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SBC for 2020

click on SBC OVERVIEW tab in the task bar above



December 22, 2020:

See the status update in RED in the right side bar.
Covid19 has delayed us this year, but we are progressing well now. 


August 2 and 23 and September 16,  2020:

We have already received 4 of the 8 CT summer bird count reports for 2020. 
We are hoping to receive the remaining 4 SBC counts during September. 
They will all be reported here soon after receiving all 8.  Click on this following link to view the results: 

This will allow us to keep these SBC counts going for another year, starting another decade! 
Starting in the 1970s and revving up in the early 1990s, these SBC counts are an amazing accomplishment by Joe Zeranski and all of you (we are trying to construct a list of every birder who has ever contributed to these!), and a serious lasting contribution to science and bird/environmental research!  Many of you deserve special mention, such as Tom Burke, who led these SBCs in Greenwich-Stamford since 1976, every year, and was also central to the Captree, Long Island SBCs since their inception in 1972! Amazing!
Please email these reports to:   robben99@gmail.com
Thank you, Tom.


BEST BIRDS!

By the way, we are asking the eight SBC Compilers this year to indicate their three "Best Birds", if they would like to do that.  Angela Dimmitt reports that the Best Birds on the New Milford-Pawling SBC count for June 20-21, 2020 included these:  
1)  Golden-crowned Kinglets interacting and carrying food, presumably to nest (Pawling).
2)  Kestrel (New Milford).
3)  Huge numbers of Veery everywhere
Plus two very good species carrying over from 2019:
Least Bittern, pair, at Sherman. 
Sora.  
Thank you Angela, for this and for all your efforts over the decades.  Much appreciated!

Tom Burke reports that the Best Birds on the Greenwich-Stamford SBC count for June 13-14, 2020 included these:
1) Prothonotary Warbler - 2nd record, singing male present in good habitat for at least 1-2 weeks, but apparently no mate found.
2) Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 6th record, high count 10, and now breeding in the territory.
3) Hooded Merganser - 9th record and now breeding locally.
Thank you Tom, for everything you do for birding.


MAMMALS TOO!

We have also received a 2020 mammals report for the Woodbury-Roxbury SBC, thanks to Russ Naylor and Co. More on that next month. 


July 20, 2020:
We have received reports from Hartford, Woodbury/Roxbury and Captree (which is the other old summer bird count, from NY state, Captree, Long Island). Here is the 2020 Captree summary:
The Captree Summer Bird Count on Saturday June 6, 2020 recorded 122 species including first records of BRANT and BLUE-WINGED TEAL, plus HOODED MERGANSER, 5 YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS, EASTERN WHIP-POOR-WILL, 66 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS, GULL-BILLED and ROSEATE TERNS, SOOTY SHEARWATER, TRICOLORED HERON , and, among the passerines, ACADIAN FLYCATCHER at Heckscher, HORNED LARK, GRASSHOPPER SPARROW, EASTERN MEADOWLARK, and a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER continuing at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Great River (https://www.linnaeannewyork.org/nyc-area-rare-bird-alerts/). 
More to come, soon!


May 24, 2020:

It is now May 24th, and lets assume the Covid-19 situation will not get any worse by June, that it may even improve, and that we will do the SBC counts during June:



SUMMARY -- for 8 SBC Compilers:

  1. We are planning to run the 2020 SBC Summer Bird Counts in June, if possible, if safe. 
  2. We would like every SBC participant (about 250 last year) to review and agree to the Guidelines listed below (in blue).  Please communicate these recommended Guidelines (in blue below) to all participants in your eight SBC counts.  IF YOU WANT THEM ADJUSTED, LET US KNOW NOW. 
  3. We will send you new data entry forms next week (similar to last year's forms). Done on May 9th.


DETAILS:


The SBC Summer Bird Counts for CT will be run in June 2020, for any and all birders who decide to participate, safely, following the guidelines we are requesting (in blue, below), during this viral pandemic.  We are asking you to share these guidelines with every one of the birders who participate on your SBC counts this June. It is important that every SBC participant be reminded how serious this viral pandemic is, and how important the recommended precautions are.


