Subject: [Tweeters] 12/15/12 CBC report for Eastside Audubon
Date: Dec 26 14:56:52 2012
From: Sharon Cormier-Aagaard - scormieraa001 at hotmail.com



Hi Tweets,

Eastside Audubon Society (EAS) held its 2012 Christmas Bird Count (CBC) on Saturday, December 15, 2012. The day had 100% cloud cover, light to torrential rain and winds with temperatures ranging 33 to 39 degrees Fahrenheit. Even though the weather was very severe at times, we managed to tie last year?s record species count of 97. There were 93 species seen on the actual count day, Dec 15, with 4 species added during count week (which is 3 days before and 3 days after count day): Lincoln?s Sparrow, Virginia Rail, Greater Scaup, and MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD. This year, we also recorded seeing the second highest total number of birds (23,978 versus 28,674 seen during the 1999 CBC). The total birds seen (23,978) is also higher than our 10-year average of 14,967.
Forty-eight people covered the eight areas comprising our CBC count circle, which has a 7.5 mile radius and is centered a little south of Beaver Lake. The majority of the 48 people spent 6-8 hours from dawn to dusk doing the count (8 am to 4 pm), with a few out earlier for a successful morning of pre-dawn owling (BARN OWL & SHORT-EARED OWL at Marymoor, and NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL at Tiger Mountain) . Each person averaged 3.5 miles walking and covered an average distance of 30 miles in cars.
4 Species Seen for the First Time Ever on this CBC
MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD; WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL; NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL; and BARN SWALLOW
Low Species Counts, compared to 10-year average (2003 to 2012)
Brewer?s Blackbird ? 2 birds seen compared to a 10-year average of 43
Canvasback - none were seen vs 10-year average of 7
American Coot - 458 vs avg 674
Brown-headed Cowbird - none seen vs avg 2
American Crow ? 573 vs avg 1035
Mourning Dove ? 2 vs avg 14
Ruddy Duck ? 7 vs avg 12
Wood Duck ? 4 vs avg 12
Dunlin ? none seen vs avg 25
Purple Finch ? 6 seen vs avg 14
Barrow?s Goldeneye ? none seen vs avg 4
American Goldfinch ? 7 vs avg 25
Greater White-fronted Goose ? 1 vs avg 7
Horned Grebe ? 1 vs avg 5
Ring-billed Gull ? 5 vs avg 124
Rock Pigeon ? 65 vs avg 197
Band-tailed Pigeon ? 1 vs avg 12
California Quail ? none seen since 2009
Northern Shoveler ? 12 vs avg 28
White-crowned Sparrow ? 4 vs avg 32
European Starling ? 932 vs avg 1494
Downy Woodpecker ? 8 vs avg 16

High Species Counts, compared to 10-year average (2003 to 2012)
Chestnut-backed Chickadee ? 211 birds seen compared to a 10-year average of 93
Red Crossbill ? 81 vs avg 24
Bald Eagle ? 53 vs avg 32
Cackling Goose ? 5016 vs avg 1294
Evening Grosbeak ? 110 vs avg 47
Northern Harrier ? 6 vs avg 3
Dark-eyed Junco ? 904 vs avg 495
Mallard ? 4509 vs avg 1435 (highest year was 1999 with 5847)
Northern Pintail ? 572 vs avg 216
Lesser Scaup ? 59 vs avg 19 (the highest ever counted)
Pine Siskin ? 2963 vs avg 748 (4 times higher than average!)
Wilson?s Snipe ? 9 vs avg 4

A complete list of birds recorded by EAS on the 2012 CBC, or on any CBC since 1981, is available by email from Sharon Aagaard: scormieraa001 at hotmail.com