the dam at Rock Hill appeared less concerned about the weather, but despite attempts before dawn and after dark, observers were unable to hear or see any owl species that might be expected on our annual Christmas Bird Count.

All text, maps, charts & photos © Hilton Pond Center

Once again this year we had a near-absence of winter finches, with just 16 House Finches--15 of those at Hilton Pond feeders where we also saw just one American Goldfinch and one Purple Finch. (The photo above shows two House Finches, a Carolina Chickadee, and an American Goldfinch. We're still waiting on the season's first Pine Siskins, but it's possible they won't come down this winter.) In a disturbing trend, various sparrow species have begun to decline or have disappeared completely from local habitats where they once were relatively plentiful. This year, for example, we saw no Field, Savannah, or Swamp Sparrows--much less the less common Fox, Lincoln's, Vesper, or White-crowned Sparrows. We did tally 38 White-throated Sparrows at various sites, but our only three Chipping Sparrows were at the feeders at Hilton Pond. Dark-eyed Juncos were also present in low numbers with just 13 seen; the 26-year average for this species is 81.

All text, maps, charts & photos © Hilton Pond Center

As often happens, competition for most abundant species was between Canada Geese and Bonaparte's Gulls (the latter in winter plumage, above). Gulls won out this year 208 to 110. American Robins and European Starlings were next at 80 each, but we never came across one of those big nomadic winter flocks of miscellaneous blackbirds or robins that in some past years have made our overall count numbers skyrocket.

In all the four bird counters saw 46 species by lunchtime--fewer than half the 110 we've observed at least once during our previous 25 years of York/Rock Hill Christmas counting. We added six species in the afternoon to end with 52 for the day. This was: Ten less than last year; below our 26-year-average of 64; and nowhere near our record of 80 set back in 2000.

All text, maps, charts & photos © Hilton Pond Center

Of 52 species seen during our 2016 foray, 24 have appeared on every count since we began in 1991--including the Great Blue Heron (above) photographed in the shallows of Hilton Pond during this year's count. Despite overall low numbers, 10 species equaled or slightly surpassed their 26-year average (see Table 1 below), but none set new record highs in 2016. NOT appearing for the first time in 26 years were Turkey Vulture and Eastern Phoebe. Also missing were any of those western vagrant hummers such as Rufous Hummingbirds that have appeared for a few past counts.

The final count of individual birds was a lowly 1,282--just 22 more than last year and only about a fourth of our 26-year average of 4,356. The fog undoubtedly kept numbers down, but despite their hard work it didn't help having only four observers covering the entire 15-mile diameter circle. Even so, the biggest impact on declining bird populations in York County appears to be an ever-decreasing amount of habitat as commercial and residential development have expanded dramatically--sometimes catastrophically--during the past 26 years.

Please take time to peruse Table 1 below for a full accounting of the official results from our 2016 survey. Then mark your calendar and join friends of Hilton Pond Center for the 27th annual York/Rock Hill Christmas Bird Count scheduled for Saturday, 23 December 2017. (This will be almost a week later than in 2016, which could make for better results as more winter migrants have time to come down from up north.) No experience necessary--just binoculars and a desire to help get a more complete census of avifauna in central York County, South Carolina.

