Jefferson-Kitsap Birding: Running Tally and Needs List

Missions accomplished!

Oh boy, I tried at the start to note each month when I saw a bird, but those efforts deteriorated as the year went along! As a reminder: Code 1 means that it's hard to not find a bird. Code 2 means that it's not hard to find a bird. Code 3 means it's hard to find a bird, but they can be found every year. Code 4 means it's hard to find a bird, and some years people just don't. Code 5 means there have been fewer than 5 sightings in the county ever.

The aim was to have 150 birds in Kitsap and 200 in Jefferson! I was almost certain from the start of the year that the 200 was something I was more likely to miss, but I liked having it as the aim throughout the year. Ending at 195, I can say that the target of 200 did its job!

Jefferson County Needs List

Code 1 Birds (seen: 88 of 90): These are the birds that should not have been hard to find, but I just couldn't get out to the coast for a second trip, and Long-tailed Ducks eluded me. It does make me wonder if their abundance warrants a drop to a code 2? But Sooties are absolutely well-placed.

Long-tailed Duck
Sooty Shearwater

Code 2 Birds (seen 67 of 76): One could miss these birds, but a good effort to find them is usually fruitful. I usually miss one or two in a focused county year.

There have been some tough misses in here! I figured for a few, simply because they'd require a Jefferson County pelagic trip that I really couldn't find a way to do.

Black Scoter - on the decline, maybe a candidate to become a code 3 bird?
Red-necked Phalarope - seen quite frequently an hour ago or an hour after I left throughout the fall. lol.
Red Phalarope - There were a handful of sightings. I wonder if this includes pelagic sightings somehow.
Tufted Puffin - If the puffin tours had reliably gone to Protection Island, I would have hopped right on board. These birds were seen off and on from boats during the year.
Common Tern - not seen all that frequently, but possibly more abundant pelagically
Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel - see above!
Short-tailed Shearwater - I thought a winter storm might make these possible. One was seen on the Christmas Bird Count during a very blustery morning.
Peregrine Falcon - These birds were seen off and on through the year at places like Oak Bay, Short Farm, Fort Flagler.
Hermit Warbler - I wonder whether this code is warranted, given the scale of hybridization. There may have been a single well-documented sighting this year of a pure-looking Hermit.

Code 3 Birds (seen: 23 of 39): The toughies! To reach this code, the bird needs to be expected annually but needs to be harder to find. This can be because of small windows when the bird can be seen. It can be because the populations are very small. The reclusive nature of a bird can help put it in here, as well as the remoteness of its populations. 80 percent is a good projection in a "normal" focused year. Given 39 birds here, that's... 31 or so. But the pelagic birds in here just made that a pie-in-the-sky-hope by year's end.

~~Ring-necked Pheasant (~~not countable on the west side of the state)
Wandering Tattler - missed this year
Pomarine Jaeger - seen at least on a pelagic
Yellow-billed Loon - two of them (!!) were seen from Indian Island on the Christmas Bird Count. Gosh I wanted to find one of these!
Black-footed Albatross - seen on pelagic trips
Leach's Storm-Petrel - seen on pelagic trips
Northern Fulmar - seen on pelagic trips
Buller's Shearwater - seen on pelagic trips
Pink-footed Shearwater - seen on pelagic trips
Barn Owl - gosh I tried! They are out there on Uncas Road, Boulton Farm, and other places.
Western Screech-Owl - sightings from some deeply wooded higher elevation lakes
Northern Shrike - a handful of sightings at the start and end of the year
Horned Lark - there were some sightings this year - at high elevation in the summer, and on beaches in the fall
Western Bluebird - a few sightings in the Olympics, and some sightings that I kind of don't trust. Listed in areas that other skilled birders visit regularly, with no corroborating information. May have included a wider area?
Townsend's Solitaire - yep! Just not for me.
Bullock's Oriole - like... one migrant, and then more of the sketchy sightings as noted with Western Bluebirds. I'd love to have known more about these sightings, but these rare sightings came in with no additional information.

