Annual bird count spots 109 species in Tri-Cities

Volunteers spotted more than 40,000 birds — and 109 different bird species — in the Tri-City area on Dec. 31 to contribute to a National Audubon Society count.

The National Christmas Bird Count, conducted each year by volunteers within three weeks of Dec. 25, is used to look for trends, including whether global climate change is influencing ranges for some species.

This year, about 70 people braved the cold for the count, conducted by the Lower Columbia Basin Audubon Society. It was conducted in a circle with a 7.5-mile radius centered on the Columbia River just off Road 68 in Pasco.

The rarest bird seen this year was a gyrfalcon, sighted by Barb and Tom Clarke near the Columbia Basin College campus in Pasco.

“This is a rare visitor in winter to the Tri-Cities from the arctic tundra,” said Dana Ward, coordinator of the Tri-Cities area count.

The species is the largest falcon in the world, preying on large birds such as waterfowl, according to Audubon’s Guide to North American Birds.

Bohemian waxwings — songbirds that usually are uncommon in the Tri-Cities — were seen in large numbers in Richland on Dec. 31

Bird watchers failed to spot some species that they expected to see, including burrowing owls and prairie falcons.

Others were spotted in abundance. Volunteers counted more than 12,000 Canada geese and more than 5,000 American coots.

The Lower Columbia Basin Audubon Society has been contributing to the national bird count since the mid-1960s.

The information collected is added to a database on the Internet. Go to birdsource.org and select the “Christmas Bird Count” icon at the bottom of the page. The Tri-Cities count code is “WATC.”

This story was originally published January 20, 2017 at 7:28 PM with the headline "Annual bird count spots 109 species in Tri-Cities."