2023 Tuckerton Christmas Bird Count Results

The 2023 Tuckerton Christmas Bird Count was held on Dec. 16, 2023. The weather was perfect, and thanks to the warmish weather we have been having lately, the ponds were completely ice-fee. We had nine teams and a total of 19 participants tallying up the birds that they see throughout the day, setting numerous records for this count.

Before we get into details of this year’s results, let’s start off with a brief history of our count.  (Skip to the next paragraph if you’ve heard this previously.)  Our group covers the Tuckerton CBC circle, 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 six years by Morry Kapitan. A map of our 15-mile diameter count circle and the ten 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.

THE 2023 RESULTS:  This year we tied our record with 96 species seen on count day, but we added another three count-week species (Surf Scoter, Red-throated Loon, and Palm Warbler) for a new high of 99 species. (YAY!!). Two new species were added to our cumulative list since the count was revived in 2010: Long-billed Dowitcher and Osprey. As always, there were a few species that were missed, led by Great Egret (which has been seen on 71% of our previous counts), but Black Scoter, Pied-billed Grebe, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Savannah Sparrow were others that we could-have should-have had.

As expected based on the warm weather and open water, we did well with ducks, having spotted Ruddy Duck, Green-winged Teal, Long-tailed Duck, and American Wigeon, each of which we miss in 50% of our counts. We had nice results in the marshes, with Clapper Rail, Virginia Rail, Marsh Wren, and Sedge Wren being reported again, and only the second sighting of Short-eared Owl. Other ‘nice’ species that were seen this year and are frequently missed include American Pipit, Fox Sparrow, Eastern Meadowlark, Rusty Blackbird, Purple Finch, and Pine Siskin.

This year we recorded high counts for a remarkable 29 species!!  The greatest leaps were made by Common Raven (12 this year vs a previous high of 1, reflecting their increased prevalence throughout NJ), Marsh Wren and Virginia Rail (each with 5 vs previous high of 1), Eastern Bluebird (70 vs previous high of 60), Cedar Waxwing (142 vs 95), and American Robin (3,279 vs previous high of 936!). The reasons and significance of these increases could be varied, with the warm weather and better coverage and greater effort by skilled birders leading the likely causes. We know that bird numbers are declining, so we don’t want to over-interpret high numbers for just one count circle; the folks at Audubon will take our data and those of all the other circles and reach more solid conclusions.  It certainly would be interesting to see if other CBCs also recorded similar trends with these species.

After a tiring but rewarding day in the field, some of the participants gathered at Nancy Lynch’s home to go over the numbers, share our respective sighting highlights, and partake in yummy high-quality pizza and a glass or two of wine. Many thanks to our compiler (Morry), all our participants, and to Nancy for the countdown/round-up hospitality. With a few more eyes out there we might have cracked the magical 100-species barrier…maybe more of you can join us for the 2024 Tuckerton CBC.

To download a file with the complete results since 2010, click here. For only this year’s results, click here. Our 2022 results can be found here.