TO 
PARTICIPANTS IN 1996 SERC WINTER BIRD COUNT 
FROM 
JIM LYNCH 
RE 
RESULT OF COUNT 
DATE 
15 JANUARY 1996 
The count was originally scheduled for 13 January, but was postponed to the 14th due to heavy 
snow before the count. So far, the winter of 1995-96 has been unusually cold, and the storm of 
6-8 January produced the region’s heaviest snowfall in more than 70 years (up to 24” fell in 
the SERC area). An additional 3-6” of snow fell on 11-12 January. The day of the count was 
clear and cool (25-45° F), with little wind. The snow cover already had begun to melt and 
compact by the day of the count, but the area was still covered with about 24” of crusted snow, 
making cross-country walking very tiring. The two snowstorms that struck the area were 
preceded by a cold snap, and the Rhode River and West River were completely ice-covered on 14 
January. As a result, most waterfowl were absent from the count area, having moved to areas of 
open water closer to the Bay proper. Last year we counted nine species of waterfowl, but this 
year we tallied only two. This was especially frustrating because 1995 was an excellent year 
for waterfowl reproduction in the northern prairies, and large numbers of ducks were present 
on the Rhode River just prior to the cold snap. 
We mustered 14 volunteers at the SERC visitor’s center at 07:00. The group was divided into 
four parties, each of which covered a different sector of the 70 km 2 Rhode River count area 
(this is about 5% of the area covered by a standard 1,810 km 2 Audubon Christmas Count 
circle). One field party was accompanied by photographer Cameron Davidson, who was taking 
pictures for an article on SERC that will appear in a future issue of Smithsonian magazine. Each 
party was in the field for 5-6 hours. Although weather conditions were good on the day of the 
count, the lack of open water and the difficulty of traversing areas away from plowed roads 
resulted in a final tally of bird species and individuals that was well below the levels seen in 
previous SERC counts. As an example, the 1993, 1994, and 1995 counts yielded 70, 68, and 
60 species, respectively. This year’s total was only 44 species. A major exception to this year’s 
dearth of waterfowl records was provided by the Canada Goose. A minimum of 2,184 honkers 
was counted, as flight after flight passed over the count area on their way from from a resting 
area in the Rhode River to feeding grounds in nearby fields. This represents an all-time high for 
our winter count of this species, and may reflect the recent increase in Canada Goose numbers 
on the western shore of Chesapeake Bay. 
The results of this year’s count highlight the dramatic effects of weather on winter bird 
distributions, and serve as a useful baseline for comparison with counts conducted under more 
favorable conditions. Thanks to all of you for helping out, and I look forward to seeing you back 
for next year’s effort. 
cc: Ed Balinsky, John Bohannon, Cameron Davidson, Paul Fofonoff, Charlotte Fox, Annette 
Frese, Elizabeth Goodrich, Neil Goodrich, Liza Hamill, Stephanie Jamieson, Linda 
McCann, Jess Parker, Greg Ruiz, Jim Seigal, Denny Whigham 
