114th CBC Georgia Regional Summary

                                                                      by Giff Beaton


Georgians conducted 28 counts this year with a pretty low state total of 211 accepted species (last ten years have averaged 217). It wasn’t for lack of effort, as the 570 participants drove 6353 miles in vehicles, rode 228 miles by boat, and walked 653 miles. Participants also bicycled almost two miles and golf carted another 21. Weather was good for most counts, but heavy rain hampered much or part of the day on several counts: Athens (AH), Atlanta (AL), Chattahoochee National Forest (CH), Dublin (DU), and St. Catherines Island (SC). After being hammered by rain last year, this year Lake Blackshear (LB) had high winds the entire day.

Georgia had two brand new counts this year, both in the metro Atlanta area: Intown Atlanta (GAIA) and Roswell (GARO). Many urban bird species thus enjoyed very high totals, since both of these new counts were well staffed by enthusiastic compilers. In comparing counts, please note that this year’s count was the 114th CBC, run in 2013/2014. Comparing numbers to older counts will refer to the count number, the last two digits of which coincidentally and luckily for us are the same as the year in which the count period ends.

This was a mixed year for duck species in general. Two Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks at SV were the 5th state CBC record (all in the last six years), and a count week (cw) Ross’s Goose at Carter’s Lake (CL) was the 4th record. After a record-tying total for the last 20 years of 1011 Wood Ducks last year, this year there were only 534, the 2nd lowest total in 15 years. The count of 1024 Gadwall was the 2nd highest in 15 years, with Macon (MA) at 202 and CL at 201 leading the way. The Mallard count of 1944 was the highest since 1941 and the 2nd highest ever for GA. The 15-year average is 1307, and the biggest counts this year were the two new counts with IA posting 353 and RO 233. We are not certain of the pedigree of all those ducks, but that’s how the count jumped so high. MA also came through with 244. It was also a great year for Blue-winged Teal with a state total of 1820, 2nd highest ever and highest since 1932. However, the extremely round total of 2500 from the 32 count doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, since all the other historical counts are significantly lower. A total of 2456 Northern Shovelers were counted, the 3rd highest count in 15 years. The 113 Canvasbacks was the highest GA count ever, topping the 101 in 78, and spread over seven counts. MA led the way with 66, and BL had 25 and Augusta (AU) 10. Redheads have been slowly increasing inland in recent years in GA, and this year’s count of 180 was the 2nd highest in 15 years (188 in 111). Even better, they were spread over 13 CBCs. The highest counts were Columbus (CO) with 49, MA with 27 and SV with 25. Both scaup species had the 3rd lowest totals in the last 15 years, with 38 Greater (last 15 year average 183), and 1072 Lesser (15 year average 3704). Surf Scoter was another sea duck with a dismal showing, with only three reported tying the 2nd lowest in 15 years (15 year average 39), but the White-winged Scoter total was 17, the 2nd highest in 15 years (average only 5). The five Common Goldeneyes on three counts tied the 2nd highest in 15 years. The Red-breasted Merganser total of 1189 was nicely above the 15 year average of 901, but even more interestingly the species was found on 10 counts including all six coastal counts, of course, but also on four inland counts (10 in Dalton [DA], 4 in Floyd County [FC], 2 at MA and 2 at RO).

The state total of 515 Wild Turkeys was the 2nd highest count ever, led by 78 at FC and 64 at DU. The Northern Bobwhite total of 28 over three counts is still very worrisome. Only 42 Common Loons were found, well below the 15-year average of 134. Also low were Northern Gannets, with a total of 176 compared to the 15 year average of 411.  The total of 368 American White Pelicans was the 3rd highest ever, with the highest count 183 at GC. The last eight years have all had very high counts for this species. The state total of 705 Brown Pelicans was the lowest since the 100th count, and about half the 15-year average of 1382. Similarly, the 3204 Double-crested Cormorants were also the lowest in 15 years, and just over half the 15-year average of 5960.

