Columbia Estuary Report - 07/03/1999

A pair of WESTERN BLUEBIRDS were working a clearcut on Hunt Creek
Rd on Sunday. A pair of WILLOW FLYCATCHER were going through
what appeared to be courting behavior there as well. One of the
birds was regularly making a soft "fwit" call and spreading its wings.

At least 2 PURPLE MARTINS were with numerous VIOLET-GREEN and TREE
SWALLOWS on a clearcut about 7 miles up Big Creek.

Shorebird numbers are slowly building. 7 SEMIPALMATED PLOVER and
about 100 WESTERN SANDPIPERS (including one with colored leg bands)
were on Clatsop Beach Saturday. A GREATER YELLOWLEGS was near
Peter Iredale on Friday as was a flock of RED-NECKED PHALAROPE
Several small groups of Westerns were on Trestle Bay.

A sub-adult POMARINE JAEGER was harrassing CASPIAN TERN at Peter Iredale
on Friday.

In reproduction news, ORANGE-CROWNED and WILSON'S WARBLERS have taken
to singing again, as evidenced by a change in the number of detections
during station counts conducted at the Neawanna Wetland (see
http://columbia-pacific.interrain.org/ahscience/neawanna/ocwa_wiwa002.GIF )
I have also notice this qualitatively at Ft Stevens.
I interpret this to mean that they're starting up on second broods, though
I'm interested in alternative hypotheses.

A BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK female was discovered on a nest Thursday
behind Astoria High School during SWAINSON'S THRUSH counts for the
Cornell Birds in Forested Landscape project.

--
Mike Patterson I don't swear for the hell of it.
Astoria, OR Language is a poor enough means of communication
mpatters at orednet.org and 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