Tweets,
Sorry for the belated post. On the top of Cougar MT. on Wednesday morning
I heard 2-3 White-winged Crossbills fly over. They were pretty high maybe
100 feet above the tree canopy. This was in the area of Shy bear pass, for
those who know Cougar Mt. fairly well.
The only other interesting sighting, though far less significant is that I
saw a Barred Owl in St. Edward St. Park on Thursday morning. I have not
seen any there yet this year prior to this but there were two well
established pairs in there last year.
On other owl news, a Saw-whet was heard in the area of Beaver Lake
on the Plateau about three weeks ago, forgot to mention it before. This is
not terribly unusual but it does show that Saw-whets are probably using
several areas around the puget area for breeding. In the WA state BBA, the
only record I found for confirmed breeding was the one found by Jamie
Acker on Bainbridge Is (see WA birds no.5). Other birds show up as
possibles or probables and I suspect that there are quite a few nesters in
the proper lowland areas. Its just the problem with owls again, the
percentage of birders who actively look for owls or that are knowledgable
about their habits and habitats pales in comparison to other much easier
birds to find. Hopefully that will change and more interesting records
will emerge.

Scott Downes
sdownes at u.washington.edu
Seattle WA

"Birds don't read bird books. (That's why they are seen doing things they
are not supposed to do)." -Mary Wood