All text, maps, charts & photos © Hilton Pond Center


TABLE 1:
2016 YORK/ROCK HILL SC
CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT TOTALS
(17 December 2015)
RED = New record high (0 species)
GREEN = Ties record high (1)
MAROON = At or above average (10)
Common
Name
2016
Count
26-year
Avg.
26-year
High
Number of
Counts
Blackbird, Brewer's
.
--
--
--
Blackbird, Red-winged
.
74
503
20
Blackbird, Rusty
.
2
30
5
Blackbird sp.
.
169
2,156
(9)
Bluebird, Eastern
35
84
216
26
Bobwhite, Northern
.
1
13
2
Bufflehead
.
2
11
11
Bunting, Snow
.
<1
1
1
Buteo sp.
.
<1
1
(1)
Canvasback
.
<1
8
1
Cardinal, Northern
41
67
169
26
Catbird, Gray
.
<1
1
1
Chickadee, Carolina
23
38
159
26
Coot, American
10
19
79
22
Cormorant, Double-crested
54
39
150
21
Cowbird, Brown-headed
40
27
245
9
Creeper Brown
2
1
3
10
Crow, American
46
86
191
26
Crow, Fish
.
<1
10
3
Dove, Mourning
41
94
266
26
Dove, Rock
CW
41
185
24
Duck, American Black
.
1
4
5
Duck, Ring-necked
.
5
50
9
Duck, Ruddy
.
3
19
10
Duck, Wood
.
1
10
9
Dunlin
.
--
--
--
Eagle, Southern Bald
2
1
3
10
Egret, Great
.
<1
1
2
Falcon, Peregrine
.
--
--
--
Finch, House
16
40
193
26
Finch, Purple
1
3
30
9
Flicker, Northern
CW
7
27
23
Gadwall
.
<1
3
3
Gnatcatcher, Blue -gray
.
--
--
--
Goldeneye, Common
.
<1
1
1
Goldfinch, American
1
22
68
25
Goose, Canada
110
147
296
26
Goose, Snow
.
--
--
--
Grackle, Common
.
452
3,901
19
Grebe, Horned
.
2
11
14
Grebe, Pied-billed
3
7
24
25
Grosbeak, Evening
.
--
--
--
Gull, Bonaparte's
280
140
720
26
Gull, Herring
.
1
7
5
Gull, Laughing
.
<1
1
1
Gull, Ring-billed
75
781
3,708
26
Harrier, Northern
.
1
6
17
Hawk, Cooper's
1
1
2
14
Hawk, Red-shouldered
1
4
10
25
Hawk, Red-tailed
2
10
23
25
Hawk, Sharp-shinned
.
1
4
13
Heron, Great Blue
4
18
39
26
Heron, Green
.
<1
1
1
Hummingbird, Rufous
.
<1
1
6
Jay, Blue
35
61
247
26
Junco, Dark-eyed
13
81
404
26
Kestrel, American
1
3
10
24
Killdeer
11
26
119
26
Kingfisher, Belted
5
5
14
25
Kinglet, Golden-crowned
3
5
38
19
Kinglet, Ruby-crowned
1
14
48
26
Lark, Prairie Horned
.
<1
3
2
Loon, Common
.
2
5
18
Mallard
18
45
141
25
Meadowlark, Eastern
1
29
114
25
Merganser, Common
.
--
--
--
Merganser, Hooded
18
6
38
16
Merganser, Red-breasted
.
<1
5
3
Merlin
.
--
--
--
Mockingbird, Northern
15
35
99
26
Nuthatch, Brown-headed
1
4
18
24
Nuthatch, Red-breasted
CW
<1
1
5
Nuthatch, White-breasted
3
1
3
11
Oriole, Baltimore
.
<1
1
1
Osprey
.
<1
3
2
Owl, Barred
CW
<1
3
7
Owl, E. Screech
.
<1
1
3
Owl, Great Horned
.
<1
3
6
Owl, Northern Saw-whet
.
--
--
--
Phoebe, Eastern
.
5
10
25
Pintail, Northern
.
--
--
--
Pipit, American
10
24
403
13
Redhead
.
--
--
--
Robin, American
80
550
7,705
26
Sapsucker, Yellow-bellied
2
4
12
25
Scaup, Greater
.
<1
4
1
Scaup, Lesser
.
4
70
6
Shoveler, Northern
.
--
--
--
Shrike, Loggerhead
.
1
5
13
Siskin, Pine
.
1
18
1
Snipe, Wilson's
.
<1
4
5
Sparrow sp.
.
9
112
(7)
Sparrow, Chipping
3
29
136
21
Sparrow, Field
CW
11
58
20
Sparrow, Fox
.
<1
4
6
Sparrow, House

14

10
48
21
Sparrow, Lincoln's
.
--
--
--
Sparrow, Savannah
.
3
27
9
Sparrow, Song
23
29
91
26
Sparrow, Swamp
.
2
15
14
Sparrow, Vesper
.
2
34
3
Sparrow, White-crowned
.
<1
7
1
Sparrow, White-throated
38
44
179
26
Starling, European
80
578
3,063
26
Teal, Green-winged
.
1
15
3
Teal, Blue-winged
.
--
--
--
Tern, Forster's
.
--
--
--
Thrasher, Brown
1
3
14
22
Thrush, Hermit
1
2
15
22
Titmouse, Eastern Tufted
14
19
41
26
Towhee, Eastern
7
19
59
25
Turkey, Wild
6
8
53
8
Vireo, Blue-headed
.
<1
3
3
Vulture, Black
18
35
222
26
Vulture, Turkey
CW
66
264
25
Warbler, Palm (Yellow)
.
<1
3
1
Warbler, Pine
1
3
13
22
Warbler, Yellow-rumped
.
32
196
24
Waxwing, Cedar
32
111
1,322
24
Wigeon, American
.
--
--
--
Woodcock, American
.
<1
2
3
Woodpecker, Downy
4
6
17
26
Woodpecker, Hairy
.
1
3
10
Woodpecker, Pileated
.
<1
3
7
Woodpecker, Red-bellied
13
15
41
26
Woodpecker, Red-headed
.
1
5
13
Wren, Carolina
22
21
60
26

Wren, House

.

