I broke the Bloomsday race record yesterday in Spokane!! No, not my race time (I consider it a success each year I run the race without keeling over dead). Each year I keep track of the birds seen and heard from the starting gun until I pass the finish line (or pass out, whichever comes first). No binoculars, just eyeballs and ears. This year I chalked up 16 species, 3 more than my previous record.

Violet-green Swallow
House Sparrow
American Crow
Mallard
Canada Goose (new for the race)
Cliff Swallow
Yellow Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler (new for the race)
Northern Flicker
Downy Woodpecker (new for the race)
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-tailed Hawk
Rock Dove
Ring-billed Gull

Not bad, considering my eyes are filled with tears of pain, and ears are filled with the sound of my heart bursting out of my chest (sort of like one of those "Alien" things).


Jim

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Jim Nestler
Director, WWC Marine Station
Department of Biological Sciences
Walla Walla College
204 S. College Ave.
College Place, WA 99324-3000
phone: 509-527-2551 fax: 509-527-2253
email: nestja at wwc.edu
http://homepages.wwc.edu/staff/nestja
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