Other birds for thought... some I'd put on this list in September, and three of them were found (Snow Goose, Rough-legged Hawk, and Canvasback).

Canvasback (4)

Redhead (5)

Clark's Grebe (4)

American Golden-Plover (4)

Pacific Golden-Plover (4)

Snowy Plover (5)

Ruddy Turnstone (4)

Pectoral Sandpiper (4)

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (5)

Long-tailed Jaeger (4)

5-10 different uncommon to rare gulls

Great Egret (4)

Green Heron (4)

Rough-legged Hawk (4)

Short-eared Owl (4)

Long-eared Owl (5)

Tropical Kingbird (5)

Black Phoebe (first seen in the county last year. multiple sightings, and expanding in range)

There's no shortage of odd sparrows, buntings, or longspurs on that list of possibilities.

Bohemian waxwing? Mountain Chickadee?? And what actually showed up right before the Christmas Bird Count? - a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker!

Higher coded birds I found during the year: Rock Sandpiper, Pygmy Nuthatch, Tundra Swan, California Scrub-Jay, Western Kingbird, Cinnamon Teal, Solitary Sandpiper, Blue-winged Teal, Red-eyed Vireo, Rock Wren, Spotted Owl, Red-footed Booby, Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, Clark's Nutcracker, Snow Goose, Canvasback, and Rough-legged Hawk. Seventeen in all!

200 was within reach with some more chasing, and in some cases (like . . . that darned Snow Bunting) with a little more attention paid to the alerts.

Jefferson Birds running tally (Codes in parentheses, month first seen noted, other months. . . if I can keep up!)

