Tweets,



I've performed some simple trend analyses for this year's Seattle CBC. The
basic statistics are the ratio of the 2009 total to the average of the years
1973-2008, the "modern period" of the count (e.g., 2.56x is 2.56x the long
term average; 0.25 is just 25% of the long-term average, etc.).



It's a mixed picture with a variety of ups and downs, as you will see.



Gene Hunn

Lake Forest Park, WA

enhunn323 at comcast.net



Seattle 2009 Christmas Bird Count



December 26, 2009; 128 species, just shy of the all-time maximum species
count of 129; 191 observers, just shy of the 2007 record of 197; 53,074
individuals.



Trends evident:



Notably high counts include Brant (159, 3.24x 1973-2008 average), consistent
with long-term upward trend;

Ring-necked Duck were up (685, 3.14x 1973-2008 average), consistent with
long-term upward trend;

Bufflehead were up (1057, new maximum, 2.05x 1973-2008 average), consistent
with long-term upward trend;

Surf Scoters were at a new high, but the long-term trend is flat;

By contrast, White-winged ( 2, 0.03x) and Black Scoters (12, 0.10x) were way
down;

As were Ruddy Ducks (2, 0.34x), continuing long-term downward trends;

Ring-necked Pheasants and California Quail have disappeared, with no
pheasants reported and quail count week only (at Magnuson Park where a few
hang on);

Bald Eagles continue their dramatic recovery (102, 4.91x) as do Peregrine
Falcons (8, 3.26x);

On the down side are Western Grebes (1000, 0.69x, but up from last year) and
American Coots (1565, 0.27x);

Bonaparte's Gulls have crashed during the 2000s, with none this year,
several hundred were counted on average during the 1980s and 1990s;

Anna's Hummingbirds continue record-setting numbers, triple last year's
record total (337, 6.37x);

Barred Owls (6, 6.37x) and Western Scrub-Jays (15, 14.57x) consolidate their
relatively recent invasions;

American Crows continue to expand their hold on the urban environment
(18,180, 26.25x);

Black-capped Chickadees (1739, 1.93x), Red-breasted Nuthatches (109, 2.04x),
and Brown Creepers (62, 2.06x) were all up this year, continuing long-term
trends;

Yellow-rumped (168, 4.19x) and Townsends (40, 2.63x) Warblers were up;

Lincoln's Sparrows (18, 2.26x) were up this year, as were Fox (154, 1.48x),
White-crowned (34, 1.38x), and Golden-crowned (153, 1.73x) Sparrows, while
Dark-eyed Juncos achieved a new maximum (1098, 1.61x);

Brewer's Blackbirds continued to be elusive (1, 0.04x), having crashed since
the 1980s;

Our state bird, the American Goldfinch (622, 2.72x), is on the rise, while
Evening Grosbeaks have all but vanished (0) since the 1990s.