Date: 4/20/26 10:11 am From: Bob Boekelheide via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Beware the Chipping Sparrow
Hello Tweeters,
To add to the Chipping Sparrow discussion, data from the Wednesday morning bird walks at Railroad Bridge Park in Sequim do show that Chipping Sparrows have increased in the lowlands of eastern Clallam County over the last 10 years. The bird walks have occurred every Wednesday for 24+ years since 2001, trying to keep track of changes in local birds. RR Bridge Park is about 5 miles inland from the Strait of Juan de Fuca, at an elevation of about 200 ft.
Like Roniq describes, we do not rely on Merlin for identification during the walks — all our CHSP IDs have been confirmed by visual sightings. Merlin clearly has a problem separating singing Chipping Sparrows from singing juncos (as do we!). Even though CHSPs often have a faster, more mechanical trill than juncos, they always need visual confirmation.
Between 2001 and 2009, we recorded no CHSPs on the walks. The very first sighting on the walks occurred in Aug 2010, with two birds. There were no other sightings until 2015, when there were two birds in May. No sightings in 2016.
Between 2017 and 2019, CHSPs occurred infrequently each year during the nesting season. It is possible they may have nested somewhere nearby.
Then, between 2020 and 2025, CHSPs became regular nesting birds, observed each year between April and July. We have seen them carrying food and feeding fledged chicks. The one exception is 2023, when we spotted them in April and May but not later in the nesting season, so maybe they failed early that year.
They do not nest in the riparian forest by the Dungeness River, for which RR Bridge Park is so renowned. Instead, CHSPs occur in “backyard habitats” at both the west and east ends of the park, where there is a mix of conifers and deciduous trees in neighboring backyards traversed near the Olympic Discovery Trail.
Similar sightings of CHSPs in the last few years around other areas of Sequim and Port Angeles suggest their recent increase in the lowlands is fairly widespread, similar to what you’re seeing on the east side of Puget Sound. Prior to the last decade, we considered CHSPs to be a montane nesting species in the Olympics.
Curiously, in his 1949 book Birds of the Olympic Peninsula, E.A. Kitchin described Chipping Sparrows as “plentifully scattered from sea-level to sub-alpine habitats.” Undoubtedly there’s more to the story — we witness these birds over such a short window of years that we become biased with our impressions about when they’re here and where they go. How will they change over the next several decades? Life is too short.
Bob Boekelheide
Dungeness
> On Apr 18, 2026, at 8:12 PM, Roniq Bartanen <roniq...> <mailto:<roniq...>> wrote:
>
> Hi Roniq Bartanen here, I lead a monthly bird outing at Green Lake as a longtime volunteer for Birds Connect Seattle and have for many years!
>
> Yesterday our group of 20 bird enthusiasts saw 4 different Chipping Sparrows, visually without sound help from Merlin. All were seen in different parts of the park. Two of them were together on the ground out in the open, one gathering nesting material a short distance from the other.
>
> Two others were singing and seen out in the open at eye level in two separate parts of the park, far away from the others.
>
> I've seen Chipping Sparrows at Green Lake every year since 2020, in the months of May, June, July and August. I've also seen them in the NE Seattle (Ravenna) Neighborhood numerous times, once collecting nesting material near Picardo pea patch and flying in to a residential yard in June 2022.
>
> In 2024 and 2025 I had numerous sightings of them at parks/nature areas such as Union Bay Natural Area, Ravenna Park, Marymoor Park, Maple Leaf Reservoir Park and my own small condo garden in Maple Leaf in May 2025. All were seen, as I don't have the Merlin app on my phone.
>
> July 2024, I had long lovely looks at a juvenile Chipping Sparrow at Juanita Bay foraging on the ground.
>
> Needless to say, I feel like sightings of this Sparrow in Western Washington, have been increasing. Wonder if anyone else feels the same?
>
> All this data I've shared is from my own eBird and sightings, not sound I.D.
>
> I'm interested if anyone is doing a study on Chipping Sparrow range in WA? In my opinion due to my history of sightings, I feel it's becoming less rare to see them in western WA, and I couldn't be more delighted 🙂.
>
> Happy Birding,
> Roniq Bartanen (She/Her)
> www.shebirds.com <http://www.shebirds.com/> >
