On December 20, 2025, Unalaska Island held its 33rd annual Christmas Bird Count, participating in the international Audubon Count that’s been held since the year 1900!
Our Unalaska Island count circle is centered at the local airport, and this year we had a whopping turnout of 25 adults and 3 kids, in 8 field parties, fanning out in all directions.
Count day weather was a lucky break! Mostly cloudy with NW winds gusting around 25 knots, easing up by afternoon. The temperature was around 35 degrees F. Our lakes and rivers were open and ice-free. We had no precipitation and no snow on the ground at sea level. We really lucked out. We’ve been hammered by northerly storms this December, and had to cancel the weekend before.
Our counters covered a combined 35 miles on foot and by car, spending a combined 30 hours out in the field. Counters covered nearly all the road-accessible areas within our count circle. Teams tallied birds along the coast of Amaknak Island and Dutch Harbor Spit, and searched through all the spruce groves for passerines and raptors. On the Unalaska side, they covered Captains Bay, Haystack, Illiuliuk River, Unalaska Lake and valley, along the front beach, and out as far as Morris Cove.
Here are the results for the Unalaska Island Count held on December 20, 2025:
Any species followed by CW, are ‘count week’ birds; species that were not seen on count day but were noted during the three days prior to or following count day. We tallied 4,202 individual birds of 45 different species, with an additional 5 species seen during count week. That’s very close to our all-time high of 53!
Emperor Goose 422; Gadwall 4; Mallard 25; Eurasian Wigeon 14; Green-winged Teal 47 (mostly Eurasian subspecies); Ring-necked Duck 2; Tufted Duck 4; Greater Scaup 297; Lesser Scaup 5; scaup species 22; Steller’s Eider 12; Harlequin Duck 924; White-winged Scoter 44; Black Scoter 837; Long-tailed Duck 272; Bufflehead 120; Common Goldeneye 83; Barrow’s Goldeneye 1; Red-breasted Merganser 90; Common Loon 7; Yellow-billed Loon 1; loon species 2; Horned Grebe 16; Red-necked Grebe 7; grebe species. 23; Double-crested Cormorant 5; Red-faced Cormorant 2; Pelagic Cormorant 150; Bald Eagle 421; Sharp-shinned Hawk 1; Merlin 2; Rock Ptarmigan CW; Black Oystercatcher 20; Rock Sandpiper 16; Mew Gull ( Short-billed Gull ) 5; Glaucous-winged Gull 106; Black-legged Kittiwake 1; gull sp. 26; Common Murre 1; Pigeon Guillemot 84; Marbled Murrelet CW; Belted Kingfisher 9; Northern Shrike CW; Common Raven 5; Pacific Wren 10; American Dipper 1; Bohemian Waxwing 1; Orange-crowned Warbler 1; Song Sparrow 21; Golden-crowned Sparrow 3; ; Snow Bunting CW; Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch 24; Common Redpoll 2.
Notes and highlights of the 126th CBC:
When looking at count results, and comparing them to other years, keep in mind there are variables, both known and unknown. Weather conditions and ‘count effort’ ( how many participants covering how much area ) are factored in. The data becomes indicative when sudden or continued changes in numbers appear, and when other count circles are showing the same trends or flags of concern.
In recent years, the delay of winter cold has Emperor Geese, sea ducks and wintering waterfowl arriving later from their northern breeding grounds than they did in years past. Flocks often continue to arrive after the Christmas Bird Count, and as winter deepens, the hope is their numbers will increase.
Emperor Goose numbers were markedly low this year at 422. Hunting for them had been closed for 30 years due to a steep decline in their population, and then recently, cautiously, re-opened for five years. But the numbers have plummeted again, and hunting for Emperor Geese is now closed to everyone across Alaska.
Two ADF&G bird biologists are working in the region this winter to assess the EMGO hatch-year juvenile to adult ratio (breeding success) and to track banded and radio transmitter birds.
Please keep an eye out and report any banded Emperor Geese to Tasha.Dimarzio@alaska.gov or call (907) 267-2527.
Otherwise, our sea duck and waterfowl numbers look decent, with a good showing of Greater Scaup, Buffleheads, Common Goldeneyes, Harlequins, Black Scoters and Long-tailed Ducks. The Red-breasted Merganser count was down by half, and Green-winged Teal were scanty again, like last year.
Alcid numbers are still heartbreaking. We saw only one Common Murre. We are still hoping for a rebound after the population crash in 2015. An estimated four million Common Murres were lost as a result of changing sea conditions due to our warming climate.
On the flip side, high numbers may not always be a good thing. Our Bald Eagle numbers, especially at the landfill, are still ridiculous at 421 this year. Although well below the high count of 878 in 2002, the ‘junk food’ sustaining all these eagles can’t be good for them.
Our gull count was down this year, but is often weather contingent.
Tragically, our Common Ravens have not made a comeback after disappearing into a black hole in 2022. That year we had a devastating count of 3, and our counts have been in the single digits since. The few that are around successfully raised some young, and as many as 15 or so have been seen all at once in the area. We don’t know why Common Ravens have nearly disappeared around Unalaska, but the highly pathogenic avian flu decimating bird populations for the past few years, may be the cause.
To report sick or dying birds please contact ADF&G at dfg.dwc.vet@alaska.gov or call USF&W Avian Flu Hotline at: 1 866 527-3358.
Sharp-eyed counters birding the spruce groves and mountain ash trees around town were thrilled to tally a Bohemian Waxwing and an Orange-crowned Warbler! Both species are quite unusual for a Christmas Bird Count out here.
We weren’t lucky enough to get any Great Egrets on our Christmas Bird Count, but almost! Across Alaska (as of this last week of December 2025) at least 38 have been recorded. October’s Typhoon Halong may have swept them in from Asia. On December 9th, here in Unalaska, we were astonished to briefly see three Great Egrets standing on the grassy shore of Amaknak Lake, on the Dutch Harbor side. While they haven’t been seen since, out at Adak, there are 12 at last count!
Huge thanks for such great enthusiasm from the whole Unalaska community! Hats off to all our hardy Christmas Bird Counters, and special kudos to our new recruits this year, from the Coast Guard and our Unalaska School teachers!
Suzi Golodoff is a local naturalist. She organizes the bird count each year in Unalaska.
