>Dear Tweeters:
>
>The Oliver-Osoyoos Christmas Bird Count was held today under almost
perfect conditions, though a couple of degrees cooler than the Vaseux Lake
count on Friday. Unofficial species total is 95; the highlights are as
follows :
>
>Red-breasted Merganser 2 N end of Osoyoos Lake
>Loggerhead Shrike 1 Racetrack
>Prairie Falcon 1 Throne
>Swamp Sparrow 1 Haynes Point marsh
>Seven species of owl:
> Barn Owl: one foraging over fields N of Road 22 after dark
> W. Screech-Owl: one roosting in culvert along Similkameen R.
> Great Horned Owl: lots (ca. 10)
> N. Pygmy-Owl: McKinney Road and Mt. Kobau
> Barred Owl: McKinney Road
> Boreal Owl: McKinney Road
> N. Saw-whet Owl: McKinney Road (3), Road 22 (3)
>High numbers of Red-tailed Hawks and other raptors; voles are in plague
numbers in the fields north of Osoyoos Lake. We saw the Barn Owl at some
distance while we were calling for saw-whets; my dad squeaked it in--it
almost landed on his head!
>
>Cheers,
>Dick Cannings
>