Not a bad day, but quite cold (35-38F) at the Marina with some sun, slack
and glassy high-tide water, and almost no wind. Ran into a couple of
Tweeters with a new spotting scope (the really expensive kind!) who were
visiting the Marina for a short time. I was scouting a bit in advance of
our CBC this coming Sunday. All is what would be expected; however, grebe
numbers, especially Horned, are up, but Wigeon (no Eurasian this season as
of yet) are down. I did see a FEMALE Belted Kingfisher at the south end
of the Marina in the Des Moines Yacht Club area. This is the first female
I've seen here since mid-late summer. One or more males seem to be year
round residents.

I can hardly wait for the upcoming Univ of Maine at Machias Institute for
Field Ornithology Wintering Sparrows Workshop in Sierra Vista, AZ, Jan
03-Jan 10, '98. Irene Potter, another Tweeter who read my Jan-96 Workshop
Report and made subsequent plans for this next one, and I are flying down
together and sharing lodging. I cannot over-praise the great educational
and birding experience of these UMM IFO Workshops. They are a such fine
value for a reasonable price that you may need to make reservations 6-12
months in advance as they fill up quickly. These are not huge birdlist-
type field tours and don't really compete with most of the commercial
eco-tour companies, but serve an academically-oriented niche of more
intense study of specific bird groups in one local area such as wintering
finches in SE AZ or the nesting warblers in NE Maine, etc.

Cheers and peaceful tidings to all.
Maureen
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Maureen Ellis me2 at u.washington.edu Univ of WA and Des Moines, WA

"Finding the occasional straw of truth awash in a great ocean of
confusion and bamboozle requires vigilance, dedication, and courage."
-Carl Sagan-
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