This coming Sunday is the State College CBC here in central PA and I am really looking forward to getting out and documenting the winter bird life. Alex and I volunteered to cover both the Bear Meadows/Alan Seeger route as well as the new Rockview fields recently purchased by Penn State. This will be a lot of area to cover in one day but there are a lot of potentially interesting birds that we could encounter.
Bear Meadows and Alan Seeger are good locations to find winter finches such as crossbills, evening grosbeaks and redpolls. We will also be looking for owls in those areas, targeting Northern Saw-whet Owl, a bird I still would like to find for my Centre County list. Other interesting birds we will target include Red-breasted Nuthatch and Yellow-rumped Warbler.
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Photo by Alex Lamoreaux)
At the Rockview fields, we will be looking for flocks of passerines. A recent survey found Fox, Savannah and Field Sparrow, as well as Hermit Thrush, all birds which can be easy to miss on this CBC. Other possibilities in this unique grassland/shrub/scrub area are Rough-legged Hawk, Northern Harrier and, if we are really lucky, a Short-eared Owl.
Rough-legged Hawk- Rockview fields
Below is a list of records for the State College CBC 1999-2009. Birds with a 0 were only seen during count week but not during the actual day of the Christmas Bird Count.
| Common Name | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | Grand Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Black Duck | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 3 | 61 |
| American Coot | 1 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 17 | |||||
| American Crow | 970 | 803 | 1008 | 1286 | 989 | 813 | 1078 | 1297 | 2405 | 2333 | 1156 | 14138 |
| American Goldfinch | 245 | 78 | 171 | 148 | 189 | 172 | 153 | 143 | 156 | 586 | 73 | 2114 |
| Green-winged Teal | 3 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 18 | |||||||
| American Kestrel | 20 | 14 | 21 | 17 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 139 |
| American Pipit | 3 | 3 | ||||||||||
| American Robin | 15 | 4 | 128 | 7 | 10 | 43 | 16 | 46 | 118 | 8 | 6 | 401 |
| American Tree Sparrow | 230 | 71 | 101 | 106 | 90 | 69 | 104 | 74 | 92 | 88 | 90 | 1115 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||||||
| Barred Owl | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 11 | |||||
| Belted Kingfisher | 20 | 10 | 16 | 10 | 2 | 14 | 12 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 119 |
| Black-capped Chickadee | 626 | 305 | 567 | 305 | 246 | 387 | 368 | 303 | 116 | 270 | 134 | 3627 |
| Blue Jay | 273 | 287 | 388 | 296 | 237 | 291 | 269 | 263 | 158 | 162 | 161 | 2785 |
| Brown Creeper | 17 | 11 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 15 | 7 | 1 | 21 | 107 | |
| Brown-headed Cowbird | 5 | 4 | 27 | 109 | 26 | 8 | 12 | 191 | ||||
| Bufflehead | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||
| Canada Goose | 650 | 325 | 446 | 633 | 11 | 326 | 238 | 586 | 79 | 558 | 10 | 3862 |
| Canvasback | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Carolina Wren | 49 | 54 | 89 | 59 | 29 | 29 | 19 | 67 | 15 | 37 | 15 | 462 |
| Cedar Waxwing | 187 | 110 | 164 | 97 | 12 | 45 | 14 | 129 | 168 | 27 | 70 | 1023 |
| Chipping Sparrow | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 | ||||||||
| Common Grackle | 1 | 2 | 51 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 67 | ||||
| Common Loon | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Common Merganser | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | ||||||||
| Common Raven | 17 | 6 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 25 | 15 | 12 | 5 | 12 | 134 | |
| Common Redpoll | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||
| Common Snipe | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||||||
| Common Yellowthroat | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Cooper's Hawk | 7 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 16 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 92 |
| Dark-eyed Junco | 887 | 481 | 607 | 482 | 594 | 715 | 745 | 665 | 290 | 527 | 326 | 3862 |
| Dickcissel | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Downy Woodpecker | 92 | 65 | 136 | 43 | 61 | 75 | 65 | 94 | 38 | 75 | 35 | 779 |
| Eastern Bluebird | 107 | 73 | 101 | 40 | 53 | 30 | 36 | 140 | 103 | 169 | 80 | 932 |
| Eastern Meadowlark | 5 | 5 | ||||||||||
| Eastern Phoebe | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
| Eastern Screech-Owl | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 51 | |
| Eastern Towhee | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||||||||
| European Starling | 2266 | 3933 | 4005 | 2176 | 1958 | 3550 | 2314 | 3928 | 1422 | 3979 | 3745 | 33276 |
| Evening Grosbeak | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Field Sparrow | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||||||||
| Fish Crow | 28 | 47 | 3 | 20 | 56 | 20 | 42 | 20 | 6 | 21 | 5 | 268 |
| Fox Sparrow | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 11 | |||||||
| Gadwall | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Golden-crowned Kinglet | 9 | 84 | 83 | 18 | 11 | 104 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 60 | 411 | |
| Gray Catbird | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 11 | |||||
