08/24/94

For Yardbirds

For many years, it has been a rite of passage
for the novice birder taking part in a PNW CBC
(Pacific Northwest Xmas Bird Count) to report a
Swainson's Thrush and to be told (hopefully,
in a nice way) that this is very unlikely. This
is because they are wintering in southern Mexico,
Ecuador, Argentina and other South American
areas (as near I can tell from the bird books I
have -- does anyone else have more detailed info?)

So, for several years now I have kept track of the
last SwThr of the year, in my yard in Naselle ,
southern Pacific Co., WA. The latest date I
have so far is October 4th, 1990. Have any other yardbird
types on this chat kept similar records? I would
be interested to hear from you, and will publish
to the tweeters/yardbird group a summary of
anything I receive.

Alan Richards / Naselle WA
alanr at ednet1.osl.or.gov
========================