PHILADELPHIA MID-WINTER BIRD CENSUS

REPORT

JANUARY 10, 2015

Bill Reaume and Scott Fraser and the snow covered landscape at Awbury Arboretum

Photo by Scott Fraser

29th Annual PHILADELPHIA MID-WINTER BIRD CENSUS

January 10, 2015

Snow Goose 346 Canada Goose 4091 Mute Swan 10 Tundra Swan 43 Wood Duck 5 Gadwall 35 American Black Duck 103 Mallard 891 Northern Shoveler 266 Northern Pintail 32 Green-winged Teal 8 Canvasback 8 Redhead 2 Ring-necked Duck 8 Greater Scaup 13 Lesser Scaup 11 Scaup sp. 1 Black Scoter 2 Long-tailed Duck 8 Bufflehead 104 Common Goldeneye 13 Hooded Merganser 21 Common Merganser 126 Ruddy Duck 381 Wild Turkey 18 Pied-billed Grebe 4 Horned Grebe 1 Double-crested Cormorant 154 Great Cormorant 49 Great Blue Heron 29 Black Vulture 7 Turkey Vulture 15 Bald Eagle 15 Northern Harrier 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 7 Cooper’s Hawk 18 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 Red-tailed Hawk 52 American Kestrel 4 Merlin 2 Peregrine Falcon 2 American Coot 35 Killdeer 3 Ring-billed Gull 5273 Herring Gull 718 Iceland Gull 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull 7 Great Black-backed Gull 347 Gull sp. 400 Rock Pigeon 387 Mourning Dove 383 Eastern Screech-Owl 32 Great Horned Owl 5 Northern Saw-whet Owl 1 Belted Kingfisher 15 Red-bellied Woodpecker 111 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 33

Downy Woodpecker 225 Hairy Woodpecker 47 Northern Flicker 40

Pileated Woodpecker 6 Northern Shrike 1 Blue Jay 103 American Crow 223 Fish Crow 28 Northern Rough-winged Swallow 65 Carolina Chickadee 452 Tufted Titmouse 191 White-breasted Nuthatch 155 Brown Creeper 18 House Wren 1 Winter Wren 30 Carolina Wren 167 Golden-crowned Kinglet 41 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 6 Eastern Bluebird 7 Hermit Thrush 10 American Robin 1295 Gray Catbird 3 Brown Thrasher 1 Northern Mockingbird 102 European Starling 4449 American Pipit 2 Orange-crowned Warbler 1 Common Yellowthroat 1 Palm Warbler 2 Yellow-rumped Warbler 3 Eastern Towhee 24 American Tree Sparrow 30 Chipping Sparrow 3 Field Sparrow 11 Vesper Sparrow 1 Savannah Sparrow 3 Fox Sparrow 19 Song Sparrow 553 Swamp Sparrow 23 White-throated Sparrow 1935 White-crowned Sparrow 7 Dark-eyed Junco 1315 Indigo Bunting 1 Dickcissel 1 Northern Cardinal 528 Red-winged Blackbird 265 Rusty Blackbird 7 Brown-headed Cowbird 16 Baltimore Oriole 1 House Finch 380 Purple Finch 12 Pine Siskin 24 American Goldfinch 216 House Sparrow 1906

Total Species 109 Total Individuals 29,62

OBSERVERS AREAS COVERED Matt Sharp Benjamin Rush State Park, Northeast Philadelphia Airport Frank Windfelder, Todd Fellenbaum, Pennypack Creek (Krewstown Rd. to Verree Rd.), Delaware River and Brian Hart, Ann Reeves shoreline (Glen Foerd, Pleasant Hill Park, Pennypack on the Delaware,

Northeast Water Pollution Control Plant, Frankford Creek, Cumberland St.)

Vince DeAntoniis, Butch Lishman, Delaware River and shoreline (Glen Foerd, Pleasant Hill Park, Pennypack Philip Stollsteimer, Nick Zahn on the Delaware, Northeast Water Pollution Control Plant, Frankford

Creek, Pulaski Park) Tom Bailey Delaware River (viewed from Burlington Co., New Jersey) Steve Sobocinski Delaware River (viewed from Burlington Co., New Jersey) Linda Widdop, Barbara Granger Pennypack Creek (east bank - Pine Rd. to Krewstown Rd.) Peter Kurtz, Pauline Hurley-Kurtz, Pennypack Creek (west bank - Pine Rd. to Krewstown Rd.) Denis Mora Roland Williams Pennypack Creek (Bustleton Ave. to Holme Ave.) Brian Schultz Pennypack Creek (Welsh Rd. to Holme Ave. including Woodenbridge Run

and Sandiford Run) Cindy Ahern, Scott Ahern, Robin Irizarry Northeast Philadelphia Airport, Burholme Park, Friends Hospital Richard Horwitz F. D. Roosevelt Park, TRC Trash Transfer Station, Delaware River and

shoreline (Philadelphia Naval Business Center to Northeast Water Pollution Control, Lardner’s Point Park)

