Pennsylvania Annual Migration Count (PAMC)
5/28/17
By David Brown
Every year on the second Saturday in May I participate in the Pennsylvania Annual Migration Count. This event has been organized yearly since 1992 by the Pennsylvania Society of Ornithology for the purpose of collecting data on the birds found in Pennsylvania during the peak of spring migration. Birders split into groups and count how many of each species they see and hear.
For the first time this year's count was done completely through eBird, a citizen-science project created by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Birders submit checklists on the eBird website or through a mobile app and the data goes into a database where it is made available to researchers. For the past three years the PAMC has coincided with eBird's Global Big Day event which aims to get as many birders around the world submitting data on the same day.
This year participants from 150 countries submitted over 52000 checklists and totaled a combined 6600 species of birds which is over 60% of the world's species.
In Pennsylvania nearly 2000 checklists were submitted for a total of 226 species. 144 species were reported in Lycoming County. Only a small number of birders participated in Clinton County but they still found over 100 species.
I joined four other birders at 7am at South Williamsport Park. The morning was cold and rainy so bird activity was low. The rain and poor lighting made it difficult to see well. We spent the morning walking the Susquehanna River Walk. We saw about 50 species including a peregrine falcon.
After lunch we birded at the northern end of the Lycoming Creek bikeway. While we were checking a wetland area we spotted a flock of waterfowl migrating north. This time of year you expect such a flock to be either Canada geese or double-crested cormorants. These birds were not in the organized V-formation of Canada geese and the lighting made them look dark so I assumed they must be cormorants. I snapped a photo and zoomed in to take a closer look and noticed that they were actually geese, but not Canada geese. It was a flock of brants!
Brant
The brant is a species of small goose that breeds in northern Canada and winters along the mid-Atlantic coast. It is a rare visitor to central Pennsylvania during migration, usually associated with storms. Hurricane Sandy in 2012 blew large flocks of brants into our area with hundreds being reported at local lakes including Rose Valley Lake, Montour Preserve, and Bald Eagle State Park.
We laughed as we thought about how easily we could have missed those birds if we had spent a few minutes longer at lunch but we ended up in the right place at the right time and that is part of the fun of birding.
We also went to Trout Run Park where our highlights were Lincoln's sparrow, red-breasted nuthatch, and yellow-throated warbler.
I spent a rainy Saturday having fun with friends while collecting data that will be used to better understand and protect the birds we love to watch. Not a bad way to spend a day!
