Subject: Re: Vashon Island Great Horned Owl
Date: Jan 3 21:06:14 1995
From: "Daniel A. Stephens" - dstephen at ctc.ctc.edu


We had a Red-breasted Sapsucker on the Wenatchee CBC, on Jan. 1. Also three
new count species. Not bad since we've been counting since 1960. By-the-way
our group leaders check the same areas each year and count *every* bird.
The only competitive aspect is which group sees the most species, has the
most unusual numbers or species, or a new count bird.

Dan Stephens
Dept. of Biology
WVC
dstephen at ctc.edu

On Tue, 3 Jan 1995, Dennis Paulson wrote:

> >I spent New Years with some friends who live on Vashon and heard a Great Horned
> >Owl both Sat/Sun nights. I'm unfamiliar with the Christmas Bird Count
> >boundaries so I'm not sure if would fall into Seattle or Kent? The bird was
> >on Maury Island close to the King Radio towers. It was calling both nights
> >before and after midnight. We also walked around the newly acquired (but not
> >public yet) King County park on Maury Island. It was part of a gravel pit
> >and has an incredible view of Mt. Rainer south towards Tacoma. The access road
> >meanders through a large pure stand of Arbutus (Madrona) that was full of
> >robins and ends up on a large beach with a pier. I'm pretty sure I saw a
> >flock of Bohemian Waxwings fly over as well. A pod of Orcas were travelling up
> >the sound as we walked down the hill. A great way to start off 1995.
> >
> >Tracee Geernaert
> >IPHC
> >Seattle, WA 989145
> >tracee at hal.iphc.washington.edu
> >
>
> Tracee, if you go to the stand of Arbutus again, check those robins for
> Dusky Thrushes. I don't see why they should only be in BC (I don't think
> you'd be doing your country a bad deed by doing this). How many people out
> there look through those robin flocks? As I wrote before, it's a great way
> just to see variation in a common species, even if there isn't a rare
> thrush in the flock. Are Varied Thrushes feeding in the madronas as well?
> There are a few of both speciesin our backyard every day eating fallen
> mountain ash berries and Cotoneaster berries.
>
> There is a small Red-breasted Sapsucker invasion of the lowlands; how many
> people have seen evidence of that?
>
> Dennis Paulson phone: (206) 756-3798
> Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
> University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
> Tacoma, WA 98416
>
>
>