Christmas Bird Count Yields Some Surprises

Barbara Jensen, President, San Juan Islands Audubon  and Christmas Bird Count Coordinator,  reports that there were 96 participants (most of whom paid the $5 National Audubon asks ) in the Annual Bird Count. “Our youngest participant was Thor Hansen’s son at only a few months – I think his mom Eliza carried the burden on that — but what a great thing to bring your youngster to. “

Jensen recounted some highlights of the  December 11 event:

• The most unusual bird was a Spotted Sandpiper seen at the beach at SJ County Park on San Juan Island. Most birds are in Mexico this time of year but they can be found in coastal locations along the West Coast now. Okay, I was the one to get it and  did shoot some video of the bird to document its presence for the CBC. It was hard to get a still photo because it kept bobbing up and down.
• I was a bit surprised by the number of Snow Geese we had, all of which came from Orcas and Lopez. This is a population that just keeps growing across N. America.
• People are sorting through those flocks of Canada Geese and finding Cackling Geese which are much smaller. We had 4 this year.
• Bonaparte’s Gull  – 4 – tend to be unusual as they are usually out over fast- moving water. Some of you who live in these areas may want to keep an eye out for them next year and get your numbers into us.
• Six Anna’s Hummingbirds

We walked a total of 60 miles for 86 hours
We drove a total of 218.25 miles for 43.5 hours
We boated a total of 6.25 miles for 2.25 hours
And had 20 hours at feeders.

I want to thank everyone (Orcas, Lopez, Shaw and San Juan Islands) who came out this year. What an amazing effort.