2025

The 90th Boonton Christmas Bird Count Report – 2025

The 90th annual Boonton Christmas Bird Count (CBC) took place on Sunday, December 28, 2025. Temperatures ranged from a pre-dawn 17°F rising up to 31°F in the afternoon. The sky remained overcast most of the day. Almost no wind made the day relatively comfortable. A snow storm the preceding Friday into Saturday dumped snow amounts of ~4-6 inches. Frigid temperatures throughout December caused most standing bodies of water to be frozen. Rivers remained open.

Approximately 35 participants in 15 parties found 84 species of birds. The 90-year average for the Boonton CBC is 84.1 species. The average for the previous 10 years is 89.6. Although not included in the numerical data, two count-week species were also recorded: Chipping Sparrow and Redhead.

Many thanks to the participants for their enthusiasm and persistence in completing this count. The compiler is especially gratified that all of the data was received well within 24 hours of the completion of the count day. We have an efficient group of the highest magnitude. ¡Excelente trabajo!

All numbers in this report are related to the history of the Boonton CBC.

18,351 individual birds were tallied. This is slightly down from the previous four years but a good count considering the snow cover and frozen bodies of water. The previous ten years average is 18,138. The 90-year average is 16,828. 

35 species had totals above their 21st century averages.

The Boonton CBC, started in 1936 by Floyd Wolfarth (1911-1987) and other founding members of the Urner Ornithological Club, has counted 1,514,485 individual birds in the 90 uninterrupted years of this CBC. Wars and pandemics have not deterred people from continuing with this endeavor.

Highlights for this year’s Boonton CBC

• Three Virginia Rails were found by Jeff “Rallidae” Ellerbusch, et al. This is the third year in a row and fourth out of the five previous years for Virginia Rail after not being found on the count since 1987. Not that they weren’t there but more likely no one searched thoroughly.
• Cooper’s Hawks had a record count of 22 smashing the previous high of 16 in 2016. Cooper’s Hawk was a sporadic species in the early days of the CBC but numbers have risen steadily since the 1990s.
• Waterfowl numbers were expected to be low due to frozen conditions but 725 Mallards, the most since 2016, managed to find open water.
• The only shorebird was one Wilson’s Snipe. 
• Both Turkey and Black Vultures climbed back slightly in numbers after a few low years.
• 6 Barred Owls is an all-time high for the CBC. Both Eastern Screech-Owls and Great Horned Owls were above their 21st-century averages.
• After missing in 2024, eight Red-headed Woodpeckers were recorded.
• 5 Merlins is the most since nine in 2016.
• 3 Peregrine Falcons were reported. They are missed some years and one was a count-week species in 2024.
• How numbers can change. 706 Blue Jays were tallied after only 289 were counted in 2024. The 21st century average is 542.
• Surprisingly, only 34 Fish Crows were counted. The 21st Century average is 100.
• Likewise, only 20 Common Ravens (only, he says) made the count after 44 in 2024. 
• 7 Horned Larks were found by David Benvent at Central Park of Morris County. This is the second year in a row for this species after being absent since 2014.
• 7 Red-breasted Nuthatches is the most since 9 were had in 2007.
• 5 Gray Catbirds doubles the 21st Century average.
• 10 Hermit Thrushes doubles the 21st century average.
• 51 Cedar Waxwings makes up for zero found in 2024
• Let’s hear it for House Finches. Since declining slightly since 2015, 130 were tallied in 2025, the most since 2015
• Both Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated Sparrows were well above their 21st century averages. American Tree Sparrows were well below continuing their downward trend.

Wild Turkey was missed for the first time since 1987. The first time it was on the count was 1983. The numbers have dropped significantly since high counts of 103 in 2003 and 102 in 2008. 

Black-capped Chickadees have occurred on all 90 of the Boonton CBCs. 2025 saw the lowest total ever: 52. This continues a steady decline for this species. The average per year for all 90 years is 293. Does anyone have any answers? Tufted Titmouse and White-breasted Nuthatch numbers are relatively stable but the Chickadee continues to decline.