George Armistead, Susan Behr, F. D. Roosevelt Park, Delaware River and shoreline (Philadelphia Naval Debbie Carr, Alan Cristol, Daniel Cristol, Business Center, Delaware River Trail from Pier 53 to Pier 70, TRC Sasha Freeman, Nathaniel Kahn, Trash Transfer Station) Doug Wechsler, Jason Weckstein Chris Walters, Rob Bierregaard, Army Corps of Engineers Compound, Southwest Water Pollution Control Alan Crawford III, Art McMorris, Plant, Holstein Ave. and 76th Ave., Schuylkill River from Platt Bridge to Win Shafer Delaware River, Philadelphia International Airport Doris McGovern, David Allen, John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, Mario Lanza Blvd. Kristen Johnson, Sheryl Johnson, Holly Merker Christine Schroeder John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge Jan Gordon, Lucille Larkin, Bartram’s Garden, Woodland Cemetery, Cobbs Creek (Whitby Ave., N. Robert Wallis 66th St. and Callowhill St. to Lansdale Ave., N. 66th St. and Woodbine Ave.) Tony Croasdale Cobbs Creek (Morris Park, Mt. Moriah Cemetery) Erica Brendel, Anne Bekker, West Park (various locations including Philadelphia Zoo) Michael Sonkowsky Stephen Kerr East Park (various locations including the East Park Reservoir) Allison Ostertag East Park and Schuylkill River (Poplar St. to Fairmount Ave.) Winston Moody, Phil Hineline, Schuylkill River in East Falls, Queen Ln. Reservoir, Wissahickon Creek Wendy Moody from Timber Ln. to Apalogen Rd. and adjacent neighborhood

OBSERVERS (concluded) AREAS COVERED (concluded) Michael Darcy Roxborough (Upper Roxborough Reservoir, Port Royal Ave., Schuylkill

River and shoreline from Port Royal Ave. to Leverington Ave. and Flat Rock Rd.)

Judy Stepenaskie Roxborough (Umbria St., 7800 block of Nixon St.) Scott McConnell Roxborough (Spring Ln., Lower Roxborough Reservoir, radio tower farm area), Wissahickon Creek (Hermit Ln.) Steve DuPont Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education Ken Januski, Jerene Schroeder Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, Manayunk Canal (Green

Ln. Bridge to Shawmont Ave.) Paul Kalka Wissahickon Creek (west bank – upper slopes from Wise’s Mill Rd. to Hermit Ln.) Sam Perloff Wissahickon Creek (west bank – Forbidden Dr. and lower slopes from Valley Green to Walnut Ln.) David Belford, Alan Belford, Wissahickon Creek (west bank - Bell’s Mill Rd. to Cathedral Rd.) Jeff Belford Edie Parnum, Joe Hudson Wissahickon Creek (west bank - Bell’s Mill Rd. to Northwestern Ave.) Jim Best, Rich Conroy, Jack Fanelli, Morris Arboretum, Wissahickon Creek (east bank – Northwestern Ave. to Bob Gutowski, Marlene Morano Bells Mill Rd.) Keith Russell, Jeanne Schock, Wissahickon Creek (east bank – various locations from Northwestern Ave. Shawn Towey to Walnut Ln., west bank – Glenroy Rd. to Wise’s Mill Rd.) Cliff Hence, Nancy Hence Cresheim Creek (Stenton Ave. to Wissahickon Creek), Mount Airy (100

block of Roumfort Rd.) Barbara Thorp, Judy Stepenaskie Wissahickon Creek (east bank – Livezy Ln. to Walnut Ln., Monastery

Stables, Scotforth Rd., Carpenter’s Woods) Carole Brown, Debra Delessandro Wissahickon Creek (Bluebell Hill to Rittenhouse Town) William Reaume, Scott Fraser Awbury Arboretum

CONDITIONS

Temperature: high 24oF at 12:54 AM, low 16oF at 7:54 AM.

Sky: Clear and completely sunny.

Precipitation: None.

Ground: 1-2 inches of snow.

Water: Delaware River 5-10% frozen. Schuylkill River (non-tidal) 95% frozen. Schuylkill River (tidal) 50% frozen. Large reservoirs 80-95% frozen. Ponds and impoundments 90-100% frozen. Streams frozen except in very fast flowing

sections.

