Dickcissel - Photo: Brad Waggoner
2021 Christmas Bird Count Results
by Bob Boekelheide
Despite threats of lowland snow, the 2021 Sequim-Dungeness Christmas Bird Count (SDCBC) came off without too many hitches. Held on Dec 20, 2021, the day dawned with overcast skies and light winds, excellent conditions for counting birds. Overnight temperatures dipped into the mid 20s, cold enough to partly freeze some lowland ponds and marshes, then daytime temperatures moderated into the high 30s. Other than flooding rains in November, weather leading up to the count was fairly mild and pleasant, possibly encouraging some species to stick around for the count, but maybe encouraging others to stay further north. Fortunately, we held the CBC before snow and cold weather descended on the Northwest after Christmas.
The best part of our count? The people. Ninety-seven stalwart field observers and 25 eager feeder watchers participated this year. Imagine an army of 122 birders deployed into prime habitats from the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the cold foothills of the Olympic Mountains. The birders along the Strait get all the glory and high bird counts, but we need to particularly thank the birders who climb cold forest roads and icy hilltops south of Hwy 101, where birds are few and far between. Thank you all for your dedication.
Our count this year tallied 141 species, slightly below our average of 143 for the past 25 years (see accompanying table). This species total is 13 below our record set in 2015 and eight below our species count last year. Total number of individual birds was 53,707, well below the 25-year average of 62,365 and the lowest number of individuals on our CBC since 2012.
Why fewer individual birds? Usually lower numbers on this CBC happen when we tally fewer dabbling ducks, such as wigeons, mallards, and pintails. That seems to be the case this year, as all three of these species were at the low end of their long-term averages. The warm conditions and all the flood waters from November storms may have kept them further north, as there was no shortage of flooded fields in the Pacific NW to entice ducks this year. Other abundant flocking species such as robins and siskins were near or below their average numbers.
In decreasing order, the top ten most abundant species this year were Am. Wigeon (8221 counted), Mallard (4781), Dark-eyed Junco (2647), Am. Robin (2596), Pine Siskin (2581), Glaucous-winged and Olympic gulls (2260), Red-winged Blackbird (2017), Green-winged Teal (1656), Eur. Starling (1596), and N. Pintail (1277). These 10 species made up over 55 percent of all birds on our count.
Ten species set or tied record high-counts this year -- Greater White-fronted Goose, Common Merganser, Anna's Hummingbird, Sora, Barred Owl, Am Kestrel, Hermit Thrush, Spotted Towhee, Dark-eyed Junco, and Red-winged Blackbird. Anna's Hummingbirds particularly continue to increase in abundance, topping 400 birds for the first time on our CBC. Other species that scored close to record counts included Pied-billed Grebe, Am Coot, and Golden-crowned Sparrow. Our sharp-eyed volunteers were very good at spotting lots of birds, but it also makes me wonder whether some of these species may have stuck around due to warmer, milder conditions this fall. One year does not make a trend, of course, so we'll have to see whether these patterns continue in future years.
Hermit Thrush - Photo: Bob Boekelheide
Species with far lower than average counts this year included Harlequin Duck, Sanderling, and Dunlin. Fewer Harlequin Ducks is particularly disconcerting -- they are the symbol of the Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society, you know. The 41 Harlequin Ducks this year was the lowest tally since 1979. Their numbers fluctuate quite a bit from year to year, with 214 counted as recently as the 2017 CBC, but we need to keep an eye on the Harlequins. Sanderlings and Dunlins may have been hiding somewhere we didn't look, because high tides on count day kept them from their usual intertidal haunts.
We also mourn the loss of two shorebirds we had grown to expect on our CBC. For the last six years, starting in 2015, we have tallied one Willet in Dungeness Bay on every CBC. Sadly, we never spotted a Willet in Dungeness Bay this fall. Fondly known as "Willy," it first appeared as a juvenile in 2015, then we recorded one adult every year thereafter. We assumed it was the same bird, although we couldn't possibly know for sure. Willy hung around Dungeness Landing and Three Crabs, reliable as clockwork. Let's hope that Willy "grew up" and is now a successful breeding bird.
Willet flying with Marbled Godwit - Photo: Dow Lambert
The other missing shorebird this year was one Pacific Golden-Plover that graced our presence for the last five winters, starting in 2016. This bird was possibly the furthest-north wintering Pacific Golden-Plover in the world. It was more elusive than Willy, though, only recorded on CBCs in 2016 and 2020. It sometimes hung out with Black-bellied Plovers in harvested corn fields along Schmuck Rd, sometimes it appeared on mudflats in Dungeness Bay, but sometimes we had no idea where it went. Some winters we'd spot it for several weeks at a time, then it would disappear for several weeks. Some years we didn't find it until January or February, when lower daytime tides finally lured shorebirds to Dungeness Bay mudflats. We haven't spotted it yet this winter, but don't give up hope yet.
