Eastside Audubon Christmas Bird Count 2019 Results
By Andy McCormick, EAS CBC Compiler
Eastside Audubon held its 36th Christmas Bird Count on Saturday, December 14, 2019. We had a wonderful turnout of 69 volunteers going into the field to count birds, and another five people who watched their feeders for two hours and reported the birds they saw. All the data collected has been submitted to the National Audubon Society to be analyzed with data from nearly two thousand other North American counts.
OVERVIEW
Count Day was cloudy with calm wind and light rain falling all day. The species count of 98 was within the normal range for Count Day (Range 90-101). We added another six species during Count Week for a total of 104. Only bird species seen during Count Week, the three days before and three days after Count Day, but not on Count Day, are added to the total. However, the total number of birds counted at 12,338 was the lowest since 2008 reaching 72% of the previous 10-YR average (18,186).
HIGHLIGHTS
Pacific Loon and Surf Scoter were seen on Lake Sammamish and both birds made the count for the first time. They were big surprises, because they are normally saltwater birds. Less-frequently seen birds including Orange-crowned Warbler, seen for the second year in a row, Hutton’s Vireo, and Western Screech Owl were seen this year. After a three-year absence, four Canada Jays were noted on an eBird checklist submitted from inside our count circle on Count Day.
NOTABLE MISSES
Ruddy Duck was missing this year. After recording 88 Ruddies in 2014, counts for this species have trended downward ranging 5-18 per year from 2015 to 2018. Peregrine Falcon is known to be in our area having been seen during Count Week three years in a row, but not on Count Day. After being counted for four consecutive years Northern Saw-whet Owl was missed this year. For the second year in a row Band-tailed Pigeon and Lincoln’s Sparrow were missed on Count Day, but seen during Count Week.
TRENDS
Bird sightings can fluctuate from count to count, but some indications of how they are doing can be determined by comparing a count total to the previous 10-Year average. The following selection of birds species provides some insight into the count. The numbers in parentheses are the total number seen in 2019, and the percentage is a ratio of the 10-YR average.
SOME LOW COUNT BIRDS
Red-breasted Sapsuckers were surprisingly way down from the 10-YR average (2, 25%), and Varied Thrush was seen at less than a third of the average count (13, 30%). Mew Gull was markedly down from the average (98, 21%).
Waterfowl species had some very low counts this year. Cackling Geese were the lowest in nine years (1518, 37%). Canada Geese were a bit below average (1067, 73%). For the third consecutive count six duck species have shown a downward trend. Ruddy Duck was not seen at all. Greater (6, 46%) and Lesser Scaup (7, 32%), Northern Shoveler (15, 65%), Green-winged Teal (44, 46%), and American Wigeon (156, 38%) were all well-below the 10-YR average. Mallard (792, 51%) barely made half its average numbers.
SOME HIGH COUNT BIRDS
Ring-billed Gull at 114 had the highest count since 2011 and over two times the 10-YR average (265%). Brown Creeper also came in big at close to double their average numbers (41, 195%). Anna’s Hummingbird was significantly above average (113, 177%) continuing its overall increase although down from the 2018 total of 133. American Coots were also well above the 10-YR average (610, 160%) this year.
HAWKS, FALCONS, AND OWLS
For the second year in a row Bald Eagles were seen in well above-average numbers (52, 250%). Red-tailed Hawks also showed well (54, 129%). Cooper’s Hawks were in good numbers (9, 180%), and three Sharp-shinned Hawks were seen, one above average. Eleven American Kestrels more than tripled any previous total (11, 367%). One Merlin was counted. Barn Owl (2), Great Horned Owl (1), and Western Screech Owl (1) all made the count, and Barred Owl and Short-eared Owl were seen in Count Week.
WOODLAND BIRDS
Both Black-capped (316, 95%) and Chestnut-backed Chickadees (149, 103%) were seen in average numbers. Bushtits (108, 73%) and Red-breasted Nuthatches (15, 68%) were somewhat below average.
Golden-crowned (224, 83%), and Ruby-crowned (107, 129%) Kinglets were close to their average numbers:
SPARROWS
White-crowned Sparrow scored highest among the sparrows at over three times the average (123, 351%). Song Sparrows were also up (264, 119%). Dark-eyed Juncos recovered from their low count in 2018 to almost average numbers this year (647, 88%). Our winter visiting Fox Sparrows show some variance from year-to-year and were below average this year (37, 74%). Golden-crowned Sparrows (96, 95%) and Spotted Towhee (144, 104%) were close to their average count. One White-throated Sparrow was seen on Count Day and a Lincoln’s Sparrow was observed during Count Week.
I have been a participant in Christmas Bird Counts for several decades, but this is my first year as compiler and I’ve seen more of what it takes to put on this important annual event. I am grateful for all the wonderful contributions from our team members who counted birds, organized teams, and prepared our delicious post-count dinner. Sheila and her office volunteers prepared the new online registration, which worked beautifully. Thank you all for helping put together another great Christmas Bird Count.