Subject: [Tweeters] Eastside Audubon 12/19 CBC,
Date: Jan 1 15:26:16 2016
From: Sharon Cormier-Aagaard - scormieraa001 at hotmail.com



















Hi Tweets,
I revised my earlier summary report by adding in two sections about our CBC species numbers that were higher and lower than our 15-year average. It's an even longer report, so if you read my first one, skip to read just the two new sections.
Sharon AagaardBellevue WAscormieraa001 at hotmail.com

Eastside Audubon December
19, 2015 CBC Results

By Sharon Aagaard, EAS CBC Compiler



Eastside Audubon held its 32nd CBC since 1981 (there were no
counts in 1982, 1983 and 1989) on Saturday, December 19, 2015. We had mostly sunny blue skies all day, winds
at 0-5 mph, with temps 37-47F.



Overall, there were
96 species seen on ?count day? (previous high count of 97 was in 2014), plus 4 ?count week? birds (species seen
3 days before and 3 days after, but not on, Dec 19), totaling 100 species (previous high count of 110 in 2014). The
?count week? birds are: Snow Goose, Horned Grebe, Red-breasted Merganser, and
Green Heron. The total number of birds
seen on Dec 19 was 15,139. The 15yr
average is 15,818, and the highest count ever was 28,674 in 1999.



3 Owl species

2 Barn Owls seen (Lake Sammamish and Marymoor), 1 Great
Horned Owl heard (near Duthie Hill Park, on the Sammamish Plateau), and 1
Northern Saw-whet Owl heard (Tiger Mt.)



Species seen every
year in the past 15 years

Red-winged Blackbird, Bufflehead, Bushtit, Black-capped
Chickadee, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, American Coot, Double-crested Cormorant,
Brown Creeper, American Crow, Ring-necked Duck, Bald Eagle, Purple Finch, House
Finch, Northern Flicker, Gadwall, Common Golden-eye, American Goldfinch, Canada
Goose, Pied-billed Grebe, Western Grebe, Ring-billed Gull, Glaucous-winged
Gull, Mew Gull, Cooper?s Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Great-blue Heron, Steller?s
Jay, Dark-eyed Junco, Killdeer, Belted Kingfisher, Golden-crowned Kinglet,
Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Mallard, Common Merganser, Hooded Merganser, Red-breasted
Nuthatch, Rock Pigeon, Common Raven, American Robin, Lesser Scaup, Northern
Shoveler, Fox Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Song Sparrow, House Sparrow,
White-crowned Sparrow, European Starling, Green-winged Teal, Varied Thrush,
Spotted Towhee, American Wigeon, Downy, Hairy and Pileated Woodpeckers,
Bewick?s, Marsh and Pacific Wrens.



Species anticipated
seeing but missed this year:

Spotted Sandpiper ? seen 8 out of the past 15 years. Missed
the last 2 years.

Peregrine Falcon ? seen 11 out of the past 15 years.



Species Numbers that
are LOWER than the 15-year Average (2001 to 2015):



Red-wing Blackbird ? 32% lower, 451 compared to 664 average

American Coot ? 73% lower, 196 v. 732 average, lowest count
in 15 years

American Crow ? 15% lower, 902 v. 1067

Ruddy Duck ? 78% lower, 6 v. 27, way down from last year?s
highest count of 88

American Goldfinch ? 90% lower, 2 v. 21

Canada Goose ? 45% lower, 981 v. 1769, but way up from last
year?s lowest count ever of 336

Ring-billed Gull ? 70% lower, 34 v. 114, over the past 15
years it?s been a roller coaster pattern of down-up-down-up

Killdeer ? 37% lower, 26 v. 41

Hooded Merganser ? half the 15-year average, 26 v. 53, 26
birds is the lowest number in 15 years

Rock Pigeon ? 76% lower, 41 v. 172

Pine Siskin ? 50% of the 15-year average, 283 v. 562. Two earlier years had high counts: 1599 in 2007, and 2963 in 2012.

