A member of the Environmental Commission participated in the National Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Raritan Estuary. Below is the summary of the results of the Bird Count complied by Tom Ostrand.

2021 is the 84th year since the first Raritan Estuary Christmas Bird Count was held on Dec 24, 1938, and the 82nd time the count has been reported. (There are no count records for 1960 and 1961).  This year’s count was held on Dec 26, 2021.  Forty-seven birders in 19 teams enjoyed exceptional weather for the day: clear skies, light wind, and temperatures between 40 and 53.  

The count recorded 108 species, equal to last year’s total, and 3 short of the record reached in 2007. The total number of individual birds seen was 50005, a little above the average of the past 20 years. 

A spreadsheet with separate team records for the 2021 count can be found at https://bit.ly/RaritanCBC2021.

Eleven species were found in higher numbers than on any previous count.  

Thirty-nine Common Ravens was a huge increase over the previous high of 11 that were seen just last year. Pileated Woodpeckers showed a similar increase, with 11 individuals compared to the previous record of 3. Both species are relatively recent additions to the count, and have become increasingly frequent in Middlesex County throughout the past few years.  

By far the biggest increase was the 46 Boat-tailed Grackles seen along the Raritan River.  These birds have become more common during the summer along the Raritan bayshore, especially at Laurence Harbor and Old Bridge, but through all 81 previous count days, only a single Boat-tailed Grackle has ever been recorded, on the 2009 count.  

Great Blue Herons passed the new record of 69 set only last year, with 77 counted. Bald Eagles achieved the same feat, increasing last year’s record of 40 by one bird.  

This year’s new high counts are:

	12/26/21 Count	Previous High Count	Number of Previous Years Counted
Great Blue Heron (Blue Form)	77	69	59
Turkey Vulture	104	97	28
Cooper’s Hawk	22	21	56
Bald Eagle	41	40	15
Virginia Rail	3	2	15
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	15	11	35
Northern Flicker	97	76	28
Pileated Woodpecker	11	3	8
Common Raven	39	11	9
White-throated Sparrow	1778	1281	81
Boat-tailed Grackle	46	1	1

Other notable finds are the count’s second Lark Sparrow, seen in Donaldson Park (the first one was in 1988), an Osprey at Raritan Bay (5th time for the count), Cackling Goose (5th time), Orange-crowned Warbler (7th time), Great Egret (8th time) and a Common Yellowthroat (9th time).  

The most exciting find on the count was the female Painted Bunting seen and photographed at the entrance to the Edgeboro landfill.  This was Painted Bunting’s third occurrence on the count, and it was enhanced by a detailed visual description of a female Painted Bunting seen 1.5 miles away on the north shore of the Raritan River, about 3 hours earlier than the Edgeboro bird.  Were these two sightings of the same bird?  Given the rarity of the species, the relatively short distance and the time separation between the sightings, the count will report a single Painted Bunting, and leave it to the NJ Bird Records Committee to decide whether 1 or 2 Painted Buntings were present in Middlesex County on Dec 26. 

Not seen on the count day, but noted during count week were Lesser Black-backed Gull, Pine Warbler and White-crowned Sparrow. 

Some common birds that are frequent visitors to backyards were unusually scarce.  Tufted Titmouse has averaged 157 over the past 20 years; this year the count found 35. Both Black-capped (19) and Carolina (15) Chickadees showed up at about 1/4 their average occurrences since 2001. 

Crow numbers can vary greatly, but still were extremely low in 2021. American Crow has averaged 644 since 2001; this year’s total is 137.  The Fish Crow average since 2001 is 319; this year recorded 5.  Eighteen Crows were tallied without specific id. 

Great Black-backed Gull came in at 172, the lowest number since 1965, and only 1/7 the 20 year average.  This may be a realistic figure, but at least partly it reflects the difficulty of pinning definite species on the vast numbers of gulls that are constantly in the air over the river and the nearby landfills. 

Count records since 1938 reveal various interesting trends.  

Until the late 1970s, Accipiters were rarely recorded: from 1938 to 1976, both Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks averaged fewer than 1 report per year. The next 24 years (1977-2000) saw the averages increase dramatically, to 8.0 for Sharpies and 2.5 for Coops.  For the 21 years of the 21st century, Coops have overtaken Sharpies as the more common Accipiter, with an average of 13.1 vs. the Sharp-shins 9.5.  

Prior to 1992, Downy Woodpeckers always vastly outnumbered Red-bellied Woodpeckers on the count; before 1985, a very good number of Red-bellied was 2 (two!).  That is now ancient history, as Red-bellied Woodpeckers have become firmly established as one of the most common species in our area. 

Red-bellied WP surpassed Downy WP for the first time in 2001, with 83 vs. the Downy’s 71, and they won the competition this year by 128 to 104.  The score since 2001 stands at Downy 13, Red-bellied 8. 

Not all trends are up.  American Tree Sparrows have been steadily decreasing for many years. From a record total of 1080 in 1953, totals have descended through the 100s down to a low of 15 in 2019. This year’s count found 42. The yearly totals are of course affected by the weather, the number of count participants, and the number of hours that people are in the field, but there is no doubt of the long-term decline of Tree Sparrows.  The graph (attached to this email) of birds found on each count per the number of field-birding hours shows a striking decline in the species over the past 65 years.  You can see the data and generate similar graphs for any species on any count at the Audubon Christmas count website https://www.audubon.org/conservation/science/christmas-bird-count.

Species diversity in a one-day count depends on slender threads, provided by the sharp eyes and ears of spirited birders.  Of the 108 species identified in the 2021 Raritan Count, 11 were represented by a single individual, and 17 were observed by only one of the 19 count teams. 

All the reports and data collected for the CBC are due to the dedicated efforts of the enthusiastic count participants. Many thanks to everyone for joining, and helping to make this another excellent count.  

Thanks are also due to the Middlesex County Utilities Authority, Federal Business Systems and Summit Associates Inc for providing access to areas that are normally off-limits to the public.  We are very grateful for their cooperation and assistance. 

Have a great birding year in 2022, stay healthy, and come back next December for the Raritan Estuary count! 

Tom Ostrand

Raritan Estuary CBC compiler