Another new high count was the 1400 Great Egrets, topping last year’s then-record 1313. Highest count was 359 at Okefenokee (OK). After nine years of state counts over 1300, the Snowy Egret total of 920 was very low, well below the 15-year average of 1354. The 107 Glossy Ibis was the highest GA CBC total ever (most at SV, as usual, 100). For the 8th year in a row a few Roseate Spoonbills lingered into CBC time, six this year (5 of those at GC). These are still the only spoonbill records ever on Georgia CBCs. Black Vulture again set a new high with 2626, topping last year’s then-record 2604, though this year all the big counts were in the Coastal Plain, as expected (highest was Albany [AL] with 398). Osprey set a new record with 72, besting the previous record of 68 in 105, and well above the 15-year average of 51. Bald Eagles once again set a new record with 149, continuing the recent successful run of nesting and wintering birds here. For comparison, the 15-year CBC average is 75, and the 5-year average is 118. There are so many birds on the coast in winter now it is often difficult to get an accurate total on the island counts with birds ranging widely during the day. Cooper’s Hawk provided a welcome new record with 115 (last 15 year average is 72), though Sharp-shinned Hawk totals continue to generally decline slightly (this year’s total was 41). Red-shouldered Hawks came in with 411, a new record high and well above the 15-year average of 262. Nine Peregrine Falcons was also the highest count ever for GA.

Clapper Rails again set a new record total by over 80 with 732, for the 2nd year in a row (the 15 year average is 441). The Virginia Rail total of 43 tied the record set in 104 when Phinizy Swamp boosted the AU count for a few years. AU still had seven this year, but Lake Oconee (LO) led the pack with eight. A single Purple Gallinule at Bainbridge-Lake Seminole (BL) was the state’s 6th CBC record. The count of 5734 American Coots was very low, barely half the 15-year average of 10,372. The last eight years in particular have been very high, averaging 14,540, so this was a huge drop in numbers. The Killdeer total of 3230 was a new record for GA, with a huge total of 852 at AH. American Oystercatcher also set a new CBC record with a total of 273, led by 75 at GC and 63 at Sapelo Island (SI). The GA DNR reported in a coast-wide survey that this was a good but not exceptional year for this species. The 394 Greater Yellowlegs was a new record, besting 109’s 386, with SV topping the list at 226. Red Knots have averaged about 699 for the last 15 years, so this year’s total of 175 was well below average. Sanderlings had the lowest total in 15 years with 951, the 15-year average is 1210. The Long-billed Dowitcher total of 375 was the 3rd highest ever, with all of them found at SV. The American Woodcock total of 49 was the 4th highest ever, with a whopping 29 at CL. Laughing Gulls were scarce, with the total of 648 being the lowest since the 90th count, back when there were only three coastal counts as opposed to the six we have now. The rolling 15-year average is 4305, so this was way down, and puzzling since the early winter temperatures were fairly warm. Warm winters usually provide low numbers of northern gulls (all the others basically, including the species listed below), but high numbers of Laughing. Laughing Gull numbers were also down last year, not this low, so this is worth watching. Several other gulls had very low counts as well: Ring-billed was 6636 (well below 15-year average of 9018), Herring was 255 (lowest since 86th count, and also well below 15-year average of 843), and Great Black-backed was nine (lowest in 12 years, 15-year average 21). Black Skimmers also came in very low with 378, the lowest total in 15 years and quite low compared to the 15-year average of 1019. No jaegers were reported, for only the 3rd miss in the last 15 years.

The 91 Common Ground-Doves found was well above the rolling 15-year average of 69, and Belted Kingfisher set a new high count record with 436 (15-year average is 352). Several woodpeckers again had banner totals, which can be partially explained by the two new urban counts, but not fully, because the last several years have had great woodpecker counts. Red-headed Woodpecker set a new record, after three years in a row over 340, with 395 (15-year average 215). Red-bellied Woodpecker had the 2nd highest count ever, with 1896 against the 15-year average of 1402. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker had the 3rd highest count ever, with 700, and all three of those high counts have been in the last seven years. The average for this species over the last 15 years was 532. Downy Woodpecker and Northern Flicker also set the 2nd highest counts ever, with 955 for Downy (15-year average 694) and 1032 for Northern Flicker (15-year average 815). Pileated also set the 3rd highest count ever with 523, against the 15-year average of 411. It was quite the year for woodpeckers across the board.

