CBC - East Aurora
Published: December 29, 2012
Tags: General Observations, CBC, Christmas Bird Count, East Aurora, Canada Goose, Mallard, American Goldfinch, Swamp Sparrow, Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Dark-eyed Junco
Today was the CBC (
Christmas Bird Count) day for the Hamburg and East Aurora areas. I was enlisted to count in Area D, East Aurora, having been asked to fill-in for Joe M. who regularly counts that area. I was happy to find out that my assignment included Sinking Ponds, one of my very favorite and regular places to bird!
Nonetheless, I was quite nervous that my sub-pro birding skills would not do the count justice or that my broken rib would keep me from a hearty try. I shouldn't have worried so much though because, as it turned out, it was a horrible day, weather-wise. The morning began with over a foot of snow on the ground - and it continued to fall heavily throughout the rest of the day. With the snow falling and swirling all around and the dim light, it was challenging to see anything. I was lucky to find
any birds to count!
After I spent a couple of hours trekking around Sinking Ponds, my 2 new expert birder friends, Mike and Ron, came by and helped out with the rest of the count area. Mike drove the village streets while Ron and I watched for feeders. We picked up a few song birds by some of the feeders we spotted, but sadly, almost all of the feeders in East Aurora were empty of food! I think the economy is hurting our bird friends; the rising cost of seed has caused a lot of folks to make concessions.
Our complete list included:
- Canada Goose - 370
- Mallard - 6
- Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
- Pileated Woodpecker - 1
- American Crow - 4
- Black-capped Chickadee - 14
- Tufted Titmouse - 2
- Swamp Sparrow - 2
- Dark-eyed Junco - 3
- Northern Cardinal - 1
- American Goldfinch - 7