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THIS WEEK at HILTON POND
16-22 December 2018

Installment #684---Visitor # website counter

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28th 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 118 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 of live birds from Toronto to Pacific Grove CA and involved 27 participants who tallied 89 combined species. That's a far cry from 2017 when 2,536 CBCs in the United States, Canada, and Latin America involved 73,153 participants who tallied more than 56 million birds, with 641 species in the U.S. alone!

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

Hilton Pond Center started the York/Rock Hill count in 1991 to help provide a snapshot of numbers and species of early-winter birds present in central York County--in the heart of the Carolina Piedmont Region. Beginning before sunrise and finishing after 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 the new bridge on 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 28th annual York/Rock Hill CBC--typically held the Saturday before Christmas if weather allows--was conducted on 22 December 2018.

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

The 2018 count began at 6:15 a.m. when the group gathered as always in Rock Hill near the center of the count circle. Present were compiler Bill Hilton Jr. (who has participated one way or another on all 28 York/Rock Hill counts); Bob Olson--a 21-year participant who worked his binoculars left-handed this year because of shoulder surgery--and five-year veteran Tom Anderson. Also on hand were newcomers Dave McAvoy and Cheryl & Marcus Morris. In all we had six people in four parties in the field.

Several participants live within the count circle, so after gathering for instructions they headed back home to start the day counting early birds at their feeders. Just before dawn everyone was treated to the sight of a brilliant full moon (above) in a perfectly clear sky. The morning was chilly but pleasant at 39°, with light southwesterly winds--a nice change after several days of dreary, rainy weather that saturated the ground and made some of our usual birding haunts inaccessible.

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

After a pleasant morning in the field the participants assembled again in Rock Hill at lunchtime to make a preliminary analysis and to determine if various areas within the count circle needed to be visited--or re-visited. With a morning total of just 52 species it was apparent we needed to hit the bushes a little harder during the afternoon--especially to find several sparrow species we were missing. (We did observe good numbers of winter migrant White-throated Sparrows, above, during the morning hours.)

Most count participants reconvened one more time at 4:30 p.m. to turn in record forms, with folks heading back home for one more look at birds coming to feeders before darkness descended. That evening compiler Hilton collated all the tally sheets and began the annual process of confirming how many species and individual birds had been observed during the count day.

In all, our six participants reported a disappointing 55 species, below the 28-year average of 59 and not even close to the record high of 80 set back in 2000. Individual birds were also few and far between, with the 1,582 seen being much less than our average of 4,368.

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

As shown on the comprehensive list at the end of this write-up, Northern Flickers (above) were a bright spot, with a new high of 33 eclipsing the old record of 27. Red-tailed Hawks (see photo below) came in at 23, tying the old record from the count's first year (1991). In all, 21 species were counted in numbers equal to or above the 28-year average. Worth noting was a big comeback for Eastern Towhees and Northern Cardinals, two so-called "common" species that had been declining in recent years.

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

Many commonly reported species were missing, including ALL the waterfowl except Mallards! With as much rain as we've had in the Carolina Piedmont this fall and early winter one might expect ducks would be present in record numbers on local ponds and lakes. (Scott Cronk, an outdoorsman friend from Ashe County NC, suggests that puddle ducks may be avoiding open bodies of water, prefering to hang out in this year's abundant flooded timber areas where they are much harder to spot. "They likely prefer the cover of the woods if available.")

Also absent from this year's count were several of the sparrows and the usually reliable Cooper's Hawks, Belted Kingfishers, and Brown Thrashers, among others; even Rock Doves and House Sparrows did not appear. Since this was expected to be a "finch winter" due to failed wild seed crops in Canada, we had anticipated big numbers of Purple Finches and Pine Siskins for the Christmas Bird Count, and maybe even seldom-seen Red-breasted Nuthatches and Evening Grosbeaks. All these were absent except for a paltry four Purple Finches (below), and we never saw any of those huge flocks of blackbirds or American Robins that sometimes swell our numbers.