Wind: 8-17 mph from midnight through 8 PM with some higher wind gusts between 3 AM and 11 AM. 0-5 mph from 8 PM through midnight.

2015 CENSUS SUMMARY The 29th annual Philadelphia Mid-Winter Bird Census was held on Saturday January 10, 2015. Eighty-three participants in 36 parties took part in the census this year, recording 109 species. This year’s species total was the second highest recorded to date (equaling the 109 species recorded in 1998), as well as the eighth total (and fifth in a row) to reach or exceed 100. And for the second year in a row the number of species recorded on the census exceeded the number recorded on any of Pennsylvania’s 76 Christmas Bird Counts - the highest this winter being the Southern Bucks County and Southern Lancaster County counts which both recorded 101 species on December 20 th and 14th respectively. When one considers its relatively small size and high percentage of development this result further underscores the fact that Philadelphia has an amazing amount of natural habitat that attracts a huge variety and number of birds. For the second year in a row the census was also preceded by a major freeze that began on January 6. For four days prior to the census temperatures averaged 12 degrees below normal with daytime highs mainly in the low twenties and nighttime lows in the low teens or single digits – a temperature range more typical of Maine. By census day most bodies of water had frozen except for the Delaware River, small sections of larger streams and water treatment plants where there was fast flowing water, and small sections of other still bodies of water. The freeze had a major effect on water birds causing them to largely abandon many traditional feeding areas like John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge (JHNWR) impoundment, F. D Roosevelt Park (FDRP) and the East Park Reservoir, and shift instead to the Delaware or other areas where small patches of open water remained. As a result ducks like Northern Pintail and Green-winged Teal, which normally avoid rivers in favor of shallow impoundments and marshes, were found this year only on the Delaware. One of the largest patches of open shallow water that remained was found on one of the ponds at the Southwest Water Pollution Control Plant (SWWPCP) - normally a haven for ducks and other waterfowl - and this patch had perhaps been kept open by the 253 Northern Shovelers, 35 American Coots and other waterfowl found there. The freeze extended to census day and beyond. On census day the official temperature dropped from a high of 24

degrees at 12:54 AM to a low of 16 at 7:54 AM (accompanied by 8 – 17 mph winds before dawn), and only rose to 22 during the day, making this the third coldest mid-winter census ever. Only January 6, 1996 (temp. range 10 – 20) and January 10, 2004 (temp. range 4 – 16) were colder. Overall, the extreme cold (and windiness before dawn) appears to have prevented some species from being as active as they might have been had it been warmer, and it made conditions for those of us counting birds less than ideal. As a result vultures, hawks, owls and some other land birds were recorded in lower than expected numbers. Since the census has only coincided with extremely low temperatures about once per decade, it will hopefully be another ten years before such low temperatures occur again.

With most areas of open water frozen many water birds were forced to the Delaware River – the only place where large amounts of open water remained. The above photo by Richard Horwitz shows gulls and cormorants on the Delaware at the Philadelphia Naval Business Center.

A number of rare species were found this year but only one of these, the Black Scoter, had never been recorded on the census previously. Two Black Scoters were spotted this year flying down the Delaware at Fort Mifflin by Alan Crawford and Art McMorris. Historically, the Black Scoter has been the rarest of the sea ducks that occur in Philadelphia. But reports of its occurrence in Philadelphia have increased since 2012. Should this trend continue the total number of Philadelphia records of the species may soon exceed those of the Surf Scoter, which is currently the second rarest sea duck that occurs here – but one that has not yet been recorded on the census. The Black Scoter raises the cumulative (1987-2015) species total for the census to 159.

Among the other rare species found this year were several that had only been recorded on the census once or twice in the past. Scott McConnell spotted 43 Tundra Swans flying over Roxborough providing only the third census record of this species, and the first in 18 years (previously recorded 1992, 1997). These birds (along with the many flocks of Snow Geese that were observed flying over the city during the day) were perhaps moving to find better feeding areas in response to the freeze. A Vesper Sparrow was also observed at the Philadelphia Naval Business Center (PNBC) this year by the Armistead party. This bird had originally been reported at the PNBC by Cameron Rutt on January 3. While the Vesper Sparrow is a scarce but annual transient in Philadelphia it is currently very rare in winter and it had only been recorded on the census once previously in 2013, again at the PNBC – which contains some of the best habitat for sparrows in the city. But the most unexpected find of the day was the Indigo Bunting discovered by Todd Fellenbaum in the upper Pennypack Creek. With its primary winter range in the West Indies and Central America, this species is a very rare winterer in the continental U.S. north of Florida and Texas, and it has only been recorded in Pennsylvania a small number of times during the winter. Yet this was actually the second record of this species for the census. It was previously recorded on the census of January 6, 2007 (at FDRP) when the temperature reached a balmy 73 degrees. Also recorded for the second time ever was the Baltimore Oriole (first census record January 8, 2000). Observed by Steve Kerr near Lemon Hill in East Park, this bird had been originally reported there by Gary Jarvis and Damon Orsetti on December 29th. While most Baltimore Orioles winter from the southeastern U.S. south, scattered individuals are often found in the mid-Atlantic region during winter and there have been many winter records for Pennsylvania.

