Birders record Christmas tally (rochester)

[Donna]

The 60 American robins that I saw flying out of the spruce trees in Badgerow Park on Dec. 20 and streaming off to the west would have been unheard of on a Rochester Christmas Bird Count a century ago.

My 60 robins had plenty of company: a total of 2,969 American robins were reported throughout the Rochester area during the bird count, when volunteers all over the area recorded the birds they saw on Dec. 20.

This was not the only species on my count list that has undergone some significant changes here over the years. As I discuss these, bear in mind that my tally was conducted in only a tiny fraction of the count circle: Badgerow Park, a small area off Ling Road in Greece, and the northern half of Holy Sepulchre Cemetery between Lake and Dewey avenues.

Northern cardinal: Everybody's favorite "redbird" at the feeder was only rarely seen here before the 1940s, when it first began breeding in Monroe County. The count for the entire Rochester CBC circle didn't get out of the single digits until 19 were tallied in 1948. I saw 15 of the 390 reported this year. The record was 587 in 1990.

Tufted titmouse: Not recorded on the Rochester count until a single bird in 1954. Even after becoming established as a breeding bird here, it was initially more easily found east of the river. I had three off Ling Road in Greece and in a section of Holy Sepulchre Cemetery this year; a total of 127 were tallied throughout the circle. Record count: 153 in 1995.

Red-bellied woodpecker: As recently as the 1950s, there was basically only one place to see this woodpecker in Monroe County, at Golah along the Genesee River at the south end of the county. First tallied on the Rochester count in 1941, but didn't start appearing yearly until 1962. This year, I saw five, part of a record-setting tally of 170 throughout the circle.

Northern mockingbird: This extraordinary mimic didn't appear on the Rochester count until two were tallied in 1945. It didn't begin showing up regularly until the mid-1960s when this bird was first becoming established as a breeding species here. My day was made this year when I found one in the same tangle of grapevines at the entrance to Badgerow Park where I have had mockingbirds for the last few counts. A total of 15 were tallied throughout the circle; the record count was 25 in 2000.

So, even though my list this year was relatively small, and didn't include anything that would raise anyone's eyebrows today, it was an accurate reflection of what I saw in my small part of a much bigger endeavor called the Rochester Christmas Bird Count, which was held for the 106th year.

And thanks to those hundreds of other birders who have dutifully recorded every bird they've seen — and not seen — over all those years, many of the birds I saw on Sunday could be put in historical perspective. My mundane little list took on a whole new meaning. That's the beauty of the Christmas Bird Count.