Island birders flock for annual count

Around 75 birders took to land and sea on and around Vashon on Dec. 28, scouring the island to track local bird populations for the island’s 25th Christmas Bird Count (CBC).

This year’s data showed more robins, crows and Canada geese than the year before. Pine siskins were the most counted bird by far. Rare sightings included two meadowlarks at Matsuda Farm, a brown-headed cowbird flock on the Kitsap Peninsula, and a lesser goldfinch on Maury Island, according to Adria Magrath, an executive board member of the Vashon Bird Alliance.

This year marks the 125th CBC, an annual census of birds organized by the National Audubon Society and the longest-running citizen science project in existence.

Individual chapters such as the Vashon Bird Alliance coordinate local counts and submit their data to the overall effort.

The first count took place in 1900 as a response to a traditional Christmas Day competition in which hunters tried to shoot as many birds as possible. Ironically, during this year’s count, one participant reported witnessing the poaching of a scrub jay on Maury Island.

Vashon is part of a 15-mile diameter “count circle,” one of 4,000 across the Western Hemisphere. Teams of two to five people methodically surveyed sectors of the island, recording every bird they encountered.

This year’s count was coordinated for the first time by Magrath. She credited much of her success to her predecessor, Ezra Parker, who spent years refining the event and its organization and maintaining the count result data set. Her own love of birds, Magrath said, comes from childhood memories.

“My dad could identify anything,” Magrath said. “He could point out a bird and be like, ‘That was a red tailed hawk.’ I thought this was a superhuman power. It was a mystical thing for me. … When someone has that knowledge, it’s special.”

Every bird counter needs at least moderate knowledge of bird identification, whether by sight or sound. Many birders use the eBird app to assist with identification.

Although the effort doesn’t adhere to peer-reviewed scientific standards, there’s rigorous fact-checking involved. Magrath reviews the data to ensure the same flock isn’t logged by multiple groups and verifies rare bird sightings. Birders who spot a rare bird must submit a detailed report to the Audubon Society, describing markings, behavior or other identifiers to substantiate their claims.

Island historian Bruce Haulman brought the inner Quartermaster Harbor birding expedition around on his boat, the Vashona.

The team of five spent over three hours on the water, departing from the yacht club and circling the harbor. The team counted birds as the boat chugged slowly along, occasionally stopping to observe large flocks. Calm conditions made birding a breeze, Haulman said.

Over the years, trends in Quartermaster Harbor have shifted, according to Haulman. Western grebes have seen a drastic decline — from around 1,500 spotted during counts in the late 1990s to zero sightings in the past five years. Conversely, cormorant numbers have risen, from counts around 40 in 1998 to more than 130 this year.

According to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Puget Sound wintering population of the western grebe has been on the decline since the 1970s, correlating with a decline in forage fish, their primary winter diet.

Interpreting differences in bird counts is complex. Findings can be confounded by weather, human skill and luck. Good weather contributed to a strong count this year, but population changes measured over the years can also indicate larger ecological trends. Serious threats to bird populations include habitat degradation, loss of food sources and climate change.

“That’s the advantage of the almost-worldwide Christmas Bird Count,” Haulman said. “You get a sense of whether birds are moving further north, further south, finding different locations, or if there’s an actual decline in the counts.”

Anna’s hummingbirds are now found on Vashon year-round, according to Magrath, a sign that warming climates have altered their migration patterns. Conversely, the population of red-breasted nuthatches is dropping as they are forced to relocate to cooler climates, Magrath and fellow island birder Katrin Fletter wrote in 2022 for The Beachcomber.

The Vashon Bird Alliance and National Audubon Society continue to advocate for environmental protections to ensure the continued survival of birds.

In the meantime, it’s become difficult to recruit enough participants for the count, Magrath said. Birders tend to be from older generations, and few younger people are joining, Magrath explained.

Still, Haulman believes the sophistication and knowledge of bird counters has improved, thanks to educational programs and greater awareness of the Vashon Bird Alliance. Vashon also hosts a large community of comfortable retirees, Haulman points out, who bring resources, knowledge and time to the field of birding.

Haulman, who lives on the bluff above KVI Beach, finds inspiration in the daily rhythms of local wildlife. He often watches ducks and geese plod along the shoreline, eagles perch on the radio tower and ospreys come and go with the seasons.

“You’re attuned to those sorts of cycles when you’re living in a place where you can see it every day,” Haulman said. “These are the kinds of things that help connect people to the place they live, to the environment they live in. That’s the real impact of this. It’s great to have the numbers and the science, but it’s also great to have regular, everyday people doing these bird counts.”

Visit vashonbirdalliance.org to learn more about future bird counts, free events and membership opportunities.

Mari Kanagy is a contributing journalist to The Beachcomber.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly estimated around 100 birders as having taken place in Vashon’s Christmas Bird Count this year. The number, more accurately, is around 75 birders. The article has been corrected.