Several unusual species showed up for our count, along with several species that used to be considered unusual but are now almost expected, such as Sora, Yellow-billed Loon, Scrub-Jay, and Swamp Sparrow. Most unusual by far was a Dickcissel found by the Waggoner brothers at Jamestown, still here several days after the CBC. What the heck is a Dickcissel doing here in December? What the heck is a Dickcissel doing here anytime? Dickcissels nest in the prairies of the Midwest and winter in similar grasslands in northern South America, mostly Venezuela. They occasionally stray to the West Coast, last seen in Clallam County in 2017. We should keep looking for the Dickcissel and see how long it sticks around.
Dickcissel - Photo: Brad Waggoner
Other unusual species include three Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels spotted by Denny Van Horn off the Dungeness Recreation Area. A Lesser Black-backed Gull first seen by Gary Bullock and Bob Boekelheide at Maple View Farms on 12/13 stuck around for the count, still here in late December. In addition to the Dickcissel, the Waggoner brothers also spotted a lone Bohemian Waxwing at Jamestown traveling with a flock of Cedar Waxwings. After counting birds as part of our offshore boat party, Bruce LaBar and Will Brooks found and photographed a lone Common Redpoll traveling in a flock of Pine Siskins at John Wayne Marina.
Lesser Black-backed Gull - Photo: Bob Boekelheide
What did we miss? The only count week bird (seen within three days before or after the count but not on count day) was Canvasback. Two female Canvasbacks hung out at the Kirner Pond both before and after the CBC, but we totally missed them on CBC day. Other obvious misses were Black Oystercatcher and Townsend's Warbler. A Tundra Swan here in early December unfortunately did not show during count week.
Looking ahead, the 2022 SDCBC will likely occur on Monday, 12/19/22. Mark your calendars!
Many, many thanks to everyone who participated, particularly to landowners and agencies that gave access to their properties, including Dungeness NWR, Olympic Game Farm, Dungeness Farms and Habitat, Seashore Lane, Graysmarsh, the Willits family, Kevin Froese, and the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe. Counters and feeder watchers included:
Jamie Acker, Ken Wiersema, Dow Lambert, Richard Wiersema, Denny Van Horn, Michael Barry, Ed & Myra Koszykowski, Laura Davis & Alan Smith, Barb & Bob Boekelheide, Scott Gremel, Mandy Holmgren, Eric Guzman, Sara Cendejas-Zarelli, Tom Butler, Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin, Lee Bowen, Shelly Ament - WDFW, Brad, Dan, & Kevin Waggoner, Steve Hampton, Alex & Sarah Scagliotti - Graysmarsh, Bruce & Sharon Paige, Roger Hoffman, Dana Scott, Ron Miller, Steven Ware & Nancy Smith, Susan Savage, Bob Blush, Jim & Audrey Gift, Bob Hutchison, Jeff Lightfoot, Bruce & Carol Von Borstel, Dan MacDougall-Treacy, Powell Jones, Greg Voyles, Katherine & Otis Bush, John Gatchet, Bob Bagwell, David Durham, Bruce Labar, Will Brooks, Mike Crim, Durkee Richards - skipper, Sue Thomas - USFWS, Janis Burger, Seth Connor, Pat Schoen, Sue Nattinger, Coleman Byrnes, Valerie Wolcott, John Bridge, Kendra Donelson, John Acklen, Juanita Reyes, Nancy Kohn, Norrie & Barb Johnson, Quenn Charrier, Gillian Kenagy, Ida Domazlicky, Penny Soares, Mary Morgan, Tim McNulty, Pat and Michael DeMarco, Heidi Pedersen, Kathe Smith, Tom Guobis, Joan McDermott, Sheila Kee, Bill & Donna Hayden, Mike Barnes, Barbara Vanderwerf, Sarah Bird, Miguel Reabold, Marie Grad, Diane Luoma, Jolene Sanborn, Steve Koehler, Sharle Osborne, Forest Koehler, Skip & Caroline Perkins, Bob Iddins, Ed Stege, Ally Simons, Wayne & Margie Sladek, Gary Bullock, Vince Thrutchley, Kevin Froese, Ron Wight, David Biek, Stacey Fradkin, Marion Rutledge, Grace, Kate, & Glen Goschen, Mary Robson, Susan McDougall, Naomi Himley, Joy Bertman, Tom Backe, Serene Forsman, Doris Causey, Rick Rodlend, Kathy Cooper, Nora & Tim Fleming, Liam Antrim, Pam Maurides.