SIGNS OF WINTER:
BRIGHT SUNSETS, NOMADIC FINCHES, HUNGRY HAWKS, AND YARD BIRDS

With the arrival of a new calendar year we've decided to photograph as many Hilton Pond sunsets as possible in 2021--an artistic endeavor as well as a way to document what the end of each day was like from a meteorological perspective. (This complements our 24/7 data collection via the Center's digital weather station--KSCYORK4--continuously updated at Weather Underground.)

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

We didn’t actually conceive of this project until 2 January--New Year's Day was totally overcast with a low cloud layer--but the sunset on the 2nd (above) was pretty spectacular. With your indulgence, we'll throw in a few of these sunset images from time to time as we post installments of "This Week at Hilton Pond." Incidentally, our self-quote about all this: Never trust a person too lazy to get up for sunrise or too busy to watch the sunset.

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

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

Although we capture a lot of birds at Hilton Pond Center, we don't even come close to banding all those we see on the property. (Since 1982 we've encountered 172 species and banded 127 of them, including the adult male Purple Finch above.) Thus, to provide a more realistic inventory of local avifauna, for the past 14 years we've been making a daily list of all birds observed. More recently, we've posted our daily counts to eBird so other birders can see what's happening at the Center. We encourage all of you to register at and contribute to eBird, thus serving as citizen scientists who help create a better understanding of birds in your own backyards.

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

Our previous one-year record was 96 species seen in 2008--a number we missed by just one in 2019. But we blew the top off the record last year, tallying 111 species observed at least once in 2020. So far in 2021 we've been doing pretty well with our annual Yard List, recording 40 species through 31 January (including the Brown-headed Nuthatch above). So far, all have been observed from windows or porches of our old farmhouse! Our best single-day total was 23 species on 6 January.

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

Below is our list for the first month of 2020; we won't see much of an up-tick in species until spring migration begins. (NOTE: This year, our least commonly seen species at the Center long-term was probably a male Hooded Merganser (above), with Sharp-shinned Hawk a close second.)

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

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

By the way, our first bird banded in 2021 was a female Eastern Towhee (above) at 8:25 a.m. on 1 January. Once common year-round residents at Hilton Pond, towhees have been in steep decline since the early 2000s--possibly from West Nile Virus and habitat changes. We banded 85 in 1991, but our average for the past 14 years is just four per annum.

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

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

(Click on chart above for a larger version in a new browser window)

A long-anticipated "winter finch" irruption came to pass, with the earliest-ever Pine Siskins coming down from Canadian breeding grounds in mid-October 2020. (Siskins typically only migrate south in years when there is a seed crop failure across Canada. The last irruption here at Hilton Pond Center was in the winter of 2014-15 when we banded 780. Most years we have none, as noted on the chart above that shows winter seasons October through March.) PISI continued at our feeders--and in our traps--but practically disappeared in December; we banded 207 in October, 101 in November, and only 20 the last month of the year. By December's end we figured this unpredictable, nomadic species had done its time at the Center and then moved on to even warmer climes.

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

Pine Siskins did reappear, however, and we banded our first one of 2021 on New Year's Day--followed by another 82 during January. That gave us 411 so far for the winter of 2020-21 (see chart above), our fourth-best seasonal total in 40 years at Hilton Pond. It will be interesting to see if the siskin influx again abates, or if it renews with vigor before it's time for these pointy-billed little finches to return north to nest. Incidentally, the siskin in our latest photo just above is an older male; not all PISI--especially females and immature males--have such intense yellow pigment in wing, rump, and tail.

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

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

Sunset over Hilton Pond (above), 14 January 2021. Every evening is a little different, no two sunsets are quite the same.

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

At Hilton Pond Center we deploy a variety of humane live traps for capturing birds. One of our most productive styles is a large hanging cube of welded wire mesh, inside which we place a tube feeder filled with black sunflower seed. Several one-way tunnels on trap walls allow birds--such as summertime American Goldfinches (above)--to enter but not escape.

Late on the afternoon of 28 January we watched from a window in our old farmhouse as three brown Purple Finches entered the trap in rapid succession. They settled onto feeder perches and began chowing down on seeds. A few minutes later they suddenly froze as a large, dark bird swooped toward the trap and landed on top--an accipiter intent on making a meal of its own.

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

After several seconds the raptor spread its wings and the finches began to flutter, at which point we grabbed our camera with telephoto lens and moved closer to the window glass. This spooked the hawk, which flew to a nearby branch (above) where it perched in partial shade, revealing field marks typical of an immature Cooper's Hawk: Droop-shouldered posture, red-brown breast markings, largish bill whose top edge followed the slope of its forehead, and rounded tail with a pale, wide terminal band.

We exited the back door of the farmhouse and approached the trapped birds and the hawk, the latter seeming rather nonchalant. It wasn't until we began to extract the finches from the trap that this raptor finally figured out it would have to go elsewhere for an afternoon snack.

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

All text, maps, charts & photos © Hilton Pond Center
Map above courtesy Cornell University

The 24rd annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is coming up soon (12-15 Feb 2021). During all or part of the four-day event, people from all over the world head outdoors or gaze through their windows at feeders to count birds. In 2019, an estimated 224,781 participants submitted 204,921 checklists covering 6,699 bird species--669 of the latter from the U.S. alone. All these data are used by scientists to look for trends and track the health of avian populations. Wherever you are, please join Hilton Pond Center in this ever-popular citizen science activity.

All text, maps, charts & photos © Hilton Pond Center
Logo above courtesy Cornell University

Participating in the bird count is free AND easy. You just commit to counting birds for at least a mere 15 minutes on one or more days of the four-day event and report your sightings on-line via the event’s Web site. Anyone can take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count--from beginning bird watchers to experts--and you can do the count from your backyard or anywhere in the world. You an also submit photos of unusual sightings made during the count.

All text, maps, charts & photos © Hilton Pond Center
Photo above courtesy Cornell University

This is a GREAT way to involve kids and grandkids of all ages in an important environmental activity that can take just a quarter-hour or last all day. (Teachers can also get a whole class involved--virtually or in person--and scouting groups might work on merit badges.) Pry those young people away from their cell phones and tablets and show them what the real outdoors looks like! Wouldn't it be great if the kiddos--and adults--all posted "selfies" of themselves with binoculars!?

The Great Backyard Bird Count is a joint project of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, National Audubon Society, and Birds Canada; support is provided in part by founding sponsor Wild Birds Unlimited. If you're already reporting bird sightings via eBird, they automatically will be entered into GBBC totals. Happy Birding!

"Never trust a person too lazy to get up for sunrise
or too busy to watch the sunset." --BHjr

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

Sunset (above) at Hilton Pond on 29 January 2021, looking back at the old farmhouse while the sun paints leafless winter trees in a golden glow.

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

Photoshop image post-processing uses DeNoise AI, Sharpen AI , and other Topaz Lab tools

Payable via credit card

PAYPAL:
Payable to: funding@hiltonpond.org

Checks also can be sent to Hilton Pond Center at:
1432 DeVinney Road
York SC 29745

All contributions are tax-deductible on your
current-year income tax form

Don't forget to scroll down for Nature Notes & Photos,
plus lists of all birds banded or recaptured during the period