Snow Goose (4) Nov
Greater White-fronted Goose (3) Apr, Oct
Brant (1) Feb, Apr, Dec
Cackling Goose (3) Apr, Oct
Canada Goose (1) Seen in all months
Trumpeter Swan (2) Feb, Mar, Nov, Dec
Tundra Swan (4) Feb, Nov
Wood Duck (2) Apr, May, June
Blue-winged Teal (4) May
Cinnamon Teal (4) Apr, May
Northern Shoveler (1) Jan, Feb, May, Oct, Nov, Dec
Gadwall (2) Jan, Feb, Apr, May
Eurasian Wigeon (3) Feb, Oct
American Wigeon (1) Jan, Feb, Apr, May, Oct, Nov, Dec
Mallard (1) Seen in all months
Northern Pintail (1) Jan, Feb, May, Oct, Nov
Green-winged Teal (1) Jan, Feb, May, Oct, Nov, Dec
Canvasback (4) Dec
Ring-necked Duck (2) Feb, Apr, May, Nov, Dec
Greater Scaup (1) Jan (tough bird!!)
Lesser Scaup (2) Feb, Apr, Nov, Dec
Harlequin Duck (1) Jan, Feb, Apr, Oct, Nov
Surf Scoter (1) Jan, Feb, Apr, Jun, Oct, Nov
White-winged Scoter (1) May
Bufflehead (1) Jan, Feb, Apr, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
Common Goldeneye (1) Jan, Feb, Apr, Nov, Dec
Barrow's Goldeneye (2) Feb
Hooded Merganser (2) Jan, Feb, Apr, Nov, Dec
Common Merganser (1) Feb, Apr, Nov, Dec
Red-breasted Merganser (1) Jan, Feb, Apr
Ruddy Duck (1) Feb
Ruffed Grouse (2) Sep
Sooty Grouse (2) Apr, Jun
California Quail (2) Apr
Pied-billed Grebe (2) Feb, Apr
Horned Grebe (1) Jan, Feb, Apr
Eared Grebe (3) Oct, Nov
Red-necked Grebe (1) Jan, Feb, Apr
Western Grebe (1) Feb
Rock Pigeon (1) Jan, Feb, Apr
Band-Tailed Pigeon (2) Apr
Mourning Dove (2) Jan
Eurasian Collared-Dove (2) Jan
Common Nighthawk (2) Jun
Black Swift (3) Jun
Vaux's Swift (2) May, Jun
Anna's Hummingbird (2) Jan, Feb
Rufous Hummingbird (1) Apr
Virginia Rail (2) Apr
Sora (3) Apr
American Coot (1) Feb, Apr
Black Oystercatcher (2) Jan, Feb, Apr
Black-bellied Plover (2) Jan
Killdeer (1) Jan, Feb, Apr
Semipalmated Plover (2) Jul
Whimbrel (2) Apr
Marbled Godwit (2) Apr
Black Turnstone (1) Jan
Surfbird (2) Aug
Sanderling (1) Jan, Apr
Dunlin (1) Jan, Apr
Rock Sandpiper (4) Jan
Least Sandpiper (1) Apr, May
Western Sandpiper (1) Apr
Long-billed Dowitcher (2) Jul
Short-billed Dowitcher (2) Sep
Wilson's Snipe (2) Jan, Apr
Spotted Sandpiper (3) Jun, Jul
Solitary Sandpiper (4) Apr
Greater Yellowlegs (1) Feb, Apr, May, Jul
Lesser Yellowlegs (2) Apr, Jul
Common Murre (1) Jan, Feb
Pigeon Guillemot (1) Jan, Feb, Apr, May
Marbled Murrelet (2) Feb
Ancient Murrelet (2) Jan
Cassin's Auklet (3) Aug
Rhinoceros Auklet (1) Jan, Apr, Jul
Parasitic Jaeger (2) Aug
Black-legged Kittiwake (2) Jun
Heermann's Gull (1) Jun, Jul
Bonaparte's Gull (1) Apr
Short-billed Gull (1) Jan, Feb, Apr
Western Gull (2) Jun
California Gull (1) Jun, Jul
Ring-billed Gull (1) Jul
Iceland Gull (2) Feb
Herring Gull (3) Sep
Glaucous-winged Gull (1) Feb, Apr
Caspian Tern (1) Apr, May
Red-throated Loon (2) Feb
Pacific Loon (1) Jan, Apr
Common Loon (1) Jan, Feb, Apr
Red-footed Booby (First county record!) Aug, Sep
Brandt's Cormorant (1) Jan, Apr
Pelagic Cormorant (1) Jan, Feb, Apr
Double-crested Cormorant (1) Jan, Feb, Apr
Brown Pelican (2) Jun
Great Blue Heron (1) Jan, Feb, Apr, Jun
Turkey Vulture (2) Apr, May, Jun
Osprey (2) Apr, Sept
Northern Harrier (2) Feb
Sharp-shinned Hawk (2) Feb
Cooper's Hawk (2) Apr, Nov
Bald Eagle (1) Jan, Feb, Apr, May
Red-tailed Hawk (1) Jan, Feb, Apr
Rough-legged Hawk (4) Dec
Great Horned Owl (2) Feb, Dec
Northern Pygmy Owl (2) Apr, May, Oct
Spotted Owl (4) Jul
Barred Owl (2) Feb, Apr
Northern Saw-whet Owl (2) Mar
Belted Kingfisher (1) Jan, Feb, Apr, Nov, Dec
Red-breasted Sapsucker (2) Jan, Feb, Apr
Downy Woodpecker (1) Apr
Hairy Woodpecker (2) Jan
Pileated Woodpecker (2) Apr
Northern Flicker (1) Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
American Kestrel (3) Mar
Merlin (2) Sep
Olive-sided Flycatcher (2) May
Willow Flycatcher (2) Jun
Western Wood-Pewee (3) May
Hammond's Flycatcher (1) May
Western Kingbird (4) Apr
Western Flycatcher (1) Apr, May
Hutton's Vireo (2) Mar, Apr
Cassin's Vireo (3) Apr
Red-eyed Vireo (4) Jun
Warbling Vireo (3) May
Canada Jay (2) Apr
Steller's Jay (1) Mar, Apr
California Scrub-Jay (4) Feb
Clark's Nutcracker (4) Sep
American Crow (1) Jan, Feb, Apr
Common Raven (1) Jan, Feb, Apr
Black-capped Chickadee (1) Jan, Feb, Apr
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (1) Jan, Feb
Tree Swallow (2) Apr
Violet-green Swallow (2) Apr, May
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (2) Apr, May
Purple Martin (2) May
Barn Swallow (2) Apr, May
Cliff Swallow (1) Apr, May
Bushtit (2) Apr
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1) Feb, Apr
Golden-crowned Kinglet (1) Jan, Feb, Apr
Cedar Waxwing (1) Jun
Red-breasted Nuthatch (1) Jan, Feb
Pygmy Nuthatch (5) Feb
Brown Creeper (2) Jan
Rock Wren (5) Jun
House Wren (3) Apr, May
Bewick's Wren (2) Jan, Feb, Apr
Pacific Wren (1) Jan, Feb, Apr
Marsh Wren (2) Jan, Feb, Apr
European Starling (1) Jan, Feb, Apr
American Dipper (2) Apr
Swainson's Thrush (1) Jun
Hermit Thrush (2) Apr
American Robin (1) Jan, Feb, Apr
Varied Thrush (1) Jan, Feb, Apr
House Sparrow (1) Jan, Feb, Apr
American Pipit (2) Apr, May
Evening Grosbeak (3) Jun
Pine Grosbeak (3) Sep
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (4)
House Finch (1) Jan, Feb, Apr, May
Purple Finch (2) Feb, Apr, May
Red Crossbill (2) May
Pine Siskin (1) Jan, Feb, Apr, May
American Goldfinch (1) Jan, Apr, May
Chipping Sparrow (3) Apr
Fox Sparrow (2) Jan, Feb, Apr
Dark-eyed Junco (1) Jan, Feb, Apr, May
White-crowned Sparrow (1) Jan, Feb, Apr, May
Golden-crowned Sparrow (1) Jan, Feb, Apr, May
White-throated Sparrow (3) Nov
Savannah Sparrow (1) Apr, May
Song Sparrow (1) Jan, Feb, Apr, May
Lincoln's Sparrow (3) Jan, Feb, Apr
Spotted Towhee (1) Jan, Feb, Apr, May
Western Meadowlark (3) Jan
Red-winged Blackbird (1) Jan, Apr, May
Brown-headed Cowbird (1) Apr
Brewer's Blackbird (1) Apr, May
Orange-crowned Warbler (1) Apr, May
MacGillivray's Warbler (3) May
Common Yellowthroat (2) Apr, May
Yellow Warbler (3) May
Yellow-rumped Warbler (1) Jan, Apr, May
Black-throated Gray Warbler (1) Apr, May
Townsend's Warbler (1) Apr
Not a Townsend's, but one of many
hybrids seen on Mount Walker
Wilson's Warbler (1) Apr, May
Western Tanager (1) May
Black-headed Grosbeak (2) May