Other noteworthy finds included two Redheads that were observed on the Delaware at the PNBC by George Armistead (11th record and first since 2007), eight Long-tailed Ducks observed (from Burlington County, NJ) flying up the Delaware by Steve Sobocinski (5th record and 3rd in the last 4 years), a Horned Grebe observed on the Queen Lane Reservoir (QLR) by the Moody party (11th record and 2nd in a row), an Iceland Gull observed flying by the Northeast Water Pollution Control Plant (NEWPCP) by the Windfelder party (8th record and 3rd in the last 4 years), a Northern Saw-whet Owl found by the Belford party in the upper Wissahickon Creek (7th record and 3rd in the last 5 years), a Northern Shrike observed by the McGovern party at JHNWR, which is presumed to be the same individual that has now wintered there four years in a row (4th record), a House Wren observed at the PNBC by the Armistead party (5th record and first since 2008), a Brown Thrasher observed coming to a bird feeder at Winston and Wendy Moody’s residence in East Falls (9th record and first since 2012), two American Pipits observed along the Delaware at Cumberland Street by the Windfelder party (6th record and 3rd in the last 4 years), and an Orange-crowned Warbler observed by the DeAntoniis party at the NEWPCP (8th record and 4th in a row).

All time high counts were recorded for nine species this year including Tundra Swan-43 (previous high 5 in 1997), Long-tailed Duck-8 (previous high 2 in 2012), Bufflehead-104 (previous high 87 in 2014), Double-crested Cormorant-154 (previous high 122 in 2010), Bald Eagle-15 (previous high 10 in 2014), Lesser Black-backed Gull-7 (ties the previous high of 7 in 2003), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker-33 (previous high 26 in 2010), Northern Cardinal-528 (ties the previous high of 528 in 2013) and House Sparrow-1906 (previous high 1407 in 2009).

Two of this year’s all time high counts reflect long-term increases in these species’ populations in the Philadelphia area. The Double-crested Cormorant, for example, has been increasing steadily as a winter resident in Philadelphia since the 1990s. It was actually missed on two of the first three censuses and only recorded in single digits from 1990 through 1994. But from 1995 through 2008 it was recorded in double digits in 13 of 14 years, and in triple digits in four of seven years from 2009 through 2015. In contrast, the number of Great Cormorants recorded on the census has not increased steadily since the 1990s but appears to have declined somewhat since then. The Bald Eagle has also increased greatly in abundance locally (and continentally) since the 1990s. Between 1987 and 1996 it was only recorded on the census once, but since 1996 it has only been missed once. And after having been recorded only in single digits from 1997 through 2013 it was recorded in double digits both this year and last. Other all time high species counts recorded this year may also reflect increasing populations but if so, these increases don’t yet appear to be part of a long term upward trend.

Over the last 29 years many different kinds of population trends have been documented by the census. Some species, like the Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Ruddy Duck, and American Tree Sparrow have shown overall declines as wintering species in Philadelphia while others like the Purple Finch, Black-capped Chickadee and Cedar Waxwing have changed from being fairly annual winterers to more cyclical or irruptive in recent years. The Black Vulture, formerly absent, has expanded its range north into southeastern Pennsylvania, while the Northern Raven is now expanding its range in Pennsylvania from the mountains into the piedmont and coastal plain. Since 2002 the Black-crowned Night-Heron has virtually disappeared from Philadelphia as a winter resident while the Ring-necked Pheasant has virtually disappeared as a permanent resident since 2006. And since 2005 the Northern Rough-winged Swallow has begun to winter here some 1500 miles north of its normal winter range in Central America because of the existence of

unique conditions at a water treatment plant. These trends and other results from the census will be discussed in a summary that will be prepared for publication in a regional journal after the census’ 30th anniversary next year.