A list of the species found on this CBC is at the following link: https://mocosocobirds.com/birds-of-morris-county-n-j/boontoncbc/species-list/ Species seen on the 2025 count are marked with an asterisk or cw if they are a count-week species.

The following species were seen by one party only. The species column is followed by the amount reported. The third column represents the percentage of occurrences in the 90-year history of the count.

Species	Total	% of years on Boonton CBC	Comments
Common Goldeneye	1	75.6%	Sporadic in the 21st century.
Ruddy Duck	3	84.4%	Frozen water doesn’t help but this is the lowest number since zero in 1989.
Virginia Rail	3	42.2%	3rd year in a row.
Wilson’s Snipe	1	63.3%	Formerly an annual find but not the case any more.
Northern Harrier	1	82.2%	In 2008 15 Northern Harriers were tallied. Just reporting one is not that unusual.
Red-headed Woodpecker	8	47.8%	Troy Meadows, of course.
Horned Lark	7	46.7%	Two years in  a row, same location.
Marsh Wren	1	41.1%	Called from the frozen marsh.
Savannah Sparrow	1	73.3%	Singletons are the pattern in this century.

The following table shows species missed in 2025 that appear in more than 50% of the 90 years of the Boonton CBC. 

Species	% of years on Boonton CBC	Comments
American Wigeon	80.0%	Frozen water didn’t help this species.
Canvasback	57.8%	Formerly annual and numerous but disappearing since 2013 except for three small appearances.
Lesser Scaup	53.3%	Ice.
Ruffed Grouse	56.7%	Same old story. Not reported since 2006.
Pied-billed Grebe	76.7%	Usually at least one can be found somewhere but not in 2025.
American Coot	72.2%	Ice.
Killdeer	62.2%	Not surprising.
Great Black-backed Gull	63.3%	Annual from 1969 through 2014 but erratic since.
Rough-legged hawk	52.2%	Last reported in 2010.
Long-eared Owl	57.8%	Formerly annual.
American Kestrel	84.4%	32 reported in 1976 and 1978. Now at best a singleton every few years.
Pine Siskin	54.4%	Only reported one in the past ten years.

Below is the list of species occurring in all 90 years of the Boonton CBC. This has not changed since 2018:

• American Black Duck
• Mallard
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Downy Woodpecker
• Hairy Woodpecker
• Blue Jay
• American Crow
• Black-capped Chickadee
• Tufted Titmouse
• White-breasted Nuthatch
• Brown Creeper
• European Starling
• American Tree Sparrow
• Song Sparrow
• Swamp Sparrow
• White-throated Sparrow
• Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco
• Northern Cardinal
• American Goldfinch
• House Sparrow

Here is the Top Ten of the number of individuals for all 90 years of the count. 1,514,485 individual birds are counted uninterrupted from 1936-2025.

American Tree Sparrow sticks out in this list. The 90-year average for this species is 600. The previous ten years average is 123. Overall a dramatic drop in numbers yet the totals were so high for so long that it continues on this list. From 1940 through 1998 totals over 1,000 happened ~15 times and numbers in the many hundreds were annual. The same decline is reported on other CBCs. 

	Species	Total Individuals (89 years)
1	European Starling	220,594
2	Canada Goose	192,326
3	Common Grackle	138,885
4	American Crow	127,519
5	Mallard	67,546
6	Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco	63,686
7	American Tree Sparrow	54,006
8	Red-winged Blackbird	46,093
9	White-throated Sparrow	42,966
10	Ring-billed Gull	41,206

The 91st Boonton CBC for 2026

The Boonton CBC is traditionally held on the second Sunday of the Christmas Count period. National Audubon and I have differing views on the CBC schedule which is why 2025’s count was held on the third Sunday of the count period (Dec. 14-Jan. 5, no matter what day of the week these dates fall on). With that in mind, the 91st Boonton CBC is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, December 27, 2026. I would like to move it one week earlier but that may cause conflicts with other CBCs.

As always, I am not getting younger. Please contact me if you have an interest in taking over the compiler duties.

Nature needs us more than ever. The best of health and good birding to all in 2026!

Jonathan Klizas
Compiler, Boonton CBC