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Waterfowl
Count 2001 Last
Updated 11/2/01
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New
York State Federation Waterfowl Count
January 2001
THE WEATHER Official weather data for January 2001 were not readily available for all areas of the state. However, regional compilers reported generally favorable conditions during the counts, with fair weather, temperatures in the 30s (colder up north, warmer on Long Island) and calm or light winds on most days. The count period was preceded by several weeks of relatively stable weather, with little precipitation and temperatures well below freezing at night. Snowfall during January was light in most areas, but snow cover from storms in December remained in many areas through the count period. As a result of this weather pattern, many smaller inland waters were frozen, whereas larger lakes and coastal bays remained open to waterfowl use.
THE COUNT A total of 397,764 birds, comprising 46 species, were counted in 2001 (Table 1). This established a new record high count since the FWC began in 1955. The 2001 total was 4% above 2000 and 48% above the 28-year (1973-2000) average of 268,763. In general, counts of geese were down from a year ago, counts of most dabbling ducks were similar between years, and counts of most diving duck species increased dramatically (Table 2). Record high counts were reported for Canvasback, Redhead, Surf Scoter, Bufflehead and Red-breasted Merganser.
Comparison of 2001 counts with 28-year (1973-2000) averages shows 10 of 13 major species or taxa above average, led by Mallard, various diving ducks, and Canada Geese (Table 3). Brant, Black Duck and Common Merganser were all below average.
Total waterfowl numbers in the Atlantic Flyway (Maine to Florida) were up 5% from 2000, and were 10% above the 10-year (1991-2000) average (Serie and Raftovich 2001). Flyway counts indicated that most species were within ±10% of their 10-year averages, except Bufflehead (+14%), scaup (-15%), eiders (-35%), scoters (-58%), Long-tailed Duck (-45%), mergansers (-14%) and Canada Goose (+45%). The unusually high counts of diving ducks in New York were not observed throughout the Atlantic Flyway, suggesting that high FWC counts were due in part to short-term distributional shifts rather than population increases.
Highlights of regional reports included unprecedented numbers of Canvasback, Greater Scaup, Long-tailed Duck and Red-breasted Mergansers on the Niagara River and Lake Erie near Buffalo (Region 1), Barrow's Goldeneye on the Oneida River (Region 5) and on Long Island Sound near Oak Neck (Region 10), and two Harlequin Ducks near Staten Island (Region 10).
FUTURE COUNTS The FWC is especially important now that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has discontinued aerial surveys of waterfowl wintering in New York. DEC concluded that the FWC provides comparable or better data for monitoring long-term population trends (Swift and Hess 1999), so they now rely on the FWC as its standard survey. It is essential that member clubs and individuals maintain complete and consistent coverage of areas surveyed in the past to ensure that results are comparable from year-to-year and over the long-term. For the planners among you, future counts are scheduled as follows: 2002 - January 12-20 (target date - Sunday, January 13);
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank all of the approximately 250 observers who participated this year. A special thanks to the following Regional Compilers who coordinated all those volunteers:
LITERATURE CITED Serie, J. R. and R. V. Raftovich, Jr. 2001. Atlantic Flyway Midwinter Waterfowl Survey 2001 - Final Report. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Migratory Bird Management, Laurel, MD. 3 p. Swift, B. L. and P. J. Hess. 1999. A comparison of winter waterfowl surveys in New York. Northeast Wildlife 54:85-92.
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Table 1. Regional totals for January 2001 Federation Waterfowl Count.
Species/Region 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total
Loon, Red-throated 2 14 174 190 Common 4 1 4 9 3 404 425 Yellow-billed 0 Grebe, Pied-billed 7 2 22 5 1 41 78 Horned 28 283 7 1 20 1 12 387 739 Red-necked 1 3 4 Eared 1 1 Cormorant, D.-crest 65 1 2 1 168 237 Great 33 266 299 Goose, White-fronted 0 Snow 6 1 21 28 Canada 1,292 2,953 64,364 910 2,463 25 14 528 8,630 41,044 122223 Brant 205 7,833 8038 Swan, Mute 6 98 9 6 5 2 99 350 1,109 1684 Trumpeter 2 2 Tundra 144 2 107 253 Wood Duck 39 3 1 6 1 2 1 19 72 Gadwall 38 93 13 2 1 78 1,292 1517 Wigeon, Eurasian 1 1 American 7 11 18 1 172 1,518 1727 Am. Black Duck 178 272 2,286 89 332 74 314 226 871 12,714 17356 Mallard 7,199 6,479 9,324 414 4,041 233 2,000 1,678 4,590 11,164 47122 Mallard X Black 6 6 1 2 5 69 89 Blue-winged Teal 1 1 2 Northern Shoveler 12 2 224 238 Northern Pintail 3 1 4 4 6 77 95 Green-winged Teal 3 1 6 318 328 Canvasback 22,612 56 270 83 1,563 24584 Redhead 1,056 2,086 15,979 4 681 109 19915 Ring-necked Duck 5 8 106 1 17 9 10 52 359 567 Tufted Duck 0 Scaup, Greater 20,957 2,261 734 619 30 2 69 30,016 54688 Lesser 76 80 27 19 2 2 6 376 588 not to species 174 220 182 576 Eider, King 0 Common 4 4 Harlequin Duck 1 2 3 Scoter, Surf 1 13,748 13749 White-winged 528 227 63 15,777 16595 Black 1 290 291 not to species 117 117 Long-tailed Duck 5,692 971 5 515 200 33 744 8160 Bufflehead 673 235 281 168 14 141 444 8,069 10025 Goldeneye, Common 3,129 4,435 1,924 4 2,828 1,232 3,105 186 194 2,602 19639 Barrow's 1 1 2 Merganser, Hooded 46 6 26 5 43 14 45 105 1,134 1424 Common 2,671 1,124 770 178 1,588 1,257 995 130 587 164 9464 Red-breasted 4,202 196 56 135 2 1 121 3,345 8058 Ruddy Duck 2 1 3 113 2,371 2490 American Coot 136 134 1,924 35 9 2 83 685 3008 Unidentified 1,000 15 10 44 1069
TOTAL OF ABOVE 71801 21950 98542 1651 13798 3095 6645 2863 16869 160550 397764
Table 2. Comparison of the January 2001 and January 2000 counts for selected waterfowl species.
Species 2000 2001 % Change |
Table 3. Comparison
of the January 2001 count with 1973-2000 average for all species averaging over
1,000 individuals annually.
Species Average 2001 % Change |
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contents copyright © 1998, 2001-2008 New York State Ornithological
Association. All rights reserved. |