The following species were only reported by one party this year. Redhead, Peregrine Falcon, House Wren, Vesper Sparrow (PNBC) – Armistead party

Northern Saw-whet Owl, Pine Siskin (upper Wissahickon) – Belford party

Dickcissel (Port Royal Rd., Roxborough)– Darcy party

Ring-necked Duck (upper Delaware), Orange-crowned Warbler (NEWPCP) – DeAntoniis party

Baltimore Oriole (Lemon Hill, East Park) – Kerr party

Tundra Swan (Roxborough) – McConnell party

Wild Turkey, Red-shouldered Hawk, Northern Shrike (JHNWR) – McGovern party

Horned Grebe (QLR), Brown Thrasher (East Falls) – Moody party

Purple Finch (Benjamin Rush State Park) – Sharp party

Long-tailed Duck (upper Delaware) – Sobocinski party

Black Scoter (lower Delaware), Northern Harrier (Army Corps), American Coot (SWWPCP) – Walters party

Green-winged Teal (middle Delaware), Iceland Gull (NEWPCP), American Pipit (Delaware at Cumberland Street),

Yellow-rumped Warbler (NEWPCP), Chipping Sparrow (upper Pennypack), Savannah Sparrow (Delaware at

Cumberland Street), Indigo Bunting (upper Pennypack) – Windfelder party

Frank Windfelder, Todd Fellenbaum and Ann Reeves are also to be congratulated for finding an impressive 73 species this year – certainly the largest number of species ever tallied by a single party on the census. Species only observed at a single location but by more than one party included Common Yellowthroat (NEWPCP; DeAntoniis and Windfelder parties), and Northern Rough-winged Swallow (NEWPCP; DeAntoniis, Horwitz and Windfelder parties). The following species were reported in Philadelphia during the four-week period between December 28 and January 24 but not recorded on the census.

American Wigeon – JHNWR: January 2 – Chuck Homler; January 4 – Damon Orsetti, Frank Windfelder

Black-crowned Night-Heron – JHNWR, January 11 – Martin Dellwo

Eastern Phoebe – JHNWR: January 2 – Katherine Freeman, Chuck Homler, Cameron Rutt; January 16 – Lamar Corlis

Black-capped Chickadee – Delaware R. at Cumberland St.: January 3 – T. Fellenbaum, B. Hart, A. Reeves

Marsh Wren – JHNWR: January 2 – Katherine Freeman, Cameron Rutt; January 16 – Lamar Corlis

Pine Warbler – Whiting Rd., Northeast Philadelphia: January 3 – Patrick Schmitt

Common Grackle – JHNWR: January 4 – Frank Windfelder; January 17 – Damon Orsetti

Common Redpoll – PNBC: January 8 – David Allen; January 13 – Frank Windfelder; January 20-24 – many observers

Hoary Redpoll – PNBC: January 17-24 – George Armistead, Martin Dellwo, Ann Reeves, many observers

As always I would like to thank everyone who participated in this year’s census. And I would like to express my condolences to Al Bilheimer whose wife Nancy sadly passed away last year. Al began participating in the census in 2000 covering parts of Chestnut Hill, and he was joined on the census by Nancy beginning in 2001. Many thanks to Al for the contributions he and Nancy made to the census over the last 16 years. And finally, many thanks to those of you who submitted photos from the census. A gallery of your photos has again been included at the end of this report. I hope you will be able to join us again next year when the census has been scheduled for Saturday January 9, 2016. Keith Russell - Census Coordinator/Program Manager Urban Habitats - Audubon Pennsylvania krussell@audubon.org 6222 McCallum Street, Philadelphia, PA 19144

Snow Geese flying over Awbury Arboretum. Photo by Scott Fraser

Mallards and resting Wood Ducks along the upper Pennypack Creek. Photo by Linda Widdop

American Kestrel with prey along the Delaware River Red-tailed Hawk in East Falls Photo by Richard Horwitz Photo by Winston Moody

Merlin at Awbury Arboretum Photo by Scott Fraser

Killdeer at the Manayunk Canal Photo by Ken Januski

Gulls resting at the Philadelphia Naval Business Center Photo by Richard Horwitz Studies of the Northern Shrike at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge

Photo by Kristin Johnson Photo by Holly Merker

Photo by Kristin Johnson

White-breasted Nuthatch at Lemon Hill in East Park Carolina Chickadee at Awbury Arboretum Photo by Allison Ostertag Photo by Scott Fraser

Gray Catbird at Awbury Arboretum Brown Thrasher in East Falls Photo by Scott Fraser Photo by Winston Moody taken on January 11

Northern Cardinal at Lemon Hill in East Park White-throated Sparrow at Lemon Hill in East Park Photo by Allison Ostertag Photo by Allison Ostertag

Partially leucistic House Sparrow in West Park Photo by Anne Bekker