The 2020 Century Count was notable in several ways. First, it marked our 25th annual count, a milestone in itself.
Second, we tallied a new record – 126 species!!! Rutland County was covered in many directions – from Tinmouth Channel to Kent Pond in Killington to the Poultney area to the Buckner Preserve in West Haven to the bird productive roads of Brandon and many points in between, comprising a wide variety of habitats. This widespread effort no doubt led the high species total as were able to visit spots that time does not allow us when we travel in a group. In all 67 checklists were submitted to eBird.
Both Virginia Rail and Sora were reported, nine raptors including a Barred Owl, all four expected wren species, seven flycatchers, 22 warbler species and many more (full list below).
Lastly, and perhaps not as satisfactory to many of us, it was our first socially distanced count. Birding by one or in small groups of two and three, we fanned out over the county to our favorite hotspots. While we may have gained more species, we missed the camaraderie of birding with friends, sharing a picnic lunch, trading bird stories and more. However, I think we were all aware of how fortunate we are to have so many beautiful places in Rutland County to safely escape the daily barrage of Covid-19 news and focus on the birds.
Thank you to the sixteen participants, some using eBird for the first time (and hopefully not the last)! Here’s to next year, hopefully together again as a group!
The list:
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
American Black Duck
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Ruffed Grouse
Wild Turkey
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
Eastern Whip-poor-will
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Virginia Rail
Sora
Killdeer
American Woodcock
Wilson's Snipe
Spotted Sandpiper
Herring Gull
Common Loon
American Bittern
Great Blue heron
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Bald Eagle
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Barred Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Red-belled Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kesrel
Peregrine Falcon
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Alder Flycatcher
Willow Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
House Wren
Winter Wren
Marsh Wren
Carolina Wren
European Starling
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
House Sparrow
House Finch
Purple Finch
American Goldfinch
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Bobolink
Eastern Meadowlark
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
Ovenbird
Louisiana Waterthrush
Northern Waterthrush
Golden-winged Warbler
Blue-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Mourning Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler Prairie Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Canada Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting