Birds By the Numbers: 75 Years of the Burlington CBC

Contributed by Elizabeth Spinney
Photo by Fernando Corrada

In mid-December each year, people in the Burlington area flock to tally which birds make this part of Vermont their home. This past year on December 18th, a calm winter morning greeted 74 participants as they made their way outdoors on foot, by car, by snowshoe, or from the comfort of their homes, to count. From Williston to the waterfront, and from Mallets Bay to the middle of Shelburne, birds were identified and recorded as part of the “Christmas Bird Count.”

This birding event has been locally hosted by the Green Mountain Audubon Society for 75 years, and it is part of an international effort spanning 123 years. Conservation-minded folks in 1900 imagined the “Christmas Bird Count” or “CBC” as an alternative to traditional holiday hunts that resulted in the shooting of thousands of birds and mammals. And from the founding of the National Audubon Society in1905 to today, the Audubon CBC has supported this collection of occurrence and absence data.

2022 boasted a record number of species for the Burlington CBC, with 82 bird species and 19,986 individual birds recorded. Here is an overview of the highs, lows, and uncommon finds of the count:

Highs:

  • American Crows continue to prove difficult to track, but estimates this year suggest around 8,000 crows were roosting in Burlington

  • 754 Snow Buntings were the third-highest tally for that species and the highest count since 1966

  • 182 Horned Larks

  • 138 Downy Woodpeckers 

  • Over 100 Wild Turkeys

  • 60 Red-bellied Woodpeckers far exceeded the previous high count of 43, set in 2020

  • 40 Pileated Woodpeckers 

  • 13 Cooper’s Hawks

  • 12 Northern Harriers

  • 5 Peregrine Falcons

Lows:

  • A mere half-dozen of both species of Scaup, down from 10,000 seen during the count in 2021

  • Missing Barrow’s Goldeneye--none recorded

  • Missing Red-throated Loon—none recorded

Uncommon Finds:

  • A Lapland Longspur was one of the biggest surprises of the count, found for only the fourth time in count history and the first since 1966

  • Irruptive species:

    • a Red Crossbill was another count highlight, a species that hadn’t been found during the count since 1989

    • 310 Bohemian Waxwings

    • 109 Common Redpolls

    • 35 Pine Grosbeaks

  • A Surf Scoter, only the 4th time ever seen during the count, and the first time since 1978

  • A Ruffed Grouse, which had not been seen since 2018, was only the second sighting since 2012; before that, they had been found annually since the 1970s

  • A Black Vulture was found again this year during the week of the count, having now been featured annually since 2019

  • A single Snow Goose was spotted flying with a flock of Canada Geese

  • A Fish Crow was tallied for only the sixth time, the third in the last five years

  • 6 Winter Wrens

  • 5 Wood Ducks

  • 2 Red-winged Blackbirds

  • A Green-winged Teal

  • A Northern Shrike

  • A Hermit Thrush

  • A Yellow-rumped Warbler

We have over 70 years of historical records to see how the species and their numbers are shifting over time. It is the efforts of volunteers that make this dataset a reality. Together, we are supporting the science that tells the story of birds by the numbers, and their survival in the face of drastic population declines, climate change, and habitat loss. Thanks to all who participated and helped make the 75th Burlington CBC a resounding success.

Mark your calendars: Next year’s Burlington CBC will take place on Sunday, December 17, 2023. In the meantime, we encourage you to learn more about the history of the CBC and the Burlington Circle’s count by checking out this presentation by Larry Clarfeld, available on the Green Mountain Audubon Society’s YouTube Channel. Many CBC counts happen each year, and you can see a map of all counts using this National Audubon Society webpage.


*This article was made possible by, and large portions borrowed with permission from, the writing and analysis completed by the GMAS CBC Planning Committee. Thank you, Larry, Jeff, Clem, and Ali for all you do to make this event possible each year.