| Great Blue Heron | 31 | 27 | 43 | 34 | 43 | 55 | 18 | 19 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 284 |
| Great Horned Owl | 3 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 23 | |||
| Hairy Woodpecker | 36 | 19 | 29 | 14 | 11 | 22 | 19 | 19 | 11 | 22 | 2 | 204 |
| Hermit Thrush | 13 | 4 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 70 |
| Herring Gull | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Hooded Merganser | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Horned Lark | 2 | 43 | 99 | 25 | 400 | 227 | 150 | 14 | 960 | |||
| House Finch | 451 | 535 | 690 | 139 | 134 | 132 | 145 | 184 | 94 | 236 | 71 | 2811 |
| House Sparrow | 980 | 568 | 700 | 756 | 721 | 347 | 582 | 702 | 141 | 714 | 523 | 6734 |
| House Wren | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Killdeer | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 18 | ||||
| Lapland Longspur | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Lesser Scaup | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||
| Long-eared Owl | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Long-tailed Duck | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Mallard | 607 | 822 | 846 | 490 | 349 | 641 | 482 | 354 | 553 | 464 | 188 | 5796 |
| Merlin | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Mourning Dove | 304 | 270 | 611 | 342 | 536 | 201 | 366 | 708 | 343 | 338 | 614 | 4633 |
| Mute Swan | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | ||||||
| Northern Flicker | 17 | 21 | 23 | 9 | 10 | 80 | ||||||
| Northern Cardinal | 240 | 262 | 270 | 213 | 265 | 205 | 165 | 250 | 75 | 158 | 104 | 2207 |
| Northern Flicker | 10 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 15 | 5 | 54 | |||||
| Northern Goshawk | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
| Northern Harrier | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 28 | ||||
| Northern Mockingbird | 41 | 52 | 45 | 49 | 23 | 41 | 44 | 72 | 28 | 51 | 24 | 470 |
| Northern Pintail | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
| Northern Saw-whet Owl | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | |||||||
| Northern Shoveler | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| Pied-billed Grebe | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Pileated Woodpecker | 22 | 10 | 24 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 12 | 15 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 124 |
| Pine Siskin | 22 | 160 | 40 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 113 | 336 | ||||
| Purple Finch | 2 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 32 | ||
| Red-bellied Woodpecker | 44 | 36 | 48 | 31 | 31 | 49 | 49 | 46 | 16 | 39 | 17 | 406 |
| Red-breasted Merganser | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Red-breasted Nuthatch | 10 | 3 | 53 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 13 | 4 | 75 | 171 | ||
| Redhead | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Red-headed Woodpecker | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||||
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | ||||
| Red-tailed Hawk | 51 | 44 | 48 | 39 | 39 | 67 | 50 | 52 | 36 | 51 | 28 | 505 |
| Red-winged Blackbird | 8 | 30 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 1 | 60 | |||||
| Ring-billed Gull | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | |||||
| Ring-necked Duck | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||||||
| Ring-necked Pheasant | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||||||
| Rock Dove | 818 | 581 | 1748 | 2529 | 5676 | |||||||
| Rock Pigeon | 1096 | 746 | 700 | 1231 | 805 | 852 | 1329 | 6759 | ||||
| Rough-legged Hawk | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 32 | |
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 14 | ||||
| Ruddy Duck | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||||
| Ruffed Grouse | 10 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 48 | ||
| Rusty Blackbird | 30 | 1 | 31 | |||||||||
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 35 |
| Snow Bunting | 30 | 30 | ||||||||||
| Snow Goose (white form) | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||||
| Song Sparrow | 96 | 44 | 50 | 39 | 27 | 29 | 87 | 51 | 30 | 32 | 7 | 492 |
| sparrow sp. | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Swamp Sparrow | 12 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 38 | |
| Tufted Titmouse | 163 | 175 | 209 | 150 | 179 | 175 | 136 | 150 | 62 | 168 | 100 | 1667 |
| White-breasted Nuthatch | 199 | 82 | 185 | 90 | 86 | 129 | 99 | 132 | 59 | 135 | 59 | 1255 |
| White-crowned Sparrow | 54 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 85 | ||
| White-throated Sparrow | 320 | 469 | 336 | 276 | 244 | 389 | 333 | 225 | 96 | 200 | 87 | 2975 |
| White-winged Crossbill | 1 | 53 | 54 | |||||||||
| Wild Turkey | 9 | 4 | 13 | 38 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 57 | 0 | 151 | ||
| Wilson's Snipe | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||
| Winter Wren | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 30 | |||
| Wood Duck | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | |||||||
| Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 33 | |
| Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Yellow-rumped Warbler | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Total number of species | 73 | 69 | 82 | 60 | 62 | 67 | 70 | 68 | 59 | 78 | 47 |