I thought you might be interested in the following gleanings from the report of the inimitable Bill Pranty, master of the Florida Christmas Bird Counts.
Cocoa did better than most other Florida counts, as usual, thanks to your skills and persistence. Our 159 countable species tied with Alafia Banks for fourth in the state, trailing only West Pasco (171), North Pinellas (168) and Zellwood-Mount Dora (165). As for total taxonomic forms, Cocoa's 168 trailed only West Pasco (174) and North Pinellas' 169.
We had the only (2) Muscovy Duck X Mallards on any count and the only (2) empidonax flycatchers reported. We also reported 2 of Florida's 3 Pine Siskins and 155,000 of its 182,003 Lesser Scaups.
In addition, Cocoa had Florida's 2011 high counts of Common Peafowl (45), Double-crested Cormorant (7300), Tricolored Heron (675), White Ibis (4200), Laughing Gull (11,000), Ring-billed Gull (8500), archilochus hummingbird (5), Belted Kingfisher (91), Yellow-rumped Warbler (4400) and Painted Bunting (77). Nice work!
Our neighboring Brevard County CBCs ran into tougher times. South Brevard tallied 150 species and Merritt Island just 141.
Our Bay-breasted Warbler, unfortunately, didn't make the cut of the editor's pen. Too many observers, it seems, including those responsible for accepting or rejecting CBC submissions, don't know the vagaries of Bay-breast identification, apparently relying on field guides and museum skins of differently aged birds to strike the bird seen at Georgiana Cemetery, Merritt Island. Such is life in birding.
Don't forget this year's Cocoa count date -- December 15. Thanks, as always, for your helpful contribution to science.
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