Transcribed by Jane Hadley
jhadle at halcyon.com
phone: (206) 328-7605

The Washington BirdBox is a voice mailbox sponsored by the
Washington Ornithological Society. To leave a message about a
notable sighting, or to listen to the messages from the last seven
days, call (425) 454-2662 and follow the prompts. Hal
Opperman, system administrator (halop at accessone.com;
personal phone 425-635-0503).

Please contact me (Jane Hadley) by phone or e-mail if you have
any corrections, comments or questions about this
transcription.

Wednesday, Jan. 6, 1999, 11 a.m. This is Angela Ford. My
number is 206-723-3827. I'm delighted to report the sighting of
a SANDHILL CRANE, of all birds, on the median strip on 205
just going through Vancouver. I was northbound 2 p.m. Jan.
5th approximately 1.5 miles south of 134th, which was the
cross-street. And there it was in all its glory all by itself. So I
hope someone will keep an eye on it and I hope it stays well.
Call me with any questions. Thank you.

Tuesday, Jan. 5, 1999, 10:17 p.m. Hi, this is Jim Flynn at
206-772-5568 and I was just calling to report a couple of good
birds that were seen on the Satsop Christmas Bird Count on
Sunday. The first one was a MOCKINGBIRD that was found in
downtown Elma at 1410 West Waldrip. And it was feeding in a
small apple tree in a yard there at 1410. And the other bird was
a SPIZELLA SPARROW, ID still not for sure whether it's a
CLAY-COLORED or a CHIPPING, and that bird was seen on
North Blockhouse Road, and that is along Highway 12 just
south of the junction with Highway 8 near Elma. If you go
south on Highway 12, go right on North Blockhouse Road, you
will go immediately across some railroad tracks, and then about
100 yards down the road is a small farm with two rusty-roofed
barns and there's some blackberries there. The bird was with
some WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS. And if anybody gets a
good look at that sparrow, I'd be interested in hearing about it.
Thanks Bye Bye. Yeah, just to add to the report of the Spizella
sparrow's location, North Blockhouse Road is, oh, a mile or so
south of the junction of Highway 12 and Highway 8, and it is
the unnamed road that is shown in the DeLorme Atlas on Page
45, A5. It's the road just north of Dunlap Road. Thanks Bye
Bye.

Tuesday, Jan. 5, 1999, 7:25 p.m. Hi, Larry Goldstein.
360-754-1205. In listening to the last few days reports, it does
not sound like the BRAMBLING in Portland has been reported.
If that is not the case, forgive me, but I went down Sunday and
I did find the bird in addition to about 20 other birders. It has
been seen in the last week or so in the area southeast of
Selwood Park, generally bounded on the north by Malden
Street, on the south by Miller Street, and the east edge of
Selwood Park extending over to about 6th Avenue on the east
side. On the way back, I saw about 300 TRUMPETER SWANS
at Ridgefield. Good luck and good birding.

Sunday, Jan 3, 1999, 9:17 p.m. Hi, this is Norm Donelson,
425-483-1599. I'm calling on the evening of Jan. 3rd to retract
an identification I reported yesterday regarding a
BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON at the Montlake Fill. I
went back there today and I'm pretty well convinced that it was
a misidentification. So to anyone that tried to follow up on that
and was sent on a wild goose chase, my apologies. We did get a
great look at an AMERICAN BITTERN at the brushy pond on
the southwest corner of the Montlake Fill this afternoon. That
might be worth a look if you're in the neighborhood. Otherwise
good luck and good birding. And I'm sorry again for the false
ID.

Sunday, Jan. 3, 1999, 6:25 p.m. Hello, this is Carl Haynie.
Today at Lake Sammamish State Park, there was an immature
NORTHERN SHRIKE along the trail that leads south of the boat
launch landing. And again the same or another immature was
behind the concession stand at the beach at the park.

