PORT ANGELES — Every winter since 1900, volunteers across the country have headed out with binoculars to identify every bird they see and submit the results to the National Audubon Society for its Christmas Bird Count, which the conservation organization calls the country’s longest-running bird census.
The data collected during the annual event, which runs from Dec. 14 to Jan. 5, is used by scientists, conservationists, wildlife agencies and other entities to identify trends and patterns that can be used to further understanding about birds, their habitat and the environment and to add to the body of scientific knowledge.
Three of the four Christmas Bird Counts on the North Olympic Peninsula — in Port Townsend by the Admiralty Audubon Society and in Sequim-Dungeness and Neah Bay by the Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society — are finished and their results are in the process of being compiled.
The Port Angeles Christmas Bird Count, which is also organized by the Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society, will take place on Friday.
Barbara Blackie, who is coordinating the Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society’s Port Angeles Christmas Bird Count, said those interested in volunteering should contact her as soon as possible at blackieb@olypen.com or 360-477-8028.
The specific areas in which volunteers will be counting birds have yet to be determined, but they will encompass a wide variety of habitat: coastline, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Hurricane Ridge, ponds, wooded hiking trails, Elwha River and backyard bird feeders.
“People should be able to recognize backyard birds comfortably by site, but we really have the gamut,” Blackie said of volunteers. “We can always use more hikers, but if people want to drive their route, that’s OK. The more eyes, the better.”
For more about the Port Angeles Christmas Bird Count, see tinyurl.com/35avnumk.
Earlier counts
Bob Boekelheide, who is compiling information gathered during the Sequim-Dungeness Christmas Bird Count on Dec. 19, said about 100 volunteers participated, and if this year is like most, they will have identified about 140 different species.
Boekelheide called the Christmas Bird Count a “snapshot in time” that is a good but not necessarily the most scientifically rigorous measure of all the birds in a particular area.
However, its organized, consistent and systematic gathering of information over a long period of time does provide valuable data that can provide insights into species, like that of the Western grebe.
“We used to have flocks of a few hundred of them in the Port Angeles harbor area and swimming in the Dungeness and now there are very few, and if you look at other Christmas Bird Counts all over the Salish Sea, it’s a species that’s really declined around here in the wintertime,” Boekelheide said.
“But the interesting thing is, in some counts, like in Central California and San Francisco Bay, the Western grebe has increased. So it raises the question, did our birds go down there or did the birds that were here not survive? Or something else?”
While birders can expect to add familiar residents like varied thrushes, eagles and buffleheads to their checklists during the count, there’s always the chance they’ll spot an uncommon species.
Charlie Wright, the compiler for the Olympic Audubon Society’s Neah Bay count on Dec. 20, said a group of 12 intrepid birders who braved 10 inches of snow, icy roads and windy conditions were rewarded with some surprising sightings.
“Rare birds discovered during the count were two bramblings (a beautiful finch that belongs in northern Eurasia, not on this continent), a red knot and a Tennessee warbler,” Wright said in an email.
“The birding was amazing. Neah Bay never fails to surprise. It looks like we have 109 species (and counting) … Past years have ranged between 115 and 124, so despite really cold, snowy conditions, we’ve gotten close.”
Monica Fletcher of the Admiralty Audubon Society, which held its count on Dec. 7, said weather conditions in Port Townsend were ideal. Although it was cold, there was no wind, and she anticipated good results from the 80 volunteers, including 15 feeder watchers, who participated.
“Our record was set last year for 121 species and there’s a good chance we’ll meet that this time,” Fletcher said.
It wasn’t just the weather that made the count successful, she said.
“We had great volunteers,” she said. “They just are so chipper. No one grumbles.”
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached at paula.hunt@soundpublishing.com.
