December 18th, 2021 the Athol Bird and Nature Club (ABNC) held the 54th annual Athol Circle Christmas Bird Count (CBC). This annual event is sponsored by the National Audubon Society and is designed to count all the species and individual birds we can find in the area in a 24-hour period. The Athol count was officially started by science teacher Robert Coyle in 1967 with a handful of students in 2 vehicles covering the 15-mile diameter circle centered on the old Junior High School (where he taught) on School Street in Athol.
This year more than 50 members and friends of ABNC participated both in the field and reported backyard lists. 10,495 birds of 59 species were recorded. Warm temperatures leading up to count day melted any previously frozen ponds boosting waterfowl diversity. A Snow Goose was seen with a large flock of Canada Geese at Hunt’s field in Orange/New Salem, Only the 3rd time in count history. While Mattawa hosted Bufflehead, Ring-necked Duck, Common and Hooded Mergansers. Lake Rohunta yielded a pair of Greater Scaup for only the 4th time in count history. Orange Airport’s unique open habitat drew birders from around the region last week as two Northern Shrikes put on a show near Jump town only to be absent on the day of the count. Birds that did show on count day were a female Northern Harrier only the 3rd time on the count (another was seen by the Templeton field team).
A record number of feeder watchers participated with 24 reports coming in from across the count area. This aspect of the count is important to bring our community together and open participation to everyone regardless of skill level or physical restrictions. Feeder counters tallied 1,220 individual birds of 30 species. The highlight from this subset was a Gray Catbird lingering inter winter at the home of Tom Henry in South Athol. The Catbird has been feeding on a bumper crop of Winterberry Ilex verticillata a native shrub that is a great addition to any yard.
Frank Chapman and 26 other conservationists initiated the Christmas Bird Count as a way of promoting conservation by counting, rather than hunting, birds on Christmas Day of 1900. Some counts have been running every year since then and the CBC now happens in over 20 countries in the western hemisphere! Now a long-standing program of the National Audubon Society, with over 120 years of community science involvement, it is an early-winter bird census, where thousands of volunteers across the U.S., Canada (where Audubon partners with Birds Canada), and many countries in the Western Hemisphere go out over a 24-hour period on one calendar day to count birds.
Snow Goose 1, Canada Goose 223, American Black Duck 45, Mallard 121, Ring-Neck Duck 14, Greater Scaup 2, Bufflehead 2, Hooded Merganser 31, Common Merganser 298, Wild Turkey 70, Common Loon 2, Bald Eagle 12, Northern Harrier 2, Sharp-Shinned Hawk 3, Coopers Hawk 3, Red-shouldered Hawk 2, Red-Tailed Hawk 14, Ring-Billed Gull 23, Rock (Dove) Pigeon 515, Mourning Dove 443, Great Horned Owl 3, Saw-Whet Owl 8, Belted Kingfisher 6, Red-bellied woodpecker 64, Downy Woodpecker 185, Hairy Woodpecker 56, Northern Flicker 1, Pileated Woodpecker 8, Blue Jay 1440, American Crow 121, Common Raven 22, Black-capped Chickadee 760, Tufted Titmouse 431, Red-Breasted Nuthatch 20, White-Breasted Nuthatch 223, Brown Creeper 9, Carolina Wren 35, Winter Wren 2, Golden-crowned Kinglet 15, Eastern Bluebird 207, American Robin 1010, Gray Catbird 1, Northern Mockingbird 2, Starling 951, Cedar Waxwing 441, Yellow Rumped Warbler 1, American Tree Sparrow 24, Field Sparrow 2, Song Sparrow 15, White-Throated Sparrow 52, Dark-eyed Junco 1178, Northern Cardinal 139, Red-winged Blackbird 6, Purple Finch 2, House Finch 143, American Goldfinch 698, House Sparrow 385.
The field team members included: Josh Rose, Kate marquis, Mark Taylor, Greg Watkevich, Jay and Bill Rasku, Bob Mallet, Ralene Williams, Jacob Morris-Siegel, Ann Spring, Tom Pirro, John Henshaw, Steve Farrell, Chris Coyle, Dave Cass, Dale Monette, Sharon Tracy, Jeff Johnstone, Jackie Darling, Jessica Johnstone-Darling, Jon Skinner, Ann Cervantes, Joan and Larry Duprey, Mike Polana, James Mallet, Dave and Shelley Small.
The feeder reporters included: Alyce mayo and Carl Kamp, Lynn Boudreau and Brian Mallet, Wanda Roguski and Ed Armstrong, Tom and Joanne Rich, Earle Baldwin and Morgan Ban-Droit, Paul Goyetche, Beverly Taylor, Robert Juckins, Marti Horman, Tom Henry, Kent Hagar, Maureen Riendeau, Susan Heinricher, Katrina Walton, Joe Fanelli, Steve Destefano, JoEllen Harris, Bonnie House, Sherry Johnstone, Cindy Mallet. The Athol Bird and Nature Club board thanks all our participants and look forward to a healthy and prosperous 2022. Mark your calendars the next Athol CBC will be December 17, 2022, all are welcome to participate.
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