Sunday, Jan. 3, 1999, 4:34 p.m. This is Barry Levine,
206-526-8676. Reporting on a trip made yesterday to Canada
with Sandy Cohen, Barry Rice, Richard Strouf, and Kate
Tillotson. At the Skagit Flats, we had a PRAIRIE FALCON on
Bayview-Edison Road. At Reifel Wildlife Refuge in Canada, the
best birds were AMERICAN AVOCET, which was seen from
the observation tower, and two SAW WHET OWLS, which
were seen along the east dike. At the 96th Street location that
Wayne Weber has previously mentioned, we were able to
relocate the SLATY-BACKED GULL. The BRAMBLING at
White Rock was not seen by us yesterday nor by anyone else
that we have spoken to. Good luck and good birding.

Sunday, Jan. 3, 11:26 a.m. Hi, this is Martha Taylor,
206-523-4677, phoning to report a WHITE-THROATED
SPARROW at Magnuson Park this morning just west of the
tennis...

Sunday, Jan. 3, 1999, 9:04 a.m. Hi, this is Stephen Mlodinow.
Yesterday, Dennis Duffy and I birded around Whatcom County.
Highlights were mostly at Lake Terrell Wildlife Management
Area entered via the south access. That may be the only access,
actually. And just before you get to a sign that declares needing
a conservation permit, there's a little parking area off to the
right. We parked there and walked down the trail through a
series of fields. You walk about half a mile and the trail starts to
go up into some woods, and there's another sign saying that
you're entering a "no shooting" zone. At the edge of that field,
there was a SWAMP SPARROW and a WHITE-THROATED
SPARROW. Overall, this area had huge numbers of sparrows,
including 400 or so OREGON JUNCOS, and a couple hundred
SONG SPARROWS and four SLATE-COLORED JUNCOS.
Other highlights included five SHORT-EARED OWLS on the
Lummi Flats, three HARLAN'S HAWKS on the Lummi FLats,
and 38 EARED GREBES at Birch Bay. That's it. Good luck and
good birding.

Saturday, Jan. 2, 1999, 9:54 p.m. Hi, this is Norm Donelson,
425-483-1599 with a report from Montlake for the
midafternoon on Saturday, Jan. 2nd. Had a BLACK-CROWNED
NIGHT HERON in the brushy pond toward the southwest
corner of the Montlake Fill. Also three WHITE-FRONTED
GEESE along with a group of CANADA GEESE of various
races at the main pond. And a probable PEREGRINE FALCON
just out of range for a sure identification along the brush
overlooking the lake toward the northeast corner of the Fill.
Thanks, good luck and good birding.

Saturday, Jan. 2, 1999, 7:51 p.m. This is Ruth Taylor,
206-525-6345. I wanted to report that yesterday, Jan. 1st, Judy
Duvall and I saw a PRAIRIE FALCON south of Stanwood. We
were on Thomie Road and the bird was in a field to the south.
Also saw the PRAIRIE FALCON at the West 90 that was
mentioned in a previous report. Also an adult gray
GYRFALCON in the traditional area north of Field Road. That's
all. Good luck and good birding.

Saturday, Jan. 2, 1999, 7:21 p.m. This is Dan Lindsay,
425-455-5782. Today and yesterday, I visited Ediz Hook at Port
Angeles. Saw lots of HARLEQUIN DUCKS, one lone BRANT,
one PELICAN, a couple of OLDSQUAWS on the fuel tanks,
and one female MERLIN over the pond just to the north of the
road before you get into the cement plant area. I also went to
the Olympic Game Farm, and they said that the EMPEROR
GOOSE has not been seen for a week, and they are afraid it has
been shot by a hunter. That's all. Good luck and good birding.

Saturday, Jan. 2, 1999, 7:08 a.m. Hello, this is Dave Beaudette.
206-365-2083. This report is for Skagit County and Jan. 1st. An
adult gray-morph GYRFALCON was on a power pole along the
Bayview-Edison Road about 1.2 miles north of Washington 20.
An immature TUNDRIUS PEREGRINE FALCON was on the
south edge of Bayview near 2nd Avenue and the
Bayview-Edison Road. And a HERMIT THRUSH was at the
entrance to the Breazeale Interpretive Center. And the PRAIRIE
FALCON was on a fence post way out in the field west of the
West 90 on the Samish Flats. Good luck and good birding.
Good bye.

[Messages last checked 1 a.m., Thursday, January 7, 1999]
--
Jane Hadley
jhadle at halcyon.com
Seattle, WA