On May 1, 2016 The Fishers Island Conservancy held its third annual Spring Migration Bird Count. The count is conducted in the Audubon style line count over the length of the Island. Starting at Race Point the count is observed at half mile intervals with each observation interval lasting 5 minutes. Each species of bird can be identified by either site or call. This year’s event lasted for two hours over 13 sites from west to east and the team identified 121 different species. The weather was was overcast 51 degrees and slight drizzle. Adam Mitchell, Emily Biasden, and Will Almeda from the University Of Delaware and Justine Kibbe, The Conservancy Naturalist, led the count.
There will be a summer Resident Bird Count in mid-July and a Fall Migration Bird Count in late September. Stay tuned for the details of the future events.
Data Note: The Northern Harrier is tagged as State Endangered by CT and NY, and the Mute Swan was a nesting female.
| Date | Observer | Point | Start Time | Temp | Sky | Wind | Noise | Alpha | Species | 0-50 | 50-100 | >100 |
| 5/1/16 | Geb Cook | 1 | 8:14 | 50 | 2 | 2 | 0 | KILL | Killdeer | 1 | 3 | |
| 1 | RWBB | Red-winged Blackbird | 5 | |||||||||
| 1 | SOSP | Song Sparrow | 1 | |||||||||
| 1 | GBBG | Greater Black Backed Gull | 1 | |||||||||
| 1 | AMOY | American Oystercatcher | 1 | |||||||||
| 1 | AMGO | American Goldfinch | 2 | |||||||||
| 1 | BHCO | Brown Headed Cowbird | 1 | |||||||||
| 2 | 8:25 | 50 | 2 | 2 | 0 | RWBB | Red-winged Blackbird | 3 | 5 | |||
| 2 | TRSW | Tree Swallow | 3 | 3 | ||||||||
| 2 | SOSP | Song Sparrow | 1 | |||||||||
| 2 | BHCO | Brown Headed Cowbird | 1 | |||||||||
| 2 | EATO | Eastern Towhee | 1 | |||||||||
| 2 | AMCR | American Crow | 3 | |||||||||
| 2 | AMGO | American Goldfinch | 2 | |||||||||
| 2 | RNPH | Ring-necked Pheasant | 1 | |||||||||
| 3 | 8:33 | 50 | 2 | 2 | 0 | CAGO | Canada Goose | 1 | 2 | |||
| 3 | RNPH | Ring-necked Pheasant | 4 | |||||||||
| 3 | AMRO | American Robin | 3 | |||||||||
| 3 | CHSP | Chipping Sparrow | 1 | |||||||||
| 3 | BCCH | Black Capped Chickadee | 1 | |||||||||
| 3 | AMGO | American Goldfinch | 2 | |||||||||
| 3 | EUST | European Starling | 1 | |||||||||
| 3 | RWBB | Red-winged Blackbird | 7 | |||||||||
| 3 | YEWA | Yellow Warbler | 1 | |||||||||
| 3 | COGR | Common Grackle | 1 | |||||||||
| 4 | 8:42 | 50 | 2 | 2 | 0 | HEGU | Herring Gull | 1 | ||||
| 4 | AMCR | American Crow | 1 | 2 | ||||||||
| 4 | NOCA | Northern Cardinal | 2 | 1 | ||||||||
| 4 | MODO | Mourning Dove | 1 | |||||||||
| 4 | HOFI | House Finch | 2 | |||||||||
| 4 | BHCO | Brown Headed Cowbird | 7 | |||||||||
| 4 | RWBB | Red-winged Blackbird | 1 | |||||||||
| 4 | AMGO | American Goldfinch | 4 | |||||||||
| 4 | HOSP | House Sparrow | 8 | |||||||||
| 5 | 8:50 | 49 | 2 | 2 | 0 | AMRO | American Robin | 1 | ||||
| 5 | NOCA | Northern Cardinal | 2 | 2 | ||||||||
| 5 | HEGU | Herring Gull | 1 | |||||||||
| 5 | COGR | Common Grackle | 4 | |||||||||
| 5 | TRSW | Tree Swallow | 2 | |||||||||
| 5 | AMGO | American Goldfinch | 1 | 2 | ||||||||
| 5 | AMCR | American Crow | 1 | |||||||||
| 5 | EUST | European Starling | 15 | |||||||||
| 6 | 8:57 | 49 | 2 | 2 | 0 | OSPR | Osprey | 1 | ||||
| 6 | BLJA | Bluejay | 2 | |||||||||
| 6 | MODO | Mourning Dove | 3 | |||||||||
| 6 | BHCO | Brown Headed Cowbird | 1 | |||||||||
| 6 | NOCA | Northern Cardinal | 1 | |||||||||
| 6 | AMRO | American Robin | 2 | |||||||||
| 6 | CAGO | Canada Goose | 2 | |||||||||
