01/13/2025
The 20th annual Esopus Bend Nature Preserve (EBNP) Winter Bird Count (WBC) was conducted on Saturday, January 11, 2025 under heavy overcast skies with light snow showers throughout most of the day and seasonably cold air temperatures ranging from an early morning low of 24° F to an afternoon high 31° F. Audio conditions were good with generally calm to light wind. One field party surveyed the 160-acre nature preserve from 5:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., recording a total of 462 birds representing 38 species during an 11-hour effort that included two hours of nocturnal “owling" (1.5 hours pre-dawn, and one-half hour after dusk).
Diversity was about average for this census, compared to our most recent ten-year average (39/year) and our historical average (37.5/year). Abundance was relatively low, especially in comparison to the past two mild winters (703 and 695 individuals), roughly 100 birds less than our ten-year (574) and historical (563) averages, resulting in the smallest number of birds recorded on this count since 2014 when we tallied 448 individuals.
The two-week period leading up to count day was seasonably cold, considerably colder than the past two Januarys, with only small patches of open water punctuated by periods of solid ice. Count day conditions were similar, including up to an inch of fresh overnight snow cover, negatively affecting the presence of water-dependent species and perhaps encouraging some passerines to temporarily leave the Preserve to take advantage of neighborhood bird feeders. Esopus Creek was essentially covered with ice, with only an occasional small open patch out in the channel. The delta and beaver impoundment were thoroughly capped in thick ice, with the exception of a few small seep holes.
Considering the environmental conditions, we were fortunate to notice two small flyover flocks of waterfowl and a small flock of gulls, consisting of two American Black Ducks, a few Mallards, and three Herring Gulls, the full extent of water-dependent species that we would encounter this day. We were also fortunate to notice two adult Red-tailed Hawks, a brightly-plumaged adult Red-shouldered Hawk, and a Cooper’s Hawk, on a day that was not conducive to soaring raptors. A pair of Barred Owls continues in a known breeding location.
Wild Turkeys entertained and informed us with their oddly characteristic behavior. We encountered hundreds of fresh turkey tracks in the new snow as we moved throughout the Preserve, and multiple areas where the large birds had scratched away the snow cover and disrupted the leaf layer in search of food. The only birds we observed today were consistently perched high up in deciduous trees, or flying from one tree to another, loudly slapping their large wings against dense branches. I commented how I had recently observed several turkeys in the preserve leave a ground forage and settle high up in trees, where they proceeded to walk out to the end of a branch to glean Oriental Bittersweet fruits. Mast crops this past autumn were poor at best, with little in the way of acorns and beech nuts, and the winter survival of this EBNP rafter may very well depend on the availability of this valuable non-native invasive.
There were no new additions to the cumulative historical total (71 species), and no unusual stand-outs or bad misses. The absence of Northern Flicker, encountered eight out of the last ten surveys, and Red-winged Blackbird, present in seven of the previous ten years, are the most noteworthy. A lingering Great Blue Heron was seen the previous day, but given the environmental conditions on count day, it came as no surprise that we did not detect a heron or Belted Kingfisher during this year’s effort. Cedar Waxwings and irruptive winter finches continue to be absent or very sporadic on a regional basis this winter.
The following table summarizes the 2025 survey in comparison with our most recent nine-year history. Thanks to Mark DeDea, Bob Miller, John Moore, Benjamin Osborn, and Augie Wiedemann for assisting with this year’s count and enduring the cold and gloomy conditions.
Steve M. Chorvas
EBNP WBC Coordinator
Esopus Creek Conservancy
Stewardship and Land Management