Kitsap County needs list

Code 1 birds (seen 77 of 78): There's 78 of these. Not quite as many as Jefferson, but still enough to put me halfway to the Kitsap year list goal of 150. I'd like to push the life list to 175 or close here, so I am going to drop asterisks (*) next to species that I need for my life list in the county. As I patch together 150 birds for the year, those should get a little higher priority.

With my November trips done, I have 155 birds for the year. And 162 for my life list. Spotted Sandpiper, come on. . . for a code 1 bird, you've been a toughie!

Spotted Sandpiper*

Code 2 birds (seen 54 of 69): 70 birds! Okay, 69 if we take Ring-necked Pheasant off of there. And more than a couple of these are missing from my life list for Kitsap. There's maybe 7 still possible that could be added to my life list. Add that Spotted Sandpiper above, and I'd have 170. But some of these (California Quail??) have not had a Code 2 feel to them!

Black Scoter
Ruddy Duck*
California Quail*
~~Ring-necked Pheasant~~ (no longer considered countable in most of Western Washington)
American Coot*
Black-bellied Plover
Surfbird*
~~Red-necked Phalarope~~
Northern Harrier*
Great Horned Owl*
Olive-sided Flycatcher*
~~Willow Flycatcher~~
Northern Rough-winged Swallow*
Hermit Thrush*
Bullock's Oriole*

Code 3 birds: (seen 15 of 52) Assuming I pick up all of the birds above, I'd need just 4 of the starred birds below to pull the life list up to 175. Even if I miss that goal this year, there'll be a future year involving Clallam County - easy opportunity to catch more birds as I pass through!

