Columbia Estuary Report - 2/7/99

About 15 WESTERN BLUEBIRDS were reported at the Knappa near the fire
station Wednesday and an OSPREY was seen at Big Creek Fish Hatchery by
hatchery personnel last week.

The Lower Columbia Birders Association braved the weather to take a
trip out to Brownsmead on Saturday. A flock of about 200 SNOW GEESE
was on one of the grassy island visible from the Twilight Eagle Sanctuary
platform. We were unable to find the GYRFALCON reported earlier this
week. Perhaps the 3 BALD EAGLES, 2 NORTHERN HARRIERS and the nearly
black, dark phased ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (all actively hunting in the area)
spooked it.

10 or so WESTERN GREBES, 2 COMMON LOONS, a RED-THROATED LOON and a
RED-NECKED GREBE were in Blind Slough.

In the name of science, I ignored the 30kt winds and sleet to drive
Clatsop Beach looking for dead stuff this morning. This week's foul
weather produced a dead NORTHERN FULMAR and a RHINOCEROS AUKLET.
A BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE was flying along the dunes near Sunset Access
and an ANCIENT MURRELET was resting on the beach among the SANDERLINGS
about 1km north of Del Rey.

--
Mike Patterson I don't swear for the hell of it.
Astoria, OR Language is a poor enough means of communication
and
mpatters at orednet.org we've got to use all the words we've got....
Besides, there are damn few words anybody understands
Henry Drummond in "Inherit the Wind"

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