Padilla Bay Christmas Bird Count

The first Audubon Christmas Bird Count was in 1900. Twenty seven birders counted at 25 different points and recorded a total of about 90 bird species and is now continued annually. I participated this year with my mom, my grandfather, and Elizabeth “Libby” Mills, an ornithologist on January 5, 2022. We drove to Samish Island, in Washington State and stopped in three different places, Scott’s Point, where we saw two merlins and an American Kestrel chasing a Bald Eagle. The second stop we birded at was Camp Kirby, where we saw two Black Brant coming on to shore to eat pebbles and a Belted Kingfisher, the only one for the day. Our third and final stop was at Samish Island Public Beach Access, where we saw a Horned Grebe and hundreds of buffleheads. We started at Scott’s Point, just at the entrance to Samish Island. Instantly we were already behind in recording all of the birds. There were a plethora of Bald Eagles, both immature and adult. As we were observing an Immature Bald Eagle, I spotted two Merlins and an American Kestrel chasing after an Adult Bald Eagle. Libby Mills was excited, because it is unusual to see a Kestrel and two Merlins in the same tree within 5 feet of each other. There was a strange sight, because in a bush was either a wing or all of the body except the head of a medium sized bird. Libby suspects that the merlins killed the bird, because falcons, and merlins usually take a nip out of the shoulder of the bird they just killed. The Merlins and the Kestrel were by far the best sighting we had of the day. On our way to the car, 20 or so unidentified ducks flew over our heads. We also saw a Bald Eagle carrying nesting material. There is also a rookery nearby that the Eagles use.

Above: The American Kestrel near the Merlins. Our next stop was at Camp Kirby, about five minutes away from Scott’s Point, where we had kindly been granted permission to bird at the camp down at the beach. We were scanning the water for buffleheads and mergansers, and other seabirds when I spotted a belted kingfisher land on a branch above the water. As we continued to walk around the point, we noticed some rose bushes with holes in the place where the flower was. As Libby explained that the holes were made by wasps so the larvae could eat the rose, a Downy Woodpecker landed on one of the dead roses with wasps in it and began pecking away at it, trying to find some larvae for lunch. Another exciting event was when two Black Brant came ashore to eat pebbles to help digest the Eel Grass they eat. An uncommon little shorebird also appeared behind the Double-Crested Cormorants, Glaucous-Winged Gulls and Black Brant, 20 Black Turnstones!

Above: The Downy Woodpecker on the Rose Bush. Even though it is called Samish Island Public Beach Access, we didn’t go down to the beach, we stayed at the top where we had a better vantage point. As we were scanning the water, I came across a flotilla of buffleheads. There were at least 75, and mixed in were Common and Red-Breasted Mergansers with Common Loons and a Horned Grebe. Scopes were very important because even with a high powered camera with 600-mm zoom, the seabirds still looked like tiny black dots. By this time, our hands and feet were icicles, so we scanned for a few more minutes and then called it quits. Libby stayed a few minutes longer and saw a Hooded Merganser, a Eurasian Collared Dove, and a Pacific Wren, the only one of the day.

Above: A Common Goldeneye we observed from the top of Samish Island Public Beach Access. To be honest, this was probably the most birds I have ever seen and counted at one time, which is saying something. I saw 10 new bird species, including Horned Grebe, Double-Crested Cormorant, and Black Turnstones. In total, we saw 45 species of birds and a Grand total of 579 individual birds across Samish Island. It was mostly seabirds, because 167 of them were buffleheads! I will have other blog posts coming soon about other bird counts and other affairs concerning birds.