For January, I got four of these, three of them new on my life list - Western Gull , California Scrub Jay, and Wilson's Snipe. February brought one more - Trumpeter Swan, and a code 5 bird, Black Phoebe! March was productive: Canvasback (3), Sooty Grouse (4), and Redhead (5). As was April: American Kestrel (3), Townsend's Solitaire (3), and Black Oystercatcher (4). May redefined "productive"... Cinnamon Teal (3), Blue-winged Teal (3), Pectoral Sandpiper (3), Long-billed Dowitcher (3), Western Kingbird (3), Hammond's Flycatcher (3). June... July... August... none of these months gave me any Code 3 birds in Kitsap, as Jefferson took my focus. But I did get a Great Egret (4) in September, Greater White-fronted Geese (3) in October, and a White-throated Sparrow (3) in November.

Twenty code 3 and higher birds in all! A fair number of the ones below are no longer around, but enough of them are. 175 might be in reach with a crazily productive December trip!

Snow Goose*
Tundra Swan*
Gadwall
Mountain Quail*
Ruffed Grouse*
Eared Grebe*
Clark's Grebe*
Common Nighthawk*
Black Swift*
Sora*
Semipalmated Plover*
Whimbrel*
Ruddy Turnstone*
Rock Sandpiper*
Baird's Sandpiper*
Semipalmated Sandpiper*
Short-billed Dowitcher*
Lesser Yellowlegs
Ancient Murrelet
Herring Gull*
Iceland Gull*
Brown Pelican*
Green Heron*
Barn Owl*
Northern Pygmy-Owl*
Cassin's Vireo*
Northern Shrike*
House Wren*
American Dipper*
Mountain Bluebird*
Evening Grosbeak*
Chipping Sparrow*
Western Meadowlark*
Nashville Warbler*
Lazuli Bunting*

Kitsap County running tally:

