There are numerous people in the NCWAS four-county area who submit bird sightings to eBird. 1,061 eBirders submitted 18,023 checklists to eBird in 2021. A total of 277 bird species were reported. Aggregating all the species seen in Chelan, Douglas, Ferry, and Okanogan counties into a collaborative list that contains all sightings by the many eBirders in our area allows us to see how this year’s bird species counts compare with previous years. Are more people using eBird? Are more species being reported than in previous years?

Those of you who receive our newsletter, the Wild Phlox, will notice a new graphic on page two. The graphic is a thermometer display that will show the progress of the total species documented in eBird over the course of a year. This type of graphic is used to show progress for many fundraising or membership drives. Why not use it to show the accumulation of bird sightings in our area?

For some, more detail may be useful. This post provides a listing of all the bird species found in eBird for the NCWAS area between January 1 and the end of March 2022. The list does not include hybrid species sightings (e.g., Greater/Lesser Scaup) or generic entries (e.g., gull, sp.)

January 2022 eBird data contains 140 distinct bird species seen in the NCWAS four-county area. February 2022 added eleven new species to the January total, bringing the collaborative total to 151 species at the end of February 2022. The eleven species added in February are:

• Barn Swallow
• Black-crowned Night-Heron
• Blue Jan
• Long-eared Owl
• Red-breasted Merganser
• Rock Wren
• Sooty Grouse
• Tree Swallow
• Turkey Vulture
• Violet-green Swallow
• Western Screech-Owl

March marks the gradual beginning of the much-anticipated migrant arrival. By the end of March, the collaborative list for the four-county area contains 171 distinct species. The 20 species added in March are:

• American Pipit
• Brewer’s Sparrow
• Cliff Swallow
• Dusky Grouse
• Greater White-fronted Goose
• Greater Yellowlegs
• Lincoln’s Sparrow
• Loggerhead Shrike
• Northern Rough-winged Swallow
• Red-naped Sapsucker
• Rufous Hummingbird
• Sage Thrasher
• Sagebrush Sparrow
• Sandhill Crane
• Savannah Sparrow
• Snow Goose
• Vesper Sparrow
• White-throated Swift
• Williamson’s Sapsucker
• Yellow-headed Blackbird

We can safely assume that there will be many new species added to this list by the end of April and May. Please make sure to enter your bird sightings into eBird so scientists have access to your information.

A list of all species seen by the end of March 2022 follows. If you would like to see this list organized by taxonomic groups, click here. You can view or download this PDF file for your own use.