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

Our low tallies of bird species and individuals in December 2018 were not the fault of those enthusiastic observers who helped with the count. The biggest impact on diminishing bird populations in York County appears to be an ever-decreasing amount of natural habitat as commercial and residential development have expanded dramatically--sometimes catastrophically--during the past 28 years. Not only are woodland birds decreasing as local forests are clear cut, York County is also losing grassland and shrub land species such as sparrows when farms are abandoned or turned into subdivisions. One of the valuable--but sad--functions of our on-going York/Rock Hill (SC) Christmas Bird Count has been to document such changes.

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



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

Perhaps the most unusual sighting during the York/Rock Hill Christmas Bird Count wasn't a bird at all, but a North American River Otter, Lontra canadensis. It was first observed from a distance (above) by compiler Bill Hilton Jr. shortly after sunrise on the dock at Hilton Pond. We last had otters at the Center in about 1996 when a trio of youngsters moved in and decimated the local Muskrat population; those particular otters eventually disappeared. The one on the dock this year on 22 December was obviously a full-grown adult that nose to tail was about as long as the width of the three-foot-wide pier.

After taking a couple of quick photos from the farmhouse with a telephoto lens that was too short, Hilton mounted a longer lens on the camera and made an effort to sneak closer. As he followed a trail toward the pond, he could see through the trees the otter was alternately grooming its fur and nibbling on a good-sized panfish, undoubtedly one of its favorite foods.

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

Getting closer, Hilton observed the long, laterally flattened tail that helps guide this giant aquatic weasel through the water. The bewhiskered otter seemed unaware of his presence, but when Hilton was finally close enough for one more hurried photo in the blue-tinted shadows (see above) the otter slid off the side of the dock and disappeared into the darkness of Hilton Pond.

After all the rain we've had for the past month or so, the pond has been full past capacity. It may be such added depth made the impoundment a more welcome spot for this large aquatic animal.

No one knows how long the otter will stay, but if it's here for the winter the local fish population almost certainly will drop. A River Otter's fish-catching ability coupled with its ravenous appetite will make short work of any sizable Bluegills or Largemouth Bass lurking in the depths. That's all okay by us. This otter got here on its own via natural means, so we're not about to interfere with the natural occurrence of a seldom-seen native mammal--especially since North American River Otters have declined drastically across their range due to over-trapping and habitat loss.

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



Please take time to peruse Table 1 below for a full accounting of the official results from our 2018 early winter bird survey. Then mark your calendar and join friends of Hilton Pond Center for the 29th annual York/Rock Hill Christmas Bird Count scheduled for Saturday, 21 December 2019. No experience necessary--just binoculars and a desire to help get a more complete census of avifauna in central York County, South Carolina. If you'd like to participate or have questions about the most recent or other past counts, please contact the compiler at RESEARCH.

TABLE 1:
2018 YORK/ROCK HILL SC
CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT TOTALS
(22 December 2018)
RED = New record high (1 species)
GREEN = Ties record high (1)
MAROON = At or above average (21)
Common
Name
2018
Count
28-year
Avg.
28-year
High
Number of
Counts
Blackbird, Brewer's
.
--
--
--
Blackbird, Red-winged
4
89
560
22
Blackbird, Rusty
.
2
30
5
Blackbird sp.
.
157
2,156
(9)
Bluebird, Eastern
61
82
216
28
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
123
70
169
28
Catbird, Gray
.
<1
1
1
Chickadee, Carolina
69
39
159
28
Coot, American
4
18
79
24
Cormorant, Double-crested
3
40
150
23
Cowbird, Brown-headed
14
26
245
11
Creeper Brown
1
1
3
11
Crow, American
88
85
191
28
Crow, Fish
.
<1
10
3
Dove, Mourning
48
93
266
28
Dove, Rock
CW
38
185
25
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
1
1
3
12
Egret, Great
.
<1
1
2
Falcon, Peregrine
.
--
--
--
Finch, House
20
40
193
28
Finch, Purple
4
3
30
10
Flicker, Northern
33
7
33
25
Gadwall
.
<1
3
3
Gnatcatcher, Blue -gray
.
--
--
--
Goldeneye, Common
.
<1
1
1
Goldfinch, American
16
22
68
27
Goose, Canada
82
144
296
28
Goose, Snow
.
--
--
--
Grackle, Common
176
430
3,901
21
Grebe, Horned
.
2
11
14
Grebe, Pied-billed
2
7
24
27
Grosbeak, Evening
.
--
--
--

