2025 Olympia CBC Results
Bill Shelmerdine
WAOL Compiler
The 2025 Olympia Christmas Bird Count was held Sunday, December 14th. There were 103 volunteer counters in 16 teams (working assigned count areas) and as individuals watching feeders on their home turf. The weather for count day was cooperative, mild with a bit of light rain late in the day. Rain and wind during the dark early morning and evening hours hampered most attempts at finding owls, however. Collectively this year’s counters tallied 130 different species of birds and 39,764 total birds. The species count is a bit above the long-term average of 127 species and short of the count record of 134 species set in 1993 and 1998. The total number of birds reported was below the most recent 10-yr average of 43,607.
Notable rarities and unusual sightings included Eurasian Green-winged Teal, Turkey Vulture, Sora, Black Phoebe (a relatively new arrival to the area that has been fairly regular the past few years), Canada Jay, Lesser Goldfinch (also recent arrivals and perhaps no longer to considered rare in the area), Swamp Sparrow, and a bright male Wilson’s Warbler. The real shocker and most remarkable sighting on count day was an amazing NORTHERN PARULA. Not only is this striking warbler (an apparent adult female) a first for this count, it is also a first county record as well as a very rare sighting for this species in winter anywhere in Washington. That bird, found by the Boston Harbor Area count team, was well documented by photographs but unfortunately it was located on private land with no public access.
New high counts were recorded for the following species (and numbers): Common Goldeneye (1630), Merlin (11), Bushtit (461), and Brown Creeper (97). In addition, Anna’s Hummingbird, and California Scrub Jay numbers were near historic highs continuing the recent trend for those species. Species with notably low counts this year included Pacific Loon, Red-throated Loon, and Pine Siskin. The low loon numbers have been a continuing trend in recent years. Pine Siskins (an often common and eruptive species) were seen by one team – one of our two boat crews. Waterfowl numbers, at least for freshwater areas, also appeared to be noticeably down this year.
Special thanks go to our sponsor South Sound Bird Alliance and our boat captains from Olympia Yacht Club (OYC). This year, yacht club members Rick & Pam Panowicz carried the Nisqually Reach team on the “Jean Marie” and Eric Hurlburt carried the Eld, Budd, and Henderson inlet team on the “Patina”. The count would certainly be diminished without the generous help and participation of these boat owners and OYC members.
Also, a big thank you goes to all of the volunteers who make this event possible. This not only includes all of the counters, many of whom have been conducting the count for decades, but also includes the volunteers from South Sound Bird Alliance that put on the post-count chili feed. This year it was held at Gull Harbor Lutheran Church. The event is always a fun gathering and the effort it takes to put it on is much appreciated by all participants and deserves special recognition.
Photo credit: Northern Parula in Olympia by Aaron Barna.
