[Tweeters] Lower bird counts at Union Bay this past winter?

[Constance Sidles via Tweeters]

Hey tweets, I've noticed the same thing that Julia mentiones in her tweet, namely, numbers of birds seem  in general to be down at Montlake Fill. This includes land birds as well as waterfowl. I have no explanation. - Connie, Seattle


> On Feb 21, 2026, at 2:26 PM, Julia H via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:

> 

> This is pure anecdata, but I feel like Union Bay Natural Area has been less "birdy" overall this past winter.  Numbers have been down both in terms of species count + raw number of birds the past two months I've led my bird walk, compared to Januaries/Februaries of the prior years, and the usual giant-raft-of-coots-and-wigeons that habitually forms in Lake Washington has been much smaller as well.

> 

> Has anyone else noticed this / does anyone have any theories for why this might be?

> 

> Good birding,

> 

> Julia Hasbrough

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