Results of the 50th Annual, 2022 Christmas Bird Count! by MerryLynn Denny
The weather was cooperative for the count this year on December 17, 2022 – temps in the 20’s, cloudy and calm
– even a few sun breaks. 38 Counters in 12 sections and 10 Feeder Watchers spent the
day searching for birds in all kinds of habitat – from city to foothills, Bennington Lake
to north croplands. Most enjoyed the wrap-up potluck at Fort Walla Walla Museum
which was beautifully decorated for Christmas.
Folks found 81 species of birds – 4 of those were count week birds meaning they were
not seen on count day but within 3 days before or after. Two new species were found for
the count this year – a BRANT was seen on Mill Creek count day and CALIFORNIA
SCRUB-JAYS were visiting a feeder in College Place.
Other highlights include a record 72 WESTERN BLUEBIRDS seen in several areas
(17 was our previous high) 24 ANNA’S HUMMINGBIRDS (previous high was 7 last
year) 3 PURPLE FINCH (only 3rd record) HARRIS’S SPARROW (11 times in 50
years) 6 LONG-EARED OWLS (ties high count)
SNOW GOOSE (7 records) GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE (5 records)
GADWALL (20 high count) and LESSER GOLDFINCH (302 high count) deserve
mention as well.
Worst misses – BREWER’S BLACKBIRD (seen 41 times, first miss in 10 years)
WESTERN MEADOWLARK (seen 42 times) Killdeer (must have known this bitter
cold was coming)
THANK YOU to all participants for volunteering your time to get out there and count
birds for the CBC
Western Bluebird, courtesy of MerryLynn Denny