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Blue-throated
Goldentail
(male)

Weeks One & Three are full for our annual
Hummingbird Expeditions to Costa Rica.
Week Two
(3-11 Feb 2009)
has room for four more people (singles or couples)

Canivet's
Emerald
(male)

Each year on the Saturday before Christmas Hilton Pond Center oversees the York/Rock Hill SC Christmas Bird Count--one of nearly 2,000 CBCs conducted across the Americas under the auspices of the National Audubon Society. Begun in 1900 as an alternative to traditional holiday bird shoots--when participants tried to see who could bring down the most birds on Christmas Day--CBCs have become the longest-running citizen science initiative in North America. The 2008 York/Rock Hill CBC was the 18th time we've censused birds of York County. This year's results, although average in species and low in individual numbers, were still valuable as a snapshot of early winter avian activity in South Carolina's Piedmont Region.

All text, maps, tables & photos © Hilton Pond Center

White-throated Sparrows, with striped heads and yellow lores (above), are usually among our most common species on the York/Rock Hill CBC. This year we saw only two.

This year's four participants--one of the smaller groups in our local Count history--included the two folks with greatest longevity on the York/Rock Hill CBC: Bob Olson of Rock Hill (12 years) and Bill Hilton Jr. (the count's founder and an 18-year veteran). Also returning to the count this year after lengthy absences were Faye Metzl (9 years) and her long-time friend Gail Driscoll (two years). Four people can't possibly count all the birds in a 15-mile diameter circle (see map below), but by following the same routes each year we get a good idea of which species are present and if numbers are up or down.

Our master list of York County birds that might be found in winter includes 126 species, from waterfowl to migrant finches to vagrant hummingbirds; of these we have seen 108. Our most diverse year was 2000 when eight observers tallied 80 species; this year (on 20 December) we were able to find 65 species--very close to our 18-year average of 67. Our highest count of individual birds came in 1994 when more than 7,000 American Robins and 3,000 Ring-billed Gulls significantly padded the total of 12,945. On average we've spotted 5,722 birds; this year we recorded 2,352--up from last year's all-time low of 1,781.

There were no new species observed for the 2008 count, which began at 6:30 a.m. under partly cloudy skies with temperatures in the low 60s and ended with rain and readings around 70 degrees; winds were minimal. One species--House Sparrow (male, above)--reached an all-time high of 30 individuals seen, eclipsing the old record of 13; this is obviously NOT a bird we want to see increasing in numbers. Two species--White-breasted Nuthatch (two seen) and House Wren (one)--tied their respective record highs for the Count. Making a welcome appearance was a Southern Bald Eagle roosting below the Lake Wylie dam at Rock Hill (sixth time recorded). Two Fox Sparrows were another uncommon species (fourth Count record), and this year we had only our second sighting of a House Wren. Of 108 species tallied during the 18 years of the York/Rock Hill CBC, 35 have been observed every year.

Despite our low overall total, in 2008 we equalled or exceeded the 18-year average for 22 species (shown on Table 1 below in RUST, plus three species in GREEN or RED).

Perhaps most astounding was the near-absence of White-throated Sparrows in 2008 (see top photo). This common winter resident--found in good numbers in most years throughout the Carolina Piedmont--is almost non-existent this year. American Goldfinches--our most common species at Hilton Pond Center for the past 12 months--were also scarce, and we have yet to score a Pine Siskin for the York/Rock Hill CBC. Completely absent from this year's Count were Common Grackles; we sometimes think there's just one giant flock of this species that moves around York County avoiding us during our census efforts. As has been the case in recent years, there were few vultures or gulls at the York County landfill, but the site did yield an elegantly attired Savannah Sparrow.

It's always good to have a few feeders and feeder watchers situated within a Christmas Bird Count circle. Despite best efforts, however, Lenore Berry of Rock Hill SC sorrowfully reported that Perdita, her well-documented out-of-range Rufous Hummingbird, did not return. Thus, our 2008 count tallied no winter hummers for the first time in six years. In any case, the 18th annual York/Rock Hill SC Christmas Bird Count was enjoyable and productive, even though we saw relatively few birds and only an average number of species on 20 December.

All text, maps, tables & photos © Hilton Pond Center

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Be sure to scroll down for an account of all
birds banded or recaptured during the period,
plus other nature notes of interest.

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