Hi Tweets, and Ho Ho Ho...

On Sunday, Cindy Sprecher and I traveled to BC to see the (previously
reported) Brambling at Blackie spit. We had fortunate timing and saw the
bird as soon as we arrived. Apparently, the Brambling has been flying
around in a fairly large area, and you need to wait until it turns up where
you are standing. Afterward, we went over to Reifel Refuge for several cold
windy hours of great birding. The refuge is great this time of year; lots
of waterfowl and blizzards of sparrows at the feeder stations. Cindy also
spotted a Saw-whet Owl sitting in a branch hanging over the trail, about 3
feet over our heads. Who knows how many we walked right by! There's also a
reported Avocet at the refuge, but we didn't see it. Sparrows reported
recently include Swamp and Harris's.

We met some BC birders who were running off to chase a Cattle Egret... I'm
heading to Florida next week, so I didn't join in.

Rick Romea
Seattle, WA
rromea at stioptronics.com

206-523-5831 (Home)
425-827-0460 X 316 (Work)
___________________________________

If you feel like everything is under control,
you're probably not going fast enough.
- Mario Andretti