Gull, Bonaparte's

112
177
1,200
28
Gull, Herring
.
1
7
5
Gull, Laughing
.
<1
1
1
Gull, Ring-billed
58
735
3,708
28
Harrier, Northern
.
1
6
17
Hawk, Cooper's
.
1
2
14
Hawk, Red-shouldered
7
4
10
27
Hawk, Red-tailed
23
11
23
27
Hawk, Sharp-shinned
.
1
4
13
Heron, Great Blue
4
17
39
28
Heron, Green
.
<1
1
1
Hummingbird, Rufous
.
<1
1
6
Jay, Blue
89
61
247
28
Junco, Dark-eyed
15
77
404
28
Kestrel, American
1
3
10
25
Killdeer
15
25
119
28
Kingfisher, Belted
.
5
14
26
Kinglet, Golden-crowned
.
5
38
20
Kinglet, Ruby-crowned
4
14
48
28
Lark, Prairie Horned
.
<1
3
2
Loon, Common
1
2
5
20
Mallard
15
43
141
27
Meadowlark, Eastern
.
27
114
25
Merganser, Common
.
--
--
--
Merganser, Hooded
.
6
38
17
Merganser, Red-breasted
.
<1
5
3
Merlin
.
--
--
--
Mockingbird, Northern
38
35
99
28
Nuthatch, Brown-headed
1
4
18
26
Nuthatch, Red-breasted
.
<1
1
5
Nuthatch, White-breasted
1
1
3
12
Oriole, Baltimore
CW
<1
1
1
Osprey
.
<1
3
2
Owl, Barred
.
<1
3
8
Owl, E. Screech
.
<1
1
3
Owl, Great Horned
.
<1
3
6
Owl, Northern Saw-whet
.
--
--
--
Phoebe, Eastern
4
5
10
27
Pintail, Northern
.
--
--
--
Pipit, American
.
23
403
13
Redhead
.
--
--
--
Robin, American
112
520
7,705
28
Sapsucker, Yellow-bellied
3
4
12
27
Scaup, Greater
.
<1
4
1
Scaup, Lesser
.
3
70
6
Shoveler, Northern
.
--
--
--
Shrike, Loggerhead
.
1
5
13
Siskin, Pine
CW
1
18
1
Snipe, Wilson's
.
<1
4
5
Sparrow sp.
.
8
112
(7)
Sparrow, Chipping
7
28
136
23
Sparrow, Field
3
11
58
22
Sparrow, Fox
1
<1
4
7
Sparrow, House

.

9
48
21
Sparrow, Lincoln's
.
--
--
--
Sparrow, Savannah
.
2
27
9
Sparrow, Song
12
28
91
28
Sparrow, Swamp
.
2
15
14
Sparrow, Vesper
.
2
34
3
Sparrow, White-crowned
.
<1
7
1
Sparrow, White-throated
45
44
179
28
Starling, European
65
543
3,063
28
Teal, Green-winged
.
1
15
3
Teal, Blue-winged
.
--
--
--
Tern, Forster's
.
--
--
--
Thrasher, Brown
.
3
14
22
Thrush, Hermit
2
2
15
23
Titmouse, Eastern Tufted
13
19
41
28
Towhee, Eastern
39
20
59
27
Turkey, Wild
.
7
53
8
Vireo, Blue-headed
.
<1
3
3
Vulture, Black
47
37
222
28
Vulture, Turkey
10
62
264
27
Warbler, Palm (Yellow)
.
<1
3
1
Warbler, Pine
2
3
13
24
Warbler, Yellow-rumped
19
31
196
26
Waxwing, Cedar
CW
104
1,322
24
Wigeon, American
.
--
--
--
Woodcock, American
.
<1
2
3
Woodpecker, Downy
6
6
17
28
Woodpecker, Hairy
.
1
3
10
Woodpecker, Pileated
1
<1
3
8
Woodpecker, Red-bellied
24
15
41
28
Woodpecker, Red-headed
3
1
5
15
Wren, Carolina
30
22
60
28

Wren, House

.

