Hi Tweets,

Got home this evg to find a note from my landlady, Daphne Solecki, that she
had seen a Mountain Chickadee Poecile gambeli in the yard here this AM. This
chickadee is rare on the Cascadian coast here, usually appearing as an
irruptive only, sometimes in small flocks as well as single birds. The house
is at the extreme western limit of Vancouver BC's Kitsilano district on the
city's west side.

In the context of Andy Stepniewski's remarks connecting recent westward
sightings of White-headed Woodpeckers Picoides albolarvatus with a possible
failure of the Ponderosa pine crop, Mountain Chickadee is another likely
indicator species for such a failure. If this is the case, we may also see a
westward movement of White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis.

Michael Price A brave world, Sir,
Vancouver BC Canada full of religion, knavery, and change;
mprice at mindlink.net we shall shortly see better days.
Aphra Behn (1640-1689)