House Sparrow ? 17% lower, 66 v. 80

European Starling ? 836 birds, half the 1558 average

Trumpeter Swan ? 40 birds, half the 80 average; seen 13 out
of the last 15 years



Species Numbers that
are HIGHER than the 15-year Average (2001 to 2015):



Bushtit ? more than double the 15-year average, 252 v. 107
average, and the highest number in 15 years

Black-capped Chickadee ? 27% higher, 339 v. 266 average,
second highest number in 15 years

Chestnut-backed Chickadee ? double the 15-year average, 203 v.
97, second highest number in 15 years

Double-crested Cormorant ? 79% higher, 213 v. 119, highest
count in 15 years

Eurasian Collared-Dove ? first seen in 2014, 40% higher, 73
v. 52 average

Pied-billed Grebe ? 55% higher, 82 v. 53, highest number in
15 years

Western Grebe ? more than double the 15-year average, 113 v.
52, highest count in 15 years

Great Blue Heron ? 45% higher, 61 v. 42, second highest
count in 15 years (72 in 2004)

Anna?s Hummingbird ? Thanks in part to an increase in
hummingbird feeders, there were 88 birds, an all-time high! This species was
first counted during our 1996 CBC (just one bird!). With 88 birds this year, it?s 4 times the 22
average.

Steller?s Jay ? 62% higher, 146 v. 90, and a 15-year high
count

Dark-eyed Junco ? 53% higher, 799 v. 521, second highest in
15 years

Ruby-crowned Kinglet ? 42% higher, 118 v. 83, second highest
in 15 years

Common Merganser ? 62% higher, 97 v. 60, highest count in 15
years

Northern Shoveler ? 3 times higher than average, 126 v. 38,
second highest in 15 years

Fox Sparrow ? double the 15-year average, 78 v. 38, a
15-year high count

Golden-crown Sparrow ? 63% higher, 153 v. 94, second highest
in 15 years

Song Sparrow ? 58% higher, 302 v. 191, and a 15-year high
count

Green-winged Teal ? 4 times the average, 329 v. 80, and a
15-year high count

Spotted Towhee ? 74% higher, 188 v. 108, and a 15-year high

Downy Woodpecker ? double the 15-year average, 36 v. 17, and
a 15-year high

Hairy Woodpecker ? also double the 15-year average, 17 v. 8,
and a 15-year high

Pileated Woodpecker ? ditto the Downy and Hairy, 11 v. 5
average, second highest count in 15 years

Pacific Wren ? 56% higher, 75 v. 48, second highest count in
15 years





Worthy Mentions:

Northern Saw-whet Owl ? was heard by Scott Ramos pre-dawn at
Tiger Mountain. A count-day bird one other time in 2012

American Pipit ? 3 seen by the East Lake Sammamish Trail
north team; fourth time in 15 years.

Green Heron ? 1 at Marymoor Park rowing club during count
week; this species has been seen 53% of the time in last 15 years.

White-throated Sparrow ? 1 seen by the Fall City Preston
team. Seen 73% of the time.

Western Tanager ? One male seen by the East Lake Sammamish
Trail south team. Seen once before in 2009.

Cedar Waxwing and Western Meadowlark ? both were seen at
Marymoor on 12/24, just two days after our official count week ended on 12/22,
so they didn?t make our list this year.
Cedar Waxwings have been seen 8 out of the last 15 years, and Western
Meadowlarks 7 out of 15 years.



There were 57 people out in the field counting birds in our CBC
circle on Dec 19, with a few at home doing a backyard count. HUGE thanks to the bird counters; the
volunteers who organized, shopped, cooked and helped with the delicious dinner
afterwards; the Corvid Crier webmaster, editor and article writers; EAS office
staff, and to everyone else involved in this important, annual event!



A complete list of birds recorded by Eastside Audubon on the
2015 CBC, or on any CBC since 1981, is available by email from Sharon Aagaard, scormieraa001 at hotmail.com