Subject: [Tweeters] Seattle CBC write up
Date: Jan 6 09:54:23 2008
From: Eugene and Nancy Hunn - enhunn323 at comcast.net


Tweets,



I prepared this brief summary of the Seattle CBC for the Seattle Audubon
newletter.



Gene Hunn

18476 47th Pl. NE

Lake Forest Park, WA

enhunn323 at comcast.net



The 2007 Seattle Audubon Christmas Bird Count, December 29



The weather held off until nearly 3 PM, when a bit of rain came down. We
also fielded a record 210 observers in 48 parties and sub-parties across the
177 square miles of our circle. Our species total of 120 was a shade below
the long-term average of 120.6 (since 1972). Few rarities were noted this
year, which largely accounts for the modest species count. Of particular
note were flocks of Snow Geese and swan sp. over Restoration Point and
Mercer Island respectively. Single Greater White-fronted Geese were at
Restoration Point and Bellevue. The Restoration Point crew also recorded our
only Marbled Murrelets, Rock Sandpipers, and Purple Finch. A single Clark's
Grebe hid amongst some 400 Western Grebes off West Point. A Redhead and
three Western Meadowlarks at the Montlake Fill, a Townsend's Solitaire in
the Windermere neighborhood, and an Orange-crowned Warbler at Magnuson Park
were of some note. Northern Saw-whet Owls were heard in Discovery Park and
at Restoration Point and a Western Screech-Owl was recorded in West Seattle,
that species' last stronghold in the region. Also in West Seattle at a
feeder was our only White-throated Sparrow. Twelve species recorded record
high counts: Snow Goose (5), Red-throated Loon (35), Eared Grebe (22),
Brandt's Cormorant (803, nearly 3x the previous record), Bald Eagle (69),
Black Turnstone (375), Barred Owl (6), Downy (102) and Pileated (15)
Woodpeckers, Cedar Waxwings (245), Yellow-rumped Warblers (281), and
American Goldfinch (726). Also well represented were swans (an unidentified
flock of 8 over Mercer Island), Surf Scoters (though White-winged and Black
Scoters were down), Pacific and Common Loons, Cooper's Hawks, Surfbirds,
Common Murres and Pigeon Guillemots, Anna's Hummingbirds, Steller's Jays,
Red-breasted Nuthatches, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Townsend's Warblers,
White-crowned Sparrows, and Pine Siskins. On the debit side we note drastic
reductions for such species as Ruddy Duck, quite common before 2003, missed
entirely for the first time this year. Also missing in action this year were
California Quail (but noted the day after at Magnuson Park), Bonaparte's
Gulls and Evening Grosbeaks. Peregrines, Ring-necked Pheasants, and Purple
Finches were down to just a single individual reported. Negative trends were
apparent also for Dunlins and several gull species (California and Thayer's
most notably), Band-tailed Pigeons and Western Screech-Owls, and
Red-breasted Sapsuckers. Sapsucker numbers normally reflect snow depths in
the mountains rather than actual population fluctuations. Even Canada Geese
and Eurasian Starlings have declined from their peak number of some years
ago.



Greater White-fronted Goose 2, Snow Goose 5, Canada Goose 698, Brant 106,
swan sp. 8, Wood Duck 29, Gadwall 736, Eurasian Wigeon 9, Eurasian x
American Wigeon 1, American Wigeon 2229, Mallard 1022, Northern Shoveler
155, Northern Pintail 303, Green-winged Teal 143, Canvasback 532, Redhead 1,
Ring-necked Duck 311, Greater Scaup 201, Lesser Scaup 473, scaup sp. 287,
Harlequin Duck 57, Surf Scoter 907, White-winged Scoter 13, Black Scoter 46,
Bufflehead 920, Common Goldeneye 344, Barrow's Goldeneye 219, goldeneye sp.
1, Hooded Merganser 67, Common Merganser 223, Red-breasted Merganser 265,
duck sp. 35, Ring-necked Pheasant 1, California Quail cw, Red-throated Loon
35, Pacific Loon 38, Common Loon 21, loon sp. 9, Pied-billed Grebe 143,
Horned Grebe 259, Red-necked Grebe 108, Eared Grebe 22, Western Grebe 1479,
Clark's Grebe 1, Brandt's Cormorant 803, Double-crested Cormorant 614,
Pelagic Cormorant 40, Great Blue Heron 49, Bald Eagle (all) 69, Bald Eagle
(adult) [55], Bald Eagle (immature) [14], Sharp-shinned Hawk 17, Cooper's
Hawk 23, Accipiter sp. 5, Red-tailed Hawk 31, Merlin 5, Peregrine Falcon 1
(low), Virginia Rail 4, American Coot 5169, Killdeer 40, Spotted Sandpiper
2, Black Turnstone 375, Surfbird 98, Sanderling 55, Rock Sandpiper 2, Dunlin
31, Wilson's Snipe 18, Mew Gull 759, Ring-billed Gull 212, California Gull
14, Herring Gull 15, Thayer's Gull 2, Western Gull 11, Western x
Glaucous-winged Gull 208, Glaucous-winged Gull 1139, gull sp. 267, Common
Murre 93, Pigeon Guillemot 38, Marbled Murrelet 3, murrelet sp. 2,
Rhinoceros Auklet 45, Rock Pigeon 2467, Band-tailed Pigeon 53, Mourning Dove
cw, Barn Owl 1, Western Screech-Owl 1, Barred Owl 6, Northern Saw-whet Owl
3, Anna's Hummingbird 233, Belted Kingfisher 24, Red-breasted Sapsucker 2,
Downy Woodpecker 102, Hairy Woodpecker 1, Northern Flicker (all) 361, N.
"Red-shafted" Flicker [361], Pileated Woodpecker 15, Hutton's Vireo 5,
Steller's Jay 200, Western Scrub-Jay 5, crow (American and/or Northwestern)
10917, Black-capped Chickadee 1840, Chestnut-backed Chickadee 183, Bushtit
1448, Red-breasted Nuthatch 126, Brown Creeper 83, Bewick's Wren 314, Winter
Wren 199, Marsh Wren 4, Golden-crowned Kinglet 1624, Ruby-crowned Kinglet
477, Townsend's Solitaire 1, Hermit Thrush 8, American Robin 3698, Varied
Thrush 66, European Starling 2771, Cedar Waxwing 245, Orange-crowned Warbler
1, Yellow-rumped Warbler (all) 281, Yellow-r. "Audubon's" Warbler [171],
Yellow-r. "Myrtle" Warbler [17], Yellow-r. Warbler (form unspecified) [93],
Townsend's Warbler 35, Spotted Towhee 309, Fox Sparrow 158, Song Sparrow
772, Lincoln's Sparrow 7, White-throated Sparrow 1, White-crowned Sparrow
72, Golden-crowned Sparrow 226, Dark-eyed Junco (all) 889, Dark-eyed
"Oregon" Junco [887], Dark-eyed "Slate-colored" Junco [2], Red-winged
Blackbird 183, Western Meadowlark 4, Purple Finch 1 (low), House Finch 808,
Carpodacus sp. 21, Pine Siskin 3587, American Goldfinch 726, Carduelis sp.
197, House Sparrow 737, TOTAL INDIVIDUALS 59221, TOTAL SPECIES 120, count
week 2, miles on foot 136, miles by car 383.5, miles by boat 38, total miles
557.5, hours on foot 175.27, hours by car 32.25, hours by boat 6, total
hours 213.52, miles owling 0, hours owling 9, observers 197, feeder watchers
8, parties 47.