Brant (2) Apr
Canada Goose (1) Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
Trumpeter Swan (3) Feb, Mar
Wood Duck (2) May
Blue-winged Teal (3) May
Cinnamon Teal (3) May
Northern Shoveler (2) Feb
Eurasian Wigeon (2) Jan
American Wigeon (1) Jan, Feb, Mar
Mallard (1) Jan, Feb, Mar
Northern Pintail (2) Jan, Feb
Green-winged Teal (1) Jan, Mar
Canvasback (3) Mar
Redhead (5) Mar
Ring-necked Duck (2) Jan, Mar
Greater Scaup (1) Jan
Lesser Scaup (2) Jan
Harlequin Duck (2) Mar
Surf Scoter (1) Jan, Feb, Mar
White-winged Scoter (1) Jan, Mar
Long-tailed Duck (2) Apr
Bufflehead (1) Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
Common Goldeneye (1) Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
Barrow's Goldeneye (2) Jan, Mar, Apr
Hooded Merganser (2) Jan, Mar, Apr
Common Merganser (2) Jan, Mar, Apr
Red-breasted Merganser (1) Jan, Mar, Apr
Sooty Grouse (4) Mar, Apr
Pied-billed Grebe (2) Jan, Mar
Horned Grebe (1) Jan, Mar, Apr
Red-necked Grebe (1) Jan, Apr
Western Grebe (1) Jan
Band-tailed Pigeon (2) Jun
Rock Pigeon (1) Jan, Mar
Eurasian Collared-Dove (2) Feb, Apr
Mourning Dove (2) May
Vaux's Swift (2) May
Anna's Hummingbird (1) Mar
Rufous Hummingbird (1) May
Virginia Rail (2) Sep
Black Oystercatcher (4) Apr
Black-bellied Plover (2) Apr
Killdeer (1) Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
Long-billed Dowitcher (3) may
Black Turnstone (2) Jan
Sanderling (1) Jan
Dunlin (1) Jan, Mar
Wilson's Snipe (3) Jan
Solitary Sandpiper (3) May
Greater Yellowlegs (2) Jan, Mar, Apr
Least Sandpiper (1) Jul
Pectoral Sandpiper (3) May
Western Sandpiper (1) Jul
Pigeon Guillemot (1) Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
Rhinoceros Auklet (1) Apr
Common Murre (1) Feb
Marbled Murrelet (2) Aug
Bonaparte's Gull (1) Jan, Apr
Heermann's Gull (1) Sep
Short-billed Gull (1) Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
Ring-billed Gull (1) Jan
California Gull (2) Aug
Western Gull (3) Jan
Glaucous-winged Gull (1) Jan
Caspian Tern (2) May
Common Tern (2) Sep
Parasitic Jaeger (2) Sep
Common Loon (1) Jan, Apr
Brandt's Cormorant (1) Jan
Pelagic Cormorant (1) Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
Double-crested Cormorant (1) Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
Great Blue Heron (1) Jan, Mar, Apr
Great Egret (4) Sep
Turkey Vulture (2) Apr
Osprey (1) April
Sharp-shinned Hawk (2) May
Bald Eagle (1) Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
Red-tailed Hawk (1) Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
Barred Owl (1) Feb
Northern Saw-whet Owl (2) Feb
Belted Kingfisher (1) Jan, Feb, Mar
Northern Flicker (1) Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
Pileated Woodpecker (2) Aug
Downy Woodpecker (1) Mar
Hairy Woodpecker (2) Mar
Merlin (2) Aug
American Kestrel (3) Apr
Western Wood-Pewee (2) May
Hammond's Flycatcher (3) May
Western Flycatcher (1) May
Black Phoebe (5) Feb
Western Kingbird (3) May
Hutton's Vireo (2) Mar, Apr
Warbling Vireo (2) May
Steller's Jay (1) Feb
California Scrub-Jay (3) Jan, Apr
American Crow (1) Jan, Mar, Apr
Common Raven (3) Jan, Mar, Apr
Black-capped Chickadee (1) Jan, Mar, Apr
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (1) Feb, Mar, Apr
Tree Swallow (2) Apr
Violet-green Swallow (1) Apr
Purple Martin (2) May
Barn Swallow (1) Apr
Cliff Swallow (2) May
Bushtit (1) Apr
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1) Jan, Apr
Golden-crowned Kinglet (1) Jan, Mar, Apr
Red-breasted Nuthatch (1) Mar, Apr
Brown Creeper (2) Mar, Apr
Bewick's Wren (1) Jan, Mar, Apr
Pacific Wren (1) Jan, Mar, Apr
Marsh Wren (2) Apr
European Starling (1) Jan, Mar, Apr
Townsend's Solitaire (3) Apr
American Robin (1) Jan, Mar, Apr
Varied Thrush (1) Jan, Mar
Swainson's Thrush (1) May
Cedar Waxwing (2) May
House Sparrow (1) Jan, Mar
American Pipit (2) May
Red Crossbill (2) Jul
House Finch (1) Jan, Apr
Purple Finch (1) Apr
Pine Siskin (1) Apr
American Goldfinch (1) May
Fox Sparrow (1) Jan
Dark-eyed Junco (1) Jan, Apr
White-crowned Sparrow (1) Apr
Golden-crowned Sparrow (1) Apr
Savannah Sparrow (1) May
Song Sparrow (1) Jan, Apr
Spotted Towhee (1) Jan, Apr
Red-winged Blackbird (1) Jan, Mar, Apr
Brown-headed Cowbird (1) May
Brewer's Blackbird (2) Feb, Mar
Orange-crowned Warbler (1) Apr
MacGillivray's Warbler (2) May
Common Yellowthroat (1) Apr
Yellow Warbler (2) May
Yellow-rumped Warbler (1) Jan, Apr
Black-throated Gray Warbler (2) May
Townsend's Warbler (2) May
Wilson's Warbler (1) May
Western Tanager (2) May
Black-headed Grosbeak (2) May

Jefferson-Kitsap Birding

Running Tally and Needs List

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