Eastern Phoebes set a new high with 1342, way above the 15-year average of 862. The 5th CBC record of Ash-throated Flycatcher for GA was well-described at AB. Loggerhead Shrike was back to near average with 133 (15-year average 126) after a banner year last year of 169. The Blue Jay count of 3338 was the 2nd highest ever, bolstered by the 724 tallied on the two new Atlanta urban counts, but top count was CL with 454. The 15-year average is 2486, so the new counts made up most of the difference. After the recent West Nile virus scare with corvids, both crow species seem to have stabilized back near historical levels: the American Crow total of 7176 was well above average (15-year average 5952) and Fish Crow was 2922 (average 2944). Both species were again helped by the new counts, but the Fish Crow count was especially good in light of last year’s dismal count of 397. SV, unsurprisingly, had the highest total at 1817, but one surprising total was 147 at Lake Oconee, quite far upstate for a large count (previous high count on this 8 year old count was 39).

The 4th GA CBC record Cave Swallow was seen and photographed at SV. A new record count of 795 White-breasted Nuthatches beat the old record of 419 handily, but includes 384 from the two new counts, so that about evens out to a near record total even without the new counts. Almost exactly the same was the Carolina Wren total of 3100, a new record by 587 over 113. The two new in-town counts had a combined total of 639, which makes up the record amount and a little more. CL also had a great total of 282. The state Winter Wren total of 144 tied the 2nd highest count ever, and is very high when compared to the 15-year average of 30. Sedge Wrens had the lowest count in 12 years with 30, but the semi-irruptive Golden-crowned Kinglet had the 2nd highest total ever with 1237, narrowly falling short of the record 1243 seen in 107. The 15-year average is only 866, and they were found on 25 counts, good coverage for a species that does not make it all the way south every year. Surprisingly for a fairly warm fall and early winter, only 81 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were counted, just above the 15-year average of 72. The American Robin total of 19,582 was the highest in eight years, and both Northern Mockingbird and Brown Thrasher benefited from the new in-town counts. The former had the 2nd highest total ever with 1968 (73 short of the record from 103), and the latter had the highest total since 91 with 479. The Cedar Waxwing total of 9587 was the 2nd highest ever (9742 in 109), and unsurprisingly the biggest totals were fall line or below: 2712 in SV, 1098 in AU, and 995 in MA. Just for the record, another Northern Waterthrush was found at SV, for probably their last mention in this summary.

Eastern Towhees set a new record with 2027, bolstered again by 449 on the new in-town counts, and the eight Bachman’s Sparrows tied the 2nd highest total ever (the record is 10 from 107, and the 15-year average is 2.9). A count week Clay-colored Sparrow from Cumberland Island (CI) was the 7th CBC record. The 96 Nelson’s Sparrows was the 2nd highest count ever, far below last year’s total of 164 but way above the 15-year average of 41. Lapland Longspurs are making an unexplained renaissance in GA, with records from five out of the last seven CBCs, including six at CL this year. Before this burst of records, there were no records since the 67 count, when they were fairly reliable around MA for a few years. Northern Cardinal had a record count of 5872, way above the old record of 4848 in 111 (the two new in-town counts had 829, a big help but not all of the record difference). A total of four Painted Buntings provided the 12th CBC record, of which nine have been in the last 15 years. SV had three, and GC had one.

A male Yellow-headed Blackbird at CL was GA’s 4th CBC record. Rusty Blackbird counts have plummeted across the continent but have slightly rebounded in the last few years. GA CBC totals have averaged 945 the last 15 years, but 113 was 2101 (highest since 2898 in 86) and this year was 1984. That 86 count is the highest count since some preposterous counts in the late 50s through the 70 count (over 1 million supposedly recorded in 70). This year’s top CBCs were 663 at MA and 575 at AL. Both grackle species had very low counts: 16,700 Common (15-year average 72,001) and 1545 Boat-tailed (15-year average 2926). The total of 27 Baltimore Orioles was the 3rd highest ever, compared to the 15-year average of 14, and the high CBC was SV with 23. Both true irruptive finch totals, Purple Finch with 16 on five counts and Pine Siskin with 59 on seven counts, were very low. The always difficult Red Crossbill was found on only the Blue Ridge (BR) count with four individuals.