GUIDELINES RECOMMENDED FOR THE 2020 SBC SUMMER BIRD COUNTS IN CT:

If you or anyone on your team does not want to go out birding for the SBCs, that is fine. There is zero pressure to participate in the SBC this year.  Do not go out birding if you do not want to, for any reason, or if you have underlying medical conditions which might make you more susceptible to the covid19/corona virus. Consult your doctor if you have any doubts. The risks here are not zero. Please do not participate this year if you have any concerns about risks related to covid-19. 

  1. Health and safety are our highest priorities, for you, for all birders, and for everyone.
  2. We do not want to do anything to risk the health of anyone.  Do not take risks with your health or the health of others.  If you do not feel well, please stay at home. 
  3. Follow all laws and the Covid19 guidelines from the government (federal, state, local) and advice from your doctors and other medical authorities, while birding.
  4. Consult your doctors if you have any doubts or questions about birding being safe for you. 
  5. Maintain social distancing, e.g., at least six feet between birders and other people in the field.
  6. Do not shake hands, embrace or do any other close physical contact with other people. 
  7. Field teams and cars should contain no more than one person, unless the second person is a member of your household. Do not share rides with others.  
  8. Wear a mask or similar facial cover when within 10 or 20 feet of other people.
  9. If you touch common surfaces, wear gloves or wash your hands well and often.
  10. Use your common sense — this is a highly contagious virus, and has caused many deaths in CT this year.  
  11. Consider this DEEP website before joining the SBC this year:  Note from Bird Atlas Team
  12. Consider the ABA website also:   ABA Guidelines on Social Distancing and Birding
  13. If you do decide to join the SBC this year,  Good Birding!   And be careful.

If you still want further covid-19 information, check the CDC website:
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) | CDC
and the Connecticut state official site:
https://portal.ct.gov/Coronavirus

Plus a recent NYTimes article (updated May 23)..."What We Know About Your Chances of Catching the Virus Outdoors":
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/15/us/coronavirus-what-to-do-outside.html
DATA ENTRY FORM FOR 2020 SENT OUT BY EMAIL ON MAY 9 :
The slightly updated data entry form for 2020 was distributed May 9, 2020.   Please use this new 2020 data entry form in June (or the very similar forms used in recent years), to make it easier and more accurate for me to manually and carefully enter 2020 data into our new consolidated online central master database, which will be available for you to view next month. It will show historical data for all eight SBC counts, using ONE consistent bird species list. For 2020 we are sticking with the sequence of species used in recent years, although for 2021 we may reorder species to be consistent with the current  ABA and AOU/AOS bird species checklists, and consistent with the new COA species list being fine-tuned by Frank Gallo currently (so that all lists are as consistent as possible, including sequence of species).

As per 2018 discussions with Joe Zeranski, last year we started optional reporting of Mammals during the SBC counts. Feel free to continue that optional mammal reporting this year, in free form text on your data entry forms or by email to me. We hope to give this more focus in 2021.



Take care,
Tom Robben
robben99@gmail.com  << please contact me for questions, suggestions


PS:  Here is the annual SBC compilation process, and the current status for the 2020 CT SBCs:

1. Scheduling of all eight SBC counts with each of their compilers.  Done, during February to March.
2. Coordinating with all 8 SBC compilers, e.g., re final dates,  covid19, etc.  Done.
3. Sending 2020 data collection checklist to all 8 SBC compilers. Done.
4. Sending the SBC eleven-year summary datasheet to all 8 SBC compilers. Done.
5. Eight SBC Compilers make final go/no-go decision re their SBC in June.  Done.
6. SBC compilers conduct their eight counts during June 2020.  Done.
7. SBC compilers bring together and compile all the data from their captains and teams. TBD.
8. SBC compilers send their completed data collection checklists to me, July thru August. 4 Done.
9. I send copies of these data entry forms to several secure backup-archives. TBD.
10. All this 2020 data gets entered into our one central online SBC database. TBD.
11. I will email back to you to confirm receipt of your data and its safe entry into our database. TBD.
12. This data is processed and parts of it are exported to Excel files and sent to Patrick Comins. TBD. Chris Wood helped us with this step for 2019 - Thanks Chris!
13. Patrick analyzes this data and writes the annual summary for The Connecticut Warbler. TBD.
14. Greg Hanisek publishes this article in The Connecticut Warbler.  TBD.


Here is the 2020 data entry Submission Form 
distributed by email on May 9th to all eight SBC Compilers, as an excel file.