From the Vineyard Gazette edition of Jan. 7, 1966:

Although the number of species seen on the day of the annual Christmas Count fell 10 below last year’s total, this year’s bird census was nevertheless a conspicuous success. A total of 82 species was observed on Dec. 29, as against the 1965 total of 92. Last year the total for the week was 100, and this year it was 94, only 6 fewer.

The day of the count was cloudy with sunny intervals. There was a little wind in the morning, but the afternoon proved breezy. Mrs. Hariph C. Hancock and Mrs. Robert P. Goodale were in charge of the annual event, and they had the support of many loyal observers to whom they are grateful.

Unexpected species recorded included a red-headed woodpecker, a group of ruddy ducks which Bruce Blackwell found in Chilmark, and a saw-whet owl which continues to roost in a West Tisbury tree in spite of visitors. There were also two woodcock and a yellow-bellied sapsucker which shouldn’t have been here but was. It was Eldon B. Keith of Chilmark who saw the sapsucker. Also noteworthy was the flock of white-winged crossbills which keeps returning to Katama.

Missing this year were the usual flocks of horned larks, and the count of purple finches was curiously low. Observers failed to find any scaup at all, though there must be some around.

Field parties on the count day included Bruce A. Blackwell, a one-man team; Mr. and Mrs. Paul W. Bruton, Mrs. Donald F. Thomas and Mrs. James B. Worden; Miss Esther Hancock and Miss Rebecca Parkhurst; and Mrs. Anthony R. Silva and Mrs. Robert P. Goodale.

Reports from feeding stations and individual observers were those of: Neil Allen, Mrs. M. E. Carroll, Manuel F. Correllus, Mrs. Roger W. Engley, A. O. Fischer Jr., Mrs. D. P. Gaines, Mrs. Thomas Hale, Herbert R. Hancock, Paul Mayhew, Mr. and Mrs. Charles G. Norton, Mrs. Richard L. Pease, Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Poole, Mrs. Elmer L. Rogers, Mrs. Aurilla L. Shapleigh, Mr. and Mrs. Henry P. Smith, and Dr. Laurence M. Thompson.

Here is the list. Where parentheses are used, the observation was made during the week but not on the count day. An asterisk signifies a plus above the round numbers that could actually be counted.

Common loon, 7; Horned grebe, 9; pied-billed grebe, 1; European cormorant (1); great blue heron, 1; black-crowned night heron (1); mute swan, 58; Canada goose, 1,000*; mallard, 104; black duck, 231; green-winged teal, 15; American widgeon, 6; common goldeneye, 121, buffle-head, 34; oldsquaw, 4; common eider, 69; white-winged scoter, 200*;

Surf scoter, 6; common scoter, 1; ruddy duck, 10; hooded merganser, 16; red-breasted merganser, 369; sharp-shinned hawk, 1; common merganser, 6; red-tailed hawk, 6; rough-legged hawk, 8; bobwhite, 40; American coot, 161; ring-necked pheasant, 1; woodcock (2); common snipe, 2; purple sandpiper (12); sanderling, 8; great black-backed gull, 37; dovekie, (1); herring gull, 1,500*;

Ring-billed gull, 5; Bonaparte’s gull, 25; mourning dove, 62; long-eared owl, 6; screech owl (1); saw-whet owl, 1; kingfisher, 3; flicker, 23; yellow-bellied sapsucker (1); red-headed woodpecker, 1; hairy woodpecker, 16; downy woodpecker, 33; eastern phoebe, 1; horned lark (2); bluejay 123; common crow, 135; black-capped chickadee, 229; white breasted nuthatch, 52; red-breasted nuthatch, 10; brown creeper, 2;

Carolina wren, 3; mockingbird, 5; catbird, (1); brown thrasher, 4; robin, 12; golden-crowned kinglet, 1; cedar waxwing, (1); starling, 500*; myrtle warbler, 67; palm warbler, 2; yellow warbler (1); house sparrow, 229; eastern meadowlark, 42; red-winged blackbird, 6; rusty blackbird, 2; common grackle, 25; brown-headed cowbird, 22; cardinal, 9; evening grosbeak, 195; purple finch, 9;

Pine siskin, 16; pine grosbeak, 3; American goldfinch, 34; red crossbill, 8; white-winged crossbill, 30; rufous-sided towhee, 4; Savannah sparrow, 1; slate-colored junco, 177; tree sparrow, 18; chipping sparrow, 9; field sparrow, 26; white-crowned sparrow, 2; white-throated sparrow, 81; fox sparrow, 21; song sparrow, 23; snow bunting (16).

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Christmas trees seem to have been everywhere over the holidays this year. Edgartown had two trees atop masts in the harbor, one aboard Arthur W. Young Jr.’s sloop and the other topped the flag pole at Norton and Easterbrooks’ boat yard.

In Vineyard Haven the Shenandoah really did things up properly and had a tree flying from each of her two masts.

Atlantis II, one of the Oceanographic ships, was in port at Woods Hole and had a very large and bushy tree at the top of her main truck and, wonder upon wonders, someone had placed a tree on top of a long spindle on one of the harbor buoys. This, did at times, look a little strange since the ripping tides pulled the buoy, canting the tree over the water.

All good things must come to an end, and what goes up must come down, so in Monday morning’s fog, misty forms went about the sad task of de-treeing the Island towns, harbors, and things afloat.

Compiled by Hilary Wall
library@mvgazette.com