[Tweeters] ​ Port Townsend Christmas Bird Count 2025 Summary

[Steve Hampton via Tweeters]

Port Townsend Christmas Bird Count 2025 Summary
sponsored by Rainshadow Bird Alliance

By Steve Hampton

The 49th Port Townsend Christmas Bird Count, held on December 20, 2025, was
breezy but dry. Temps hovered around freezing in the starlit dawn sky, and
rose into the mid-40s with a solid to hazy overcast. The winds didn’t relax
until late, but were limited to exposed sites, mostly on the east side. The
boat went forth, with some delay, into some difficult seas.

The count set records in many categories. We ended up with 126 species,
edging the all-time high, set two years ago, by one bird. Participation was
also a record, with 115 participants, a number that includes 22 feeder
watchers at 18 feeders. The previous high was 104 participants, set last
year. The field teams put in 183 party hours, significantly higher than the
old record of 153, set two years ago. The teams included four young
birders, aged 9 to 13, each of whom walked many miles. Lifers were had.

Together, we traveled 89 miles on foot and 221 miles by car. Area A – Port
Townsend to Kala Point – had 11 teams in the field, mostly on foot, and
accounted for about half the party hours. No turnstone was left unturned.

The count featured some heroic efforts. Ali Kasperzak braved the winds at
the Flagler Spit to examine each shorebird and gull, ultimately picking out
and photographing our only Herring Gull. Tina Roumi came off the bench from
Sequim to fill in for Barry McKenzie (on loan to Sevilla) at Fort Worden;
she put in 9.5 hours and logged 75 species, in what appears to be the
largest eBird checklist ever for Jefferson County. Finally, kudos to Jim
Norris, who stepped up to provide a boat for the offshore survey. Bob
Boekelheide reported 4-foot seas in Oak Bay, with spray over the whole
deck. To give you an idea of the conditions, this veteran seabird
ornithologist reported slight queasiness for the first time in years. He
did notch the count’s only Black Scoter.

Brian Ellis again had access to Indian Island. When he texted me “NSTR,” I
thought he’d found a rare Asian vagrant - is there a Northern Short-tailed
Redstart? Alas, it turned out that the Navy in an acronym-rich environment,
and he was merely indicating no heart-stopping rarities.

Statistically, the rarest species on the count was American Pipit, three of
which were found on the beach at Kala Point. The only previous count record
comes from 1977, on the very first Port Townsend CBC. Other highlights
included two Northern Shrikes (one each in Center and Beaver Valleys), the
continuing Rough-legged Hawk in Center Valley, the Rock Sandpiper at
Flagler, and the seven Western Meadowlarks at Pt Wilson. The feeder
watchers again provided the count’s only White-throated Sparrow, as well as
10 to 20% of many backyard species.

In addition to the 126 species, we just missed seven more: Wood Duck,
Short-tailed Shearwater, Red-shouldered Hawk, American Barn Owl, American
Dipper, Barn Swallow, and Evening Grosbeak. These will go down as “count
week” birds, as they were seen within three days of the count in either
direction. Several of these are very rare on the count, and the Barn
Swallow is a first.

Record high counts were set for a whopping 24 species.  These were:

Common Merganser (371 > 224)
Pied-billed Grebe (36 > 25)
Red-tailed Hawk (25 > 23)
Eurasian Collared-Dove (62 > 57)
Great Horned Owl (3 > 2)
Anna’s Hummingbird (193 > 171)
Belted Kingfisher (39 > 38)
Downy Woodpecker (39 > 24)
Hairy Woodpecker (39 > 22)
Northern Flicker (206 > 118)
Pileated Woodpecker (14 > 9)
American Kestrel (7 > 6)
Black-capped Chickadee (381 > 292)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (174 > 123)
Brown Creeper (41 > 24)
Pacific Wren (202 > 112)
Marsh Wren (18 > 16)
Bewick’s Wren (51 > 46)
American Robin (2147 > 1835)
Dark-eyed Junco (1483 > 1342)
Golden-crowned Sparrow (400 > 336)
Spotted Towhee (306 > 237)
Western Meadowlark (7 > 5)
House Finch (530 > 448)

The primary metric for analyzing CBC data is birds per party hour. When
adjusted for party hours, all of these records disappear except for Hairy
Woodpecker! Interestingly, hummingbirds per party hour have been relatively
constant since 2016.

There were no record low counts, though 21 Pine Siskins was the 2nd lowest
ever, and well below the average of 463. They are likely enjoying the
winter elsewhere.

We also capped the day with the Compilation Potluck at the Rosewind Common
Room. Thanks to all the area leaders and participants! In 2026, we hope to
add more opportunities for new participants!


-- 
Steve Hampton
Port Townsend, WA  (qatáy)
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