<1

1

4

Wren, Winter
.
1
3
11
Yellowthroat, Common
.
<1
1
2

Individuals

1,282

26-yr avg
4,356
26-yr total
113,257
24 spp. seen every year

Species

52

26-yr avg
63.7
Italicized species are possible/probable for the area but have not yet been observed on count day for an official York/Rock Hill CBC.

111 species have been observed at least once over the 26-year history of the count; our local CBC record is 80 species in 2000. Record number of individuals for our local CBC is 12,945 in 1994.

CW = Six species seen this year during count week (three days before or three after) but not on count day

.


Payable to: funding@hiltonpond.org

Checks can be sent to Hilton Pond Center at:
1432 DeVinney Road
York SC 29745

All contributions are tax-deductible on your
current-year income tax form

See list of recent supporters below


"This Week at Hilton Pond" is written and photographed by Bill Hilton Jr., executive director of Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History

Please refer "This Week at Hilton Pond" to others by clicking on this button:


Follow us on Twitter:

@hiltonpond



Comments or questions about this week's installment? Send an E-mail to INFO. (Be sure to scroll down for a tally of birds banded/recaptured during the period, plus other nature notes.)

Click for York, South Carolina Forecast
Click on image at right for live Web cam of Hilton Pond,
plus daily weather summary

Transmission of weather data from Hilton Pond Center via WeatherSnoop for Mac.

--SEARCH OUR SITE--
You may wish to consult our Index of all nature topics covered since
February 2000, or use our on-line
Hilton Pond Search Engine:

For your very own on-line subscription to "This Week at Hilton Pond,"
just click on the image above. It's guaranteed fat-free!



Thanks to the following fine folks for recent gifts in support of Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History and/or Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project. Your tax-deductible contributions allow us, among other things, to continue writing, photographing, and sharing "This Week at Hilton Pond" with students, teachers, and the general public. Please see Support or scroll below if you'd like to make a gift of your own.

We're pleased folks are thinking about the work of the Center and making donations. Those listed below made contributions received during the period. Please join them if you can in coming weeks.

Tax-deductible gifts can be made via PayPal (payable to funding@hiltonpond.org); credit card via Network for Good (see link below); or personal check (c/o Hilton Pond Center, 1432 DeVinney Road, York SC 29745).

Our generous end-of-year contributors (1-17 Dec):

  • Tom Anderson (repeat supporter)
  • Marie Baumann (long-time major supporter; Operation RubyThroat Neotropical trip alumna)
  • Lynn Biasini (repeat donor via Network for Good)
  • Nan Dillon (long-time supporter)
  • Ramona & Jim Edman (long-time major supporters; Operation RubyThroat Neotropical trip alumni)
  • Beth Ann Fennelly (repeat donor via PayPal; Operation RubyThroat Neotropical trip alumna)
  • Hilda & Jonathan Flamholtz (repeat donors; Operation RubyThroat Neotropical trip alumni)
  • Marilyn Ervin Haygood (first-time donor via PayPal)
  • Merilyn & Bill Hinze (on-going supporters; Operation RubyThroat Neotropical trip alumni)
  • Frank S. Holleman (repeat supporter via PayPal)
  • Dr. Dan Klem (repeat supporter)
  • Mary Alice Koeneke (repeat donor via PayPal)
  • Tamara Lesesne (repeat donor via PayPal)
  • Jim Little (repeat donor via PayPal)
  • Judy Lundquist (first-time donor via Network for Good)
  • Carol & Bob McAlister (first-time supporters via PayPal)
  • John McCoy (repeat supporter via PayPal)
  • Lynn Moseley (repeat donor via PayPal)
  • Bob Olson (long-time supporter)
  • Gerald Rising (repeat donor via PayPal)
  • Dr. Jim Shuman (repeat supporter; Operation RubyThroat Neotropical trip alumnus)
  • Jack Stout (first time donor via Network for Good; Operation RubyThroat Neotropical trip alumnus)
  • Merike Tamm (long-time supporter)
  • Ann Truesdale (repeat supporter via PayPal; Operation RubyThroat Neotropical trip alumna)
  • Marge & Rich Van Remmen (first-time donors via PayPal)
  • Frank Voelker (repeat donor via PayPal)
  • Mary & Gary Wolf (repeat major supporters; Operation RubyThroat Neotropical trip alumni)
  • Catherine Wu-Latona (repeat major supporter via Network for Good; Operation RubyThroat Neotropical trip alumni)
 
If you enjoy "This Week at Hilton Pond," please help support
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History.
It's painless, and YOU can make a difference!

(Just CLICK on a logo below or send a check if you like; see Support for address.)


