In the 4 days of this year's bird count, I submitted 28 checklists and officially recorded 57 species. That currently puts me in a tie for 27th in the state for species seen and a distant 2nd out of 75 in the county.
26 of my checklist and 51 species were included with my Chambers Creek Properties patch. This was the 3rd highest species count out of 61 in the state for a patch and the highest count for the county.
I should probably point out that conditions were less than ideal for counting. As I explained in my final count of the year, I actually couldn't see through my binoculars at times. My binoculars aren't as useful to me in terms of spotting and identifying birds as my 500mm lens, but I didn't dare bring my camera with me for any of my walks.
A quirk with me is that I don't like to report birds that I don't see. Technically speaking, they ask for birds that are heard. I just couldn't force myself to put down that Red-breasted Sapsucker, which is a species that eluded my eyes but not my ears.
I don't see Varied Thrushes or Downy Woodpeckers very often, and I recorded my first ever Eurasian Collared-Dove this weekend. Perhaps more noteworthy was what I didn't see. The Red-Necked Grebes seemed to be hiding. I didn't see a single sandpiper. The expected sapsucker was not on my list even though I knew which tree it's been using (and like I already said, it was heard). Without quality optics, the only Gull I was confident in was Glaucous-winged. Our Kestrel has been somewhat unreliable lately, but I hadn't given up hope. Even though the focus was on birds, I'm certainly disappointed that I didn't find a single native mammal (just rabbits and gray squirrels).
Here's a summary of what I saw:
Chambers Creek
|
Fort Steilacoom
|
Point Defiance
|
Total
| |
Cackling Goose
|
1019
|
250
|
1269
| |
Canada Goose
|
173
|
49
|
222
| |
Wood Duck
|
2
|
2
| ||
Eurasian Wigeon
|
3
|
3
| ||
American Wigeon
|
329
|
340
|
669
| |
Mallard
|
161
|
9
|
42
|
212
|
Northern Shoveler
|
300
|
300
| ||
Green-winged Teal
|
14
|
14
| ||
Ring-necked Duck
|
5
|
5
| ||
Greater Scaup
|
1
|
1
| ||
Greater/Lesser Scaup1
|
19
|
19
| ||
Surf Scoter
|
31
|
3
|
34
| |
Bufflehead
|
114
|
4
|
118
| |
Common Goldeneye
|
43
|
11
|
54
| |
Barrow's Goldeneye
|
8
|
8
| ||
Hooded Merganser
|
19
|
19
| ||
Common Merganser
|
12
|
1
|
13
| |
Red-breasted Merganser
|
29
|
29
| ||
Ruddy Duck
|
2
|
2
| ||
Pied-billed Grebe
|
5
|
5
| ||
Horned Grebe
|
8
|
11
|
19
| |
Brandt's Cormorant
|
262
|
262
| ||
Double-crested Cormorant
|
25
|
7
|
1
|
33
|
Pelagic Cormorant
|
9
|
9
| ||
cormorant sp.2
|
333
|
333
| ||
Great Blue Heron
|
38
|
38
| ||
Bald Eagle
|
13
|
1
|
14
| |
Red-tailed Hawk
|
2
|
2
| ||
American Coot
|
176
|
63
|
239
| |
Killdeer
|
5
|
5
| ||
Pigeon Guillemot
|
5
|
5
| ||
Glaucous-winged Gull
|
03
|
1
|
03
|
1
|
gull sp.4
|
146
|
17
|
163
| |
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
|
52
|
52
| ||
Eurasian Collared-Dove
|
1
|
1
| ||
Anna's Hummingbird
|
9
|
1
|
1
|
11
|
Belted Kingfisher
|
11
|
11
| ||
Red-breasted Sapsucker5
| ||||
Downy Woodpecker
|
2
|
2
| ||
Northern Flicker
|
6
|
6
| ||
Pileated Woodpecker
|
2
|
2
| ||
Steller's Jay
|
4
|
4
| ||
American/Northwestern Crow6
|
524
|
100
|
22
|
646
|
Common Raven
|
4
|
4
| ||
Black-capped Chickadee
|
3
|
3
| ||
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
|
2
|
2
|
4
| |
Brown Creeper
|
1
|
1
| ||
Pacific Wren
|
3
|
3
| ||
Bewick's Wren
|
1
|
1
| ||
Golden-crowned Kinglet
|
2
|
2
|
4
| |
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
|
4
|
4
| ||
American Robin
|
124
|
15
|
3
|
142
|
Varied Thrush
|
1
|
1
| ||
European Starling
|
242
|
19
|
3
|
264
|
Yellow-rumped Warbler
|
5
|
5
| ||
Spotted Towhee
|
5
|
5
| ||
Song Sparrow
|
13
|
1
|
14
| |
White-crowned Sparrow
|
7
|
7
| ||
Golden-crowned Sparrow
|
7
|
7
| ||
Dark-eyed Junco
|
29
|
1
|
30
| |
Red-winged Blackbird
|
17
|
17
| ||
Western Meadowlark
|
3
|
3
| ||
Grand Total
|
4073
|
828
|
474
|
5375
|
2Not counted as a species. This category was used when Cormorants were seen without certainty regarding specific species. Usually, I will recognize at least 1 and count all cormorants together then report "X" in the checklist for species known to be in the group. This does not show up in the summary.
3Glaucous-winged Gulls were identified, but the numbers were reported as "X" due to uncertainty as to which gulls seen were Glaucous-winged. Counts were included with gull sp. which may or may not include other gull species.
4Not counted as a species. This category was used when Gulls were seen without certainty regarding specific species. If I will recognize a species, I will count all gulls together then report "X" in the checklist for species known to be in the group. This does not show up in the summary. Glaucous-winged Gulls were the only gulls I identified during the bird count this year, but it is unlikely that they were all I saw.
5A Red-breasted Sapsucker was heard in the Canyon area of Chambers Creek Properties. Although this normally counts, I do not personally keep track of birds that I do not see (except in this summary).
6Not counted as a species. I have seen multiple field guides that make me uncomfortable identifying the actual species of crows in this area. Some say we have American Crows. Some say we have Northwestern Crows. Others say we have both. Many also report hybrids in this area. I can't tell them apart, so I leave them in this split category.
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