2022 Tuckerton Christmas Bird Count Results
Newsflash from Christmas Bird Count Central: the results of the 2022 Tuckerton Christmas Bird Count are in. But before we get into this year’s results, let’s start off with a brief history of our count. Our group covers the Tuckerton CBC, which originated with a single participant in 1967. (😃) The Tuckerton CBC was active from 1967 through 1986, when it was discontinued (😢). The count re-started again in 2004 (😃), but was halted after just two years (😢). Shortly after SOBG was organized in 2008, our group revived the Tuckerton count in 2010 (😃), and has spearheaded the count since then, led originally by compiler Linda Gangi, and for the past five years by Morry Kapitan (👍). A map of our 15-mile diameter count circle and the 10 sectors that we monitor is shown below. Due to historical precedence, the areas of our circle that overlap with adjacent CBC circles (Barnegat CBC and Oceanville CBC) are covered by those groups.
Although our 15-mile diameter circle technically includes part of Long Beach Island and Forsythe NWR, those areas are covered by the Barnegat and Oceanville CBCs because those CBCs were established before ours. The ten sectors that we cover are outlined in blue.
OK, so what happened this year? The 2022 Tuckerton CBC was great, with 23 participants spotting 96 species on count day and five more during count week, matching our highest total of species seen. We can attribute our success both to accomplished birders and pleasant weather conditions, including plenty of open water for the waterfowl. We added two new species that haven’t been seen on the count since SOBG re-started it in 2010: Common Raven and Bonaparte’s Gull. There were plenty of ‘yummy’ birds seen in this 2022 count that we don’t see every year, including American Bittern, Orange-crowned Warbler, Sedge Wren, Virginia Rail, Eastern Meadowlark, and Rusty Blackbird. American Oystercatchers were seen again after an absence of six years, and American Tree Sparrow after an eleven-year absence. Nice going, folks! You all deserve a pat on the back and hearty congratulations. We were happy to have at least three new participants this year (Amy R., Darlene, and MaryEllen) and look forward to having you join us in future counts.
The CBC is not just about having a good time and logging the number of species, but also (and perhaps more importantly), we are documenting the number of individuals seen. This year fifteen species had significantly new high counts. As always, it is not completely clear whether the positive numbers are due to increased presence of these birds or the amount of effort by dedicated and skilled birders; that analysis is best done by statistical experts on a larger scale than our circle. The open water allowed new highs for four duck species (Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, and Long-tailed Duck). Great Blue Heron and Double-crested Cormorant, two species that benefit from open water, also set new highs, and the Greater Yellowlegs record was obliterated (55 vs previous high of 24). A few woodland species also set new highs, with the greatest jumps being made by House Finch (115 vs old high of 75), Golden-crowned Kinglet (48 vs old high of 27), and Red-breasted Nuthatch (31 vs old high of 16)!!
When we tie a record high for species, there won’t be too many misses. On the negative side, perhaps the most glaring count day misses this year were both Greater and Lesser Scaup, each of which we typically see on about 2/3 of our counts. Tundra Swan and Cedar Waxwing appear on about half of our counts, but were missed this year. Other semi-hardy species that we didn’t see this year (but which were possible) include Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, and Savannah Sparrow. Drat. They must have been hiding out there somewhere.
So overall, the count was a raging success, and we are once again tantalizingly close to that magical 100-species level. With the five count-week species that we had this year, we did peek over that barrier, but count week species are not quite ‘official’. Maybe next year we’ll officially crack into triple digits. Birders of all skill levels can participate and contribute in different ways in this global event, and can also do either full day or half days, so please consider joining us next year. Many thanks to our thorough and reliable count compiler Morry Kapitan, and we’ll see you all in 2023. In the meantime, here’s a few photos from the 2022 Tuckerton CBC.
Sunrise at Tip Seaman Park looking toward the Seaport was glorious, heralding a super day.
American Bittern is a great bird to see any day. This one was found hiding in the saltmarsh on Great Bay Boulevard.
The tiny and very active Golden-crowned Kinglet, one of our reliable winter visitors, was seen at record high levels this year.
A summary of the results since 2010 (when SOBG started sponsoring the Tuckerton CBC) can be found here. The tally of the results from each of our CBC sectors from this year can be found in this file.