Westfield Christmas Bird Count 2000

Sunday it rained, and it often rained hard. The wind blew and even some thunder and lightning were added to the mix. There were Christmas bird counts scheduled for that day, and in the last thirty years a count has rarely been canceled or postponed. The counts in the Pittsfield and Northampton areas were done on schedule.

About 75 people usually work on the Northampton count, which set a record high of 91 species found in December 1999. That number was out of reach on Sunday, but the stalwart few that braved the elements report a unique day out in the field. One soaked counter even claimed the experience was 'mystically sublime.'

The next Saturday was two days before Christmas, and the Westfield area count also went off as scheduled, only our tenth year compared to more than sixty years for the Springfield area count. We mustered 18 observers in eleven parties on a day when the cold of an unusually bitter month began to deepen.

We were bundled against the wind, but it still tore at our cheeks and eyes, so we were all glad when the sun warmed us a bit as the day wore on. Before dawn the wind was a mite calmer, so the owls answered our tapes of their calls. We play the voices of the smaller owls first, the saw-whet and the screech owl. Then we try the larger barred and great horned owls.

One owler heard a rare saw-whet responding on the north side of Westfield, while the number of common screech owls prompted to call was sixteen. There were only two great horned and no barred owls at all bothering to give voice against the coldest of winds.

We labored all day, but the songbirds were hunkered down more than usual, and the numbers seen were comparatively low. The chickadees were very scarce, as were mockingbirds and tree sparrows. Many other plentiful winter species were below average, such as the downy and hairy woodpeckers, the blue jay, tufted titmouse, and white-breasted nuthatch

The northern finches are absent this winter, staying in their Canadian forests where the trees are bearing cones and seeds for their dining pleasure. No redpolls or siskins were reported, and even the goldfinches were found only in the wooded areas away from houses, content with the food on our trees.

This may support the complaints of feeder watchers that few birds are coming to their feeders, but some species were tallied in record or near record numbers. There were many song and white-throated sparrows and juncos found on this day's census, and the robins and bluebirds seemed to be everywhere. Spread the mixed seed or millet on the ground daily, and the sparrows at least will come to your yard to feed.

We found 242 Robins, all hale and hearty as they searched the countryside for fruits and berries. This was twice the number of titmice and nearly equal to the numbers of chickadees or jays. The fifty-six bluebirds noted was one fewer than the number of downy woodpeckers. Apparently, it is not the winter weather that has reduced the numbers of birds.

Consider the eastern phoebe that was discovered at a pool of open water far from the heat of the city in the hill town of Granville. It was found at the 'mill in the meadow,' where the turning wheel keeps the water from freezing. There this little flycatcher still perches on the overhanging branches above the water's surface.

Every few minutes it spies a tiny insect on the surface, which it flies down and skims into its bill, giving a little chirp of triumph as it settles back on a frosty twig. Its coat of inner down and outer feathers is proof against the wind and cold, as each bit of buggy protein in its belly is fuel to stoke a miniature furnace that warms a few drops of blood.

This may be the only phoebe spending the winter in New England, and we can only marvel at its persistence even as we wonder at its stubborn resistance to migrating farther south. Over the years there have been phoebes surviving the entire winter in our area, but we should fear for this little fellow if the cold does not moderate soon.