The 125th Christmas Bird Count in Oregon

      Oregon held 45 counts this 12 months. The one new depend was the long-awaited McNary- Hermiston depend, mentioned under. Amongst latest counts, Coos Bay, lengthy the very best within the state with peaks round 160, has not been held for a number of years. Hood River, Reedsport and Santiam Cross are inactive and Hart Mountain was not held this 12 months owing to climate.

      Coastal counts discovered the biggest variety of species, as common, with Coquille Valley the very best this season at 142 and Tillamook Bay and Yaquina Bay proper behind at 140 and 139, respectively. Amongst western inside counts, Eugene discovered 138 species and Sauvie Island 125 (each have vital open water), whereas Medford within the drier Rogue Valley positioned 127, an excellent selection for inside southern Oregon. East of the Cascades, Klamath Falls discovered a strong 110 and the brand new McNary-Hermiston depend on the higher Columbia River a wonderful 103 in its first official 12 months.

      This 12 months observer turnout was typically good, however the increased turnout tended to be on counts that have already got loads of observers. Even one extra crew at low-turnout counts like Oakridge or Port Orford may make an enormous distinction. Granted, some such areas are a good distance from the place observers reside, however some are inside an hour’s drive. I hope that observers contemplate serving to counts which have decrease turnouts. Protection at Yaquina Bay and Florence specifically has improved in recent times.

What, The place and Why

      Counts in inside Oregon differ significantly in two key elements, turnout and entry to giant our bodies of water. East of the Cascades the restricted availability of unfrozen water is a think about most years; this 12 months remarkably heat, moist circumstances within the jap highlands resulted in unusually excessive species selection. Open water held late waterfowl and semi-hardy wetland birds, e.g. Sora and Higher Yellowlegs. Heat-weather teal are very uncommon in jap Oregon in winter; this 12 months two Blue-winged have been at John Day, two Cinnamon at Summer time Lake and 4 Blue-winged/Cinnamon at Pine Valley, little question making the most of unfrozen habitat.

      Icing on the east-side waterfowl cake appeared within the type of a Tundra Bean-Goose on the Baker CBC in far jap Oregon. This fowl appeared December 6 with different geese, wandered off for some time and was relocated on depend day by compiler Sean Cozart. This was a fourth Oregon state report and a second report for any North American CBC. 4 Vaux’s Swift at Sauvie Island have been a primary for an Oregon CBC, as have been a exceptional White Wagtail at Tillamook Bay (just like the Bean-Goose, it had been reported a number of weeks earlier and reappeared on the CBC) and a feminine Vermilion Flycatcher (Oregon’s ninth), which wintered close to Port Orford. The state thus added 4 new species to its all-time CBC listing.

      12 months for holdovers, rarities and wintering semi-hardy birds included Black-and-White Warbler and Tennessee Warbler inside two blocks of one another at Coquille Valley (each wintered). Different notables included Western Tanager in Portland, Hooded Oriole at Yaquina Bay, two Bullocks’s Orioles and a Black-headed Grosbeak at Coquille Valley, a wintering Blue Jay at Tygh Valley, Yellow Warbler at Tillamook Bay, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Roseburg and Tropical Kingbird, uncommon after late November, at Columbia Estuary. Two different coastal counts had one for depend week. December data have been extra frequent in recent times.

      Salem had its first depend report of Turkey Vulture, which has develop into pretty common in sw Oregon, with a winter roost of a number of dozen at Eugene in latest a long time. This could have been thought-about a uncommon fowl as not too long ago because the Nineteen Eighties however Eugene had 76 and Coquille Valley (16) set a brand new depend report this 12 months. Two Widespread Yellowthroat at Sauvie Island tied the earlier highs, principally within the Portland space. A Nashville Warbler, semi-regular on the southern Oregon coast in winter, was additional north than common at Yaquina Bay, as have been a Hermit Warbler and a Northern Mockingbird. A Ferruginous Hawk at Columbia Estuary was a really uncommon coastal report. A number of Inexperienced Heron have been within the Willamette Valley, the place they’re irregular in winter, together with three at Cottage Grove. A Lark Sparrow at Lincoln Metropolis stayed in the identical seaside space for weeks, out of vary, season and customary habitat. Two Snowy Egrets at Eugene had been round for some time. 4 Lengthy-tailed Geese at Wallowa County was exceptional in any season, significantly in a 12 months when only a few appeared on the outer coast, letting an inside montane depend have the state excessive for the species this 12 months, an odd end result.

      Notable excessive counts included 20 Cinnamon Teal at Coquille Valley and 19 at Forest Grove. A number of occurred elsewhere; this species appears to be on a sluggish enhance in winter. Six N. Noticed-whet Owls at Airlie is excessive for a latest CBC, although the species is widespread. Owling appears to have dropped off as a CBC exercise in recent times. Seventeen Orange-crowned Warblers at Coquille Valley exceeded the earlier all-time state report of 15, set solely in 2012 at Eugene, and a number of other have been east of the Cascades. Say’s Phoebe, an irregular winter fowl exterior the Rogue Valley forty years in the past, has develop into nearly normal in a lot of southwestern Oregon. This 12 months 9 west-side counts discovered it, with most birds within the Rogue Valley however singles scattered elsewhere. There have been loads of Brief-eared Owls, with main roosts at Brownsville (40) and Sauvie Island (20) and eight at Eugene and Corvallis. Bewick’s Wren, unknown in northeastern Oregon fifty years in the past, is now well-established, as 44 at McNary-Hermiston and 22 in Union County present.

