Richard and Deb,

You may not be aware that we ran a Chewelah Christmas Bird Count for a
number of years beginning in the late 1970s. Jack Nisbett was living there
then and he and I started it, but couldn't keep it up. Tom Rogers carried it
on for some time but I don't know when it was last run. We might get upwards
of 50 species if some water was open. It was a challenge, and we always
hoped for a Hawk, Great Gray, or Boreal, but no such luck. We did have a
Gyrfalcon over Chewelah, however, once.

Gene Hunn, Seattle, hunnhome at accessone.com

At 02:31 PM 1/26/98 -0800, you wrote:
>At 09:39 24/1/98 EST, Richard Rowlett wrote:
>>Day 4; Friday, 23 January 1998:
>
>
>>NOW I know why there are so few (next to none) reports coming from Pend
>>Oreille and Stevens Counties in Washington's northeast most corner. No one
>>writes helpful 'negative' reports! Okay, well, here's one :-)) There is
>>virtually nothing here.
>
>(Snip)
>
>Pend Oreille and Stevens Counties are very birdy in the summer. The place
>is literally crawling with birds. There are birds everywhere in the summer
>but most of them are migrants. This summer, the number of resident birds
>such as siskins and crossbills was very low compared to other years I have
>worked up there. The numbers of Red Crossbills was extremely low this
>summer; perhaps that is continuing this winter.
>
>I have spent the last four summers (mid-May to late July) in Pend Oreille
>and Stevens counties surveying birds. I will confess: I've never been brave
>enough to bird the area in the winter (fear of getting stuck in the snow and
>mud).
>
>(Snip.) Great habitat and lots of potential for Northern Hawk and Great
>Gray Owls -- too
>>much potential habitat actually.
>
>In six years of bird surveys with bird crews of 6-10 birders, we do not have
>a single record of a Great Gray Owl. Our study sites are located all over
>Pend Oreille and Stevens counties (from Chewelah to the Metalline Falls, on
>both sides of the Pend Oreille River) and we bird daily. Many of our
>birders would bird the area on their days off. We have never found a Great
>Gray Owl (and many of us have tried). The meadows at Big Meadow Lake seem
>like the perfect habitat.
>
>Generally, Barred Owls the most frequently seen owl, followed by Great
>Horned Owls. Northern Pygmy-Owls are often heard on our bird surveys and we
>usually call them in (but we usually don't if we are conducting surveys; it
>tends to mess up the data by attracting other birds). Big Meadow Lake is
>the only area we have frequently encountered Western Screech-Owls.
>
>
>(snip) Even the little towns which I explored street by
>>street were lifeless avian voids apart from each town having it's single token
>>little flock of European Starlings, usually a dozen or less, and Metaline
>>Falls boasted an absolute zero for any passerines.
>
>Even in the summer, the towns are rather birdless. I've seen more starlings
>around Big Meadow Lake (where there are many cavities in the snags in the
>lake) than I have in any of the towns.
>
>
>
>On Saturday, Jan. 25, Richard Rowlett wrote:
>(snip)
>
>Earlier, at Northport, Stevens Co., on the east bank of the Columbia River and
>yet another of those seemingly 'birdless' towns of which there seem to be so
>many up in these parts, I was standing on the west bank looking at a
>Townsend's Solitare and a little flock of 6 Red-breasted Mergansers (first of
>the trip) when I heard a familiar call coming from somewhere way across the
>river in Northport. That sounds like a Blue Jay! I made my way north, back
>across the bridge, and started poking around Northport. Sure enough, a BLUE
>JAY was found about 20 minutes later, the only bird in the entire town! So,
>it should be 'easy' to find '-)
>
>Wow! both Blue Jay and Red-breasted Mergansers in Stevens County. I've
>never seen either one there.
>
>Thanks for the reports! I have really enjoyed them. I will have to
>overcome my fear and explore the area in the winter.
>
>Cheers
>Deb
>
>Deb Beutler
>Department of Zoology
>P.O. Box 644236
>Washington State Univerisity
>Pullman, Whitman Co., WA
>dbeutler at wsunix.wsu.edu
>
>
>