<1

1

4

Wren, Winter
1
1
3
12
Yellowthroat, Common
.
<1
1
2

2018 Individuals

1,582

28-yr avg
4,368
28-yr total
118,509
28-yr Max
12,945

2018 Species

55

28-yr avg
59.1
28-yr Max
80
24 spp. seen every year
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 28-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 = Species seen this year during count week (three days before or three after) but not on count day


A fourth-year male Ruby-throated Hummingbird (above) recaptured in 2017
after having been banded locally as an immature in 2014; he was likely present
but not encountered locally in either 2015 or 2016.


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

6,000 RUBY-THROATS,
AND COUNTING

To celebrate the banding of our 6,000th Ruby-throated Hummingbird (color-marked immature male, above) during the past 35 years of research, Hilton Pond Center is undertaking a fund-raising effort in support of "Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project." Our goal from now through the end of 2018 is to raise ONE DOLLAR for each of the 6,193 hummers banded locally through since 1984.

If you'd like to support our on-going study of hummingbird migration, site fidelity, longevity, and population dynamics here in the U.S. and in Central America, please click on one of the links below to send a tax-deductible donation. (You can also donate through our Facebook fundraising page.)


Payable via credit card


Payable to: funding@hiltonpond.org

Checks also 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



Don't forget to scroll down for Nature Notes & Photos,
plus lists of all birds banded or recaptured during the period.


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

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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
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plus daily weather summary

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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.

Gifts can be made via PayPal (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). You can also donate through our Facebook fundraising page.

  • Tom Anderson (repeat donor)
  • Kenneth Baerwalde (repeat donor)
  • Anne C. Dillon (long-time repeat donor)
  • Mary Kimberly & Gavin MacDonald (long-time major supporters; alumni of seven Operation RubyThroat Neotropical hummingbird expeditions)
  • Ann Marsh
  • Lisa Montgomery (via PayPal)
  • Virginia Sherry

We are likewise grateful for the many followers of Hilton Pond Center's Facebook page who made on-line contributions in November as part of our "$6,000 for 6,000 Hummingbirds" Campaign. These will be acknowledged in an end-of year installment.


 
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
16-22 December 2018

SPECIES BANDED THIS PERIOD:
American Goldfinch--2
Dark-eyed Junco--1

Northern Cardinal--7
Purple Finch--2
House Finch--9
Blue Jay--1
Common Grackle--5
*
Mourning Dove--8

* = new banded species for 2018


PERIOD BANDING TOTAL:
7 species
35 individuals


2018 BANDING TOTAL:
53 species (37-yr. avg. = 64.9)

1,201 individuals
(37-yr. avg. =
1,840.2)
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds = 222


37-YEAR BANDING GRAND TOTAL:
(Banding began 28 June 1982; since then 171 species have been observed on or over the property.)
126 species banded
68,086 individuals banded

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds = 6,193


NOTABLE RECAPTURES THIS WEEK:
(with original banding date, sex, and current age):
Carolina Wren (1)
01/18/18--after hatch year unknown


OTHER NATURE NOTES:
--With another 1.49" of local rain on 20-21 Dec 2018, the ground at the Center is absolutely saturated and Hilton Pond itself is full past capacity. Due to run-off and direct rainfall, water has been going over the pond's spillway for the past couple of weeks--the first time this has occurred for so long a period in our 37 years on the property. With such soggy soil we're surprised shallow-rooted trees aren't toppling right and left; we suspect that could happen easily if there's a big windstorm before things start to dry out.

--As of 22 Dec, the Hilton Pond Center's 2018 Yard List stood at 76--about 44% of 171 avian species encountered locally since 1982. (If you're not keeping a yard list for your own property we encourage you to do so, and to report your sightings via eBird.) New species observed this year from 16-22 Dec: NONE

--Our immediate past installment of "This Week at Hilton Pond" was about the effects of "Snowmageddon" on local birds and is always available on the Center's Web site as Installment #683.

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)


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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.