Columbia Estuary Report - 11/29/98

The Brownsmead GARGANEY was seen on Thursday and Friday.

Two BROWN PELICANS were on Youngs Bay near Astoria High School on Wednesday
during the worst of the storm.

The sparrow patch at Astoria Airport has been regularly producing interesting
birds. A SWAMP SPARROW and an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER were there on Friday.
At least 7 LINCOLN SPARROWS were along Airport Rd from the east side to the
west. 6 BONAPART'S GULLS were in the flooded fields just east along Airport
Rd.

A BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE was among the gulls sitting on the beach just south
of the Sunset Access. 970 SANDERLINGS and 560 DUNLIN were working the beach
between Sunset and Del Rey. A small, but noticeable wreck of WESTERN GREBES,
dead on the beach, is the only apparent effect of the recent storminess.

Live WESTERN GREBES were popping up in some atypical spots. Four were on the
very small Neawana Mill ponds along with LESSER SCAUP. Also at the mill pond
site, a well marked celata-type ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER with a very gray head
and yellowish rump. For fans of FOX SPARROW sub-species, an individual, so
dark across the breast an upper belly that it would have been better described
as having white spots on a dark brown breast. The bill seemed longish and
narrow. Anybody want to speculate on which of the sooty types it is?

On Saturday, Todd Thornton and I found 4 ROCK SANDPIPERS among the SURFBIRDS
and BLACK TURNSTONES on the river side of the SJCR. Two SNOW BUNTINGS were
on the beach nearby. Earlier in the morning Todd saw a HORNED LARK.

Today in Washington, an EARED GREBE was in Ilwaco Boat Basin with various
loons and more regular grebes. 109 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER and about 1000
DUNLIN were in the field at the west end of Chinook Valley Rd.

--
Mike Patterson "Change comes one funeral at a time"
Astoria, OR Doc Hatfield-in response to the question: Why
mpatters at orednet.org don't more cattlemen choose to use a proven
method of range management that is more
economically AND environmentally sound.

http://www.pacifier.com/~mpatters/bird/bird.html