Winter of 2005-06

By Dave Freeland

On the East Coast, birders have been experiencing a very good winter for a number of species, described below using Cocoa Christmas Count data as one yardstick of measurement.

• LESSER SCAUP -- Our most abundant species in winter, very high numbers have been present in 2005-06 on the Indian River Lagoon. The Cocoa Christmas Count tallied a record 235,000 (better than the previoius high of 200,000 for a species that has been as low as 4800 on a CBC within the past 10 years).
• SCOTERS -- Surf and Black Scoters have been rather common off the Cape Canaveral beaches since November. The Cocoa CBC had 545 unidentified scoters as well as 42 identified Surfs and 100 identified Blacks. Previous highs were 18 and 30, respectively. Scoters of ANY species have been reported on only 38 of the 55 Cocoa CBCs ever.
• HOODED MERGANSER -- Continuing a long increase in numbers, Hoodies hit an all-time Cocoa CBC high of 1250 this year against a previous high of 192. No count totaled over 100 until 1993.
• GLOSSY IBIS -- This has been a good year for wintering Glossies. Our CBC tallied 1710, easily beating the previous high of 960. We have averaged 396 over the past 10 years.
• COOPER’S HAWK -- Mirroring a national increase in COOPER’S HAWK -- Mirroring a national increase in this species, the Cocoa CBC had 15 this year, 5 more than ever before. It has eclipsed double figures here only since 2003.
• RED-SHOULDERED HAWK -- A good year here, too, with 75 Cocoa CBC birds topping the previous high of 66. Over the past 10 years, we have averaged 37.
• LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL -- Another rapidly increasing species, “Lesser Back” actually outnumbered “Great Back,” 62-57, on this winter’s count. It has become a routine bird around Port Canaveral and the Cape. This species had not been recorded on a Cocoa Count until 1976, but numbers have been burgeoning since 2002, again mirroring a national trend.
• EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE -- The explosion continues, this year with a record 923 eclipsing the previous mark of 665. The species had never been reported until 1996.
• DOWNY WOODPECKER -- Is it doing as well where you bird? We scored 40 on this year’s CBC, easily better than the previous high of 29 and well over the 10-year average of 12.
• TREE SWALLOW -- An irruptive species that has numbered 50,000 here three times in the past, but has been as low as a paltry 67 (1999). The CBC had 19,500, then on January 9 I saw an estimated 30,000 on the sod farm grasses and over the cells at Viera Wetlands. It has been a very good winter for this species here in the East.
• OVENBIRD -- Unexplained are the record 12 we had on the Cocoa Count, against a previous high of 5. We’ve averaged only 2 per year over the past decade.