| 6 | AMCR | American Crow | 1 | |||||||||
| 6 | RWBB | Red-winged Blackbird | 1 | |||||||||
| 6 | YEWA | Yellow Warbler | 1 | |||||||||
| 6 | EATO | Eastern Towhee | 1 | |||||||||
| 7 | 9:05 | 49 | 2 | 1 | 1 | BLJA | Bluejay | 3 | ||||
| 7 | EATO | Eastern Towhee | 1 | |||||||||
| 7 | BCCH | Black Capped Chickadee | 2 | |||||||||
| 7 | MODO | Mourning Dove | 1 | |||||||||
| 7 | EAPH | Eastern Phoebe | 1 | |||||||||
| 7 | TRSW | Tree Swallow | 1 | |||||||||
| 8 | 9:12 | 50 | 2 | 2 | 0 | RWBB | Red-winged Blackbird | 2 | ||||
| 8 | EATO | Eastern Towhee | 3 | |||||||||
| 8 | OSPR | Osprey | 1 | |||||||||
| 8 | MODO | Mourning Dove | 1 | |||||||||
| 8 | TRSW | Tree Swallow | 3 | 4 | ||||||||
| 8 | HOWR | House Wren | 2 | |||||||||
| 8 | MALL | Mallard | 3 | |||||||||
| 9 | 9:20 | 49 | 2 | 2 | 0 | EATO | Eastern Towhee | 1 | ||||
| 9 | DOWO | Downy Woodpecker | 2 | |||||||||
| 9 | MALL | Mallard | 1 | |||||||||
| 9 | BCCH | Black Capped Chickadee | 1 | |||||||||
| 9 | AMCR | American Crow | 1 | |||||||||
| 9 | NOFL | Northern Flicker | 1 | |||||||||
| 9 | DCCO | Double Crested Cormorant | 1 | |||||||||
| 10 | 9:28 | 49 | 2 | 2 | 1 | EATO | Eastern Towhee | 1 | ||||
| 10 | AMRO | American Robin | 3 | 4 | ||||||||
| 10 | OSPR | Osprey | 1 | |||||||||
| 10 | CAGO | Canada Goose | 1 | |||||||||
| 10 | RNPH | Ring-necked Pheasant | 1 | |||||||||
| 10 | RWBB | Red-winged Blackbird | 1 | |||||||||
| 10 | TRSW | Tree Swallow | 1 | |||||||||
| 10 | GBBG | Greater Black Backed Gull | 1 | |||||||||
| 10 | MODO | Mourning Dove | 1 | |||||||||
| 11 | 9:37 | 50 | 2 | 2 | 2 | EATO | Eastern Towhee | 1 | ||||
| 11 | AMRO | American Robin | 1 | |||||||||
| 11 | SOSP | Song Sparrow | 1 | |||||||||
| 11 | AMRO | American Robin | 1 | |||||||||
| 11 | AMGO | American Goldfinch | 1 | |||||||||
| 11 | TRSW | Tree Swallow | 4 | |||||||||
| 11 | BHCO | Brown Headed Cowbird | 1 | |||||||||
| 11 | NOHA | Northern Harrier | 2 | |||||||||
| 12 | 9:45 | 49 | 2 | 1 | 3 | OSPR | Osprey | 2 | ||||
| 12 | EATO | Eastern Towhee | 2 | |||||||||
| 12 | BHCO | Brown Headed Cowbird | 1 | |||||||||
| 12 | HOWR | House Wren | 2 | |||||||||
| 13 | 9:53 | 50 | 2 | 1 | 1 | MUSW | Mute Swan | 1 | ||||
| 13 | BTGR | Boat-tailed Grackle | 1 | |||||||||
| 13 | RWBB | Red-winged Blackbird | 15 | |||||||||
| 13 | OSPR | Osprey | 2 | |||||||||
| 13 | GBBG | Greater Black Backed Gull | 1 | |||||||||
| 13 | COGR | Common Grackle | 5 | |||||||||
| 13 | TRSW | Tree Swallow | 1 | |||||||||
| 13 | AMRO | American Robin | 1 | |||||||||
| 13 | HOSP | House Sparrow | 2 | |||||||||
| 14 | 10:02 | 50 | 2 | 1 | 0 | BCCH | Black Capped Chickadee | 7 | ||||
| 14 | RNPH | Ring-necked Pheasant | 1 | |||||||||
| 14 | EATO | Eastern Towhee | 1 | |||||||||
| 14 | AMRO | American Robin | 1 | |||||||||
| 14 | WTSP | White Throated Sparrow | 1 | |||||||||
| 14 | DOWO | Downy Woodpecker | 1 | |||||||||
| 14 | AMCR | American Crow | 2 | |||||||||
| 15 | 10:11 | 51 | 2 | 2 | 0 | MUSW | Mute Swan | 2 | ||||
| 15 | BASW | Barn Swallow | 3 | |||||||||
| 15 | TRSW | Tree Swallow | 10 | |||||||||
| 15 | RNPH | Ring-necked Pheasant | 1 | |||||||||
| 15 | YEWA | Yellow Warbler | 1 | |||||||||
| 15 | OSPR | Osprey | 2 | |||||||||
| 15 | DCCO | Double Crested Cormorant | 1 | |||||||||
| 15 | RWBB | Red-winged Blackbird | 2 | |||||||||
| 15 | MALL | Mallard | 1 | |||||||||
| 15 | YRWA | Yellow-rumped Warbler | 3 | |||||||||
| 15 | GRHE | Green Heron | 1 |
