Richard A. Rowlett asked:

>Were the REPH's on the CBC distributed similarily as described below?
..
>I found 85 red phalaropes at 19 different sites around SW Pacific Co.
>Nearly all of those birds were in shallow rain pools on lawns,
>parking lots, streets, and flooded pastures; key elements generally
>being shallow fresh water flooded areas with short grass.

The phalaropes that I saw during the CBC in Ocean Shores were in
exactly the same habitat: grassy puddles in the dunes, in the road
medians, even in residential neighborhoods. (Since most of Ocean
Shores seems to be a grassy puddle this year, the birds were
widespread.) I didn't see any in the larger bodies of fresh water, or
in the surf. Most of the birds seemed to be either actively feeding
(on what?), or flying around in small groups, calling loudly.

As to winter occurrences, last winter we saw several reds on a January
28 pelagic trip out of Westport. Terry Wahl or Bill Tweit could tell
you if they're regular on the January trips.

Eric Kraig
Olympia
kraig at wln.com