      Pine Siskin staged a big incursion, with over 22,000 reported and birds on 35 counts. Many counts had lots of and eight, all in western Oregon, had over a thousand. Purple Crossbills have been additionally widespread, however solely the outer coastal counts and Sunriver had vital numbers.

      Just a few counts reported Barn Swallow, as common in latest a long time, and Eugene additionally had a exceptional 23 Tree Swallows. Forest Grove and Sauvie Island additionally reported Tree Swallow. This species has a poorly understood seasonal sample through which most birds go away by the top of summer time however it’s then probably the most regularly reported and normally commonest winter swallow in sw Oregon, although Barn is catching up. Do these birds come from northerly websites, arriving late, or have they began seeping northward by late December?

      Marbled Murrelet is never widespread on CBCs however the paltry two in the entire state this 12 months is stunning. Eurasian Wigeon have been widespread, together with three counts east of the Cascades, however numbers have been low. Harris’s Sparrow is rare-but-regular as a winter fowl; this 12 months it was solely uncommon on CBCs, with one at McNary-Hermiston and a Rely Week fowl in Union County. Even east of the Cascades, Northern Shrike made an anemic displaying, and only a few reached the western inside valleys. No coastal depend discovered any. Lastly, within the oddities division, six Mute Swans of unknown origin spent the winter round Eugene, principally at Fern Ridge Reservoir.

Species Going Away?

      Ring-necked Pheasant has develop into a fading reminiscence in western Oregon, with a excessive of 13 at Eugene this 12 months most likely together with not too long ago launched birds. Subsequent highest within the Willamette Valley was 4 at Dallas, the place half the circle is believable pheasant habitat. In western Oregon, solely three different counts had any in any respect. Your complete state reported 222, of which 40% got here from Umatilla County. Outdoors just a few pockets of principally lowland jap Oregon, solely 36 have been reported. It’s unclear that this launched and widely-stocked species is a self-sustaining inhabitants exterior the higher Columbia agricultural lowlands. That stated, southeastern Oregon doesn’t have many counts per sq. mile, and a few of that’s good pheasant habitat, significantly in Malheur County, which doesn’t have any energetic counts.

      The sluggish withdrawal of Rock Sandpiper as a wintering species previously thirty years confirmed up within the CBC outcomes this 12 months: a single fowl on your entire coast, at Lincoln Metropolis. I’ve not seen one in coastal Lane County in any respect since 2008. Surfbird could also be on an identical observe, as they’ve develop into tougher to search out in recent times on the southern half of the coast. This 12 months none have been on CBCs south of Yaquina Bay, which solely had two.

As soon as and Future Counts

      The McNary-Hermiston depend was organized by Eric Pratt, a school scholar who performed a “take a look at run” in 2023. Most exceptional, and an indicator of why this depend was wanted, is that it set three all-time Oregon excessive counts in its first 12 months: 12,678 Snow Goose, 1,395 White-crowned Sparrow and 253 Yellow-headed Blackbird, the latter a species that’s normally laborious to search out in winter, with just a few within the sw inside. Along with the record-setting highs, the six Burrowing Owls wintering in human-constructed habitat at a navy reservation was the very best in Oregon since Medford had 12 in 1960 in habitat that’s largely nonexistent now. The 5,865 Lesser Scaup was the very best since Eugene’s 7000 in 1965, the previous report presumably an estimate (with interval optics) of what was on Fern Ridge Reservoir. This new circle covers a wide range of habitats together with McNary Dam state wildlife space and Chilly Springs NWR.

      What does the long run maintain for Oregon CBCs? Ideally, Coos Bay and Santiam Cross should be restarted, as they symbolize areas with large numbers of birds and distinctive montane habitat, respectively. The most important actual hole in habitat protection is the Snake-Malheur-Payette River confluence in Malheur County, Oregon and Payette County, Idaho. Like McNary-Hermiston, it’s a comparatively low-elevation website recognized to have vital waterfowl, raptors and distinctive populations similar to wintering Nice-tailed Grackles. Of earlier circles in that a part of Oregon, Vale didn’t attain the Snake and Decrease Owyhee barely did. A depend centered close to Ontario, most likely with a big Idaho part, is required. I drew a circle in case anybody is tempted. Maybe some energetic birders will have a look at these initiatives.

All-time Oregon excessive counts set on the 2024-25 CBC*

Species in daring are new for Oregon CBCs

* word – the database for Oregon excessive counts accommodates just a few errors and can be up to date in spring, 2026 after the present depend season knowledge is all entered.