2024 Tuckerton Christmas Bird Count Results

Newsflash from Christmas Bird Count Central: the results of the 2024 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 seven 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.

OK, enough of the history….what happened this year?  The 2024 Tuckerton CBC, held on Dec. 14, 2024, went great, with 23 participants spotting 96 species. That is the third time in the past 5 years that we have reached 96 species, only topping that total once (99 species last year).   We can attribute our success both to accomplished and dedicated birders and decent weather conditions; the weather was clear but started out a tad ‘chilly’, with temperatures ranging from 22 to 39 degrees. That meant there was some ice, yet plenty of open water for the waterfowl. We added one new species that hadn’t been seen on the count since SOBG re-started it in 2010: a Baltimore Oriole. There were plenty of ‘yummy’ birds seen in this 2024 count that we don’t see every year, including Virginia Rail, American Woodcock (only twice previously), American Kestrel (after a 10-year absence), Marsh Wren, Common Yellowthroat (seen only once previously), and American Pipit. Nice going, folks!  You all deserve a pat on the back and hearty congratulations. We were happy to have five participants from the Watershed Ambassador program join us this year (Daniel, Kaitlyn, Toni, Brianna, and Cameron) 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 fourteen species had 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 a few waterfowl: Tundra Swan, which is missed on about half of our counts showed the largest leap (33 vs old high of 15, and spotted by three groups), with American Wigeon (9 vs 2), Common Merganser (2 vs 1), American Coot (3 vs 2). The shorebirds Greater Yellowlegs (62 vs 55) and Ruddy Turnstones, which were only seen in one previous year (3 vs 1), also set new highs. Black-crowned Night Heron, a species that benefits from open water and that we haven’t seen for the past four years, also set a new high (7 vs 5).  A few woodland species also set new highs, with the greatest jumps being made by Red-bellied Woodpecker (31 vs old high of 27), Golden-crowned Kinglet (65 vs old high of 48), Pine Warbler (4 vs 1), and Dark-eyed Junco (264 vs old high of 179). The owlers did well, picking up 5 Eastern Screech-owls and 2 Short-eared Owls, both new highs. We’ve had double-digit Bald Eagles for the past four years, and continued that trend with 16 this year.

With 96 species seen in the count, there won’t be too many misses. On the negative side, perhaps the most glaring count day misses this year were Red-throated Loon, Sharp-shinned Hawk, and Peregrine Falcon, each of which we see in ~75% of our counts. Long-tailed Duck, Eastern Phoebe, Winter Wren, Field Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, and Cedar Waxwing all have been spotted on about half of our counts, but were missed this year. Drat. They must have been hiding out there somewhere, and one year we’ll find them and finally break that tantalizing100-species barrier.

So overall, the count was a success, and thanks go out once again to Nancy Lynch for hosting a countdown-and-pizza gathering at her home afterward. 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 2025.  In the meantime, here’s a few photos from the 2024 Tuckerton CBC.

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.