Make credit card donations
on-line via
Network for Good:
.
Use your PayPal account
to make direct donations:
If you like shopping on-line please become a member of iGive, through which 1,800+ on-line stores from Amazon to Lands' End and even iTunes donate a percentage of your purchase price to support Hilton Pond Center. ..Every new member who registers with iGive and makes a purchase through them earns an ADDITIONAL $5 for the Center. You can even do Web searches through iGive and earn a penny per search--sometimes TWO--for the cause! Please enroll by going to the iGive Web site. It's a painless, important way for YOU to support our on-going work in conservation, education, and research. Add the iGive Toolbar to your browser and register Operation RubyThroat as your preferred charity to make it even easier to help Hilton Pond Center when you shop.

The Piedmont Naturalist--Vol. 1--1986 (Hilton Pond Press) is an award-winning collection of newspaper columns that first appeared in The Herald in Rock Hill SC. Optimized for tablets such as iPad and Kindle, electronic downloads of the now out-of-print volume are available by clicking on the links below. The digital version includes pen-and-ink drawings from the original edition--plus lots of new color photos. All sales go
to support the work of
Hilton Pond Center.

BIRDS BANDED THIS WEEK at
HILTON POND CENTER
1-17 December 2016

SPECIES BANDED THIS PERIOD:
Ruby-crowned Kinglet--1
Chipping Sparrow--4
Field Sparrow--1
Pine Warbler--1
Song Sparrow--1
Northern Cardinal--2
White-throated Sparrow--11
House Finch--21
Blue Jay--1
*

* = new banded species for 2015


PERIOD BANDING TOTAL:
9 species
43 individuals

2016 BANDING TOTAL:
39 species (35-yr. avg. = 65.2)

1,683 individuals
(35-yr. avg. =
1,855.0)
373 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (new record; 33-yr. avg = 172)


35-YEAR BANDING GRAND TOTAL:
(Banding began 28 June 1982; since then 171 species have been observed on or over the property.)
126 species
64,915 individuals
5,673 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds



NOTABLE RECAPTURES THIS WEEK:
(with original banding date, sex, and current age):

Chipping Sparrow (1)
02/08/14--after 3rd year unknown

House Finch (1)
11/17/15--2nd year male

Eastern Tufted Titmouse (2)
09/05/14--3rd year male
04/26/15--2nd year male

White-throated Sparrow (4)
02/08/15--3rd year female
01/27/16--2nd year female
02/03/16--2nd year unknown
02/13/16--2nd year unknown

Purple Finch (1)
03/13/09--9th year male

OTHER NATURE NOTES:

All text & photos © Hilton Pond Center

--On 5 Dec 2016 at Hilton Pond Center we banded and released a very special red bird (above)--our 10,000th House Finch banded locally. That's a LOT of House Finches handled since November 1982!

All text & photos © Hilton Pond Center

--A raspberry-colored male Purple Finch (above) encountered on 16 Dec had hung around the Center before, having been banded here 'way back on on 13 Mar 2009. Since PUFI don't spend the summer in the Carolina Piedmont, it's likely this bird left a few months after banding for his breeding grounds in the northeastern U.S. or southern Canada. He returned to Hilton Pond in 2010--ironically on 16 Dec--and by then was fully red; he apparently stayed the winter and was recaptured on 25 Jan 2011; we next encountered him on 21 Jan last year (2015). Bottom line: This now-red Purple Finch banded in brown plumage in 2009 must have hatched in 2008, so he returned to Hilton Pond this December as a NINTH-year bird--our oldest PUFI on record!

--As of 17 Dec Hilton Pond's 2016 Yard List stands at 75--about 44% of the 171 avian species encountered locally since 1982. We had no new yard birds during the first half of December.

--The immediate past installment of "This Week at Hilton Pond" will be an account of our most recent Operation RubyThroat hummingbird expedition to Ujarrás, Costa Rica. It is in preparation and will be posted when ready, after which it will archived and always available on the Center's Web site as Installment #647.

All text & photos © Hilton Pond Center



Oct 15 to Mar 15:
East of the Rockies please report your sightings of
Vagrant & Winter Hummingbirds

(immature male Rufous Hummingbird at right)


(Back to Preceding Week; on to Next Week)

Back to "This Week at Hilton Pond" Main

Current Weather Conditions at Hilton Pond Center

The Center's backyard Web cam at Weather Underground


Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History is a non-profit research, conservation & education organization in York, South Carolina USA; phone (803) 684-5852. Directed by Dr. Bill Hilton Jr., aka "The Piedmont Naturalist," it is parent organization for Operation RubyThroat. Web site contents--including text and photos--may NOT be duplicated, modified, or used in any way except with express written permission of Hilton Pond Center. All rights reserved worldwide. To request permission for use or for further assistance, please contact Webmaster.