Hi Tweeters and Jim. Today (December 28) I went outside and practiced
counting birds for the Kent/Auburn CBC on January 2, 2000. Here is what I saw:
When I first went out, I counted about 4 DARK-EYED JUNCOS, 1 NORTHERN FICKER,
and 1 BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE. Pretty boring. I waited a while and I heard a
WINTER WREN, which I haven't heard/seen in our yard since last year! Then in
flew a STELLER'S JAY, probably the same one I saw yesterday. They have been
absent for most of the year. Now there were tons of juncos out, at least 30.
Far away in the trees I heard lots of GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, but couldn't
view them either in my scope or in my new binoculars (Eagle Optics Rangers
10X42.) Now the birds really started coming; 11 CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES,
50+ AMERICAN CROWS flew over, 4 HOUSE FINCHES, 3-4 RED CROSSBILLS were flying
from tree to tree; there have been about 6 of them the past few weeks, and 1
PINE SISKEN. Now there were two flickers, and I got great views of a
beautiful male through my scope. A male Gray Squirrel climbed the fence and
started eating, and eating, and eating from the homemade suet feeder. I was
tempted to chase him away, but he'd only come back a few minutes later, and
besides, I would scare all the birds away. A looked at a bird in a ground
feeder through my binoculars and found that it was a male PURPLE FINCH!
Yesterday I saw a male and a female. They were yard birds, and gorgeous! I
looked around for the female, but couldn't spot her. Two RED-BREASTED
NUTHATCHES flew back and forth from the bird feeder to the trees next-door.
The male Gray Squirrel had his fill, and a few minutes later I saw his 1 year
old son/daughter on the same feeder. I tried to ignore them. We had just put
it up a few days ago and now it was almost finished. We have at least four
squirrels around our yard; a male, female, and two one year old siblings.
That's about all, good birding and have a happy New Year (century, and
millennium)!

List for the day:
Rare/unusual birds for yard in CAPS LOCK
Heard only birds/subspecies in parentheses " "

Dark-eyed "Oregon" Junco 30+
Black-capped Chickadee 4
PURPLE FINCH 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
"WINTER WREN"
"Golden-crowned Kinglet"
American Crow 50+
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 27
Steller's Jay 1
Northern "Red-shafted" Flicker 2
House Sparrow 7
Pine Sisken 1
House Finch 8
European Starling 16

None-avian list:

Gray Squirrel 2

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Charlie W. Wright
Sumner, WA
Age 11