Hi, Tweets

Hardly a day goes by without at least one turkey vulture reported! I am
getting quite an interesting list of sightings, from a nest site with two
about-to-fledge young to groupings of 10-45 turkey vultures in trees to
some rather engaging behaviors by these aerial experts. I could go on and
on, but will, instead, just send on the monthly report. My thanks to all
who sent in sightings and to others who post them in general reports to
Tweeters.

Turkey vulture sightings for the month of June, 1999, in Washington and
British Columbia:

02 -- 1 south of Belfair near Sunset Beach
03 -- 1 over Wenas Lake; 1 south of Aberdeen; 2 in molt at intersection of
Steamboat Island Road/Hwy 101
04 -- 8 at Lantzville, Vancouver Island, B.C.; 1-2 at secluded beach areas
near Parksville, B.C. (from kayaks); 4 near Currie Creek, Duncan, B.C.
05 -- 8 over Mayne and Galliano Islands, B.C.; 1 near Exit 85, I-90; 1 over
Selah; 1 at milemarker #139 on Hwy 17; 1 on the Loup Loup road; 2 on Hwy 97
at milemarkers #175 and #182; 4 over Blackbird Island in the Wenatchee
River at Leavenworth (2 also there on Sunday); 10 together at Lynden
06 -- 4 at Upper Peoh Point, Cle Elum; 4 at Horseshoe Bay, West Vancouver,
B.C.; 2 at Bowen Island, B.C.; 1 over the Skokomish River valley; 2 just
east of LaConner
07 -- 2 flying over Sand Hill Elem. school, sw of Belfair
08 -- 1 at Johnsons Landing, B.C.
09 -- 2 over Johnsons Landing, B.C.
11 -- singles and twos seen every day on eastern Vancouver Island - the
most common soaring bird encountered here; eleven at Currie Creek
12 -- 1 near Salkum north of Hwy 12; 1 near the Toledo Airport; 2 north of
Centralia, milemarker #98 on I-5; 7 circling above the Kachess exit, I-90;
3 on San Juan Island; 2 over milemarker #75 near Roslyn; 3 at the nw corner
of the Toppenish NWR and 2 at the se corner of the refuge; 1 at Roslyn, mm.
#80
13 -- 1 over the Nason Ridge Trail; 1 on a fence post near Ashford, near
Mount Rainier; 2 over Hwy 530/Sauk River near Darrington; vultures also
seen at Rattlensake Lake near North Bend
14 -- 1 adult between Duvall and Monroe
16 -- 1 above Mabton; 3 on a road kill west of Toppenish NWR; 8 over the
junction of the Okanogan/Columbia rivers
17 -- 3 east of Agassiz, B.C.
19 -- 6 on a debris trap on the Fraser River, B.C., 5 on a bear carcass
later that day; 1 in the Fraser Canyon, B.C.
20 -- 1adult sw of Littlerock; 1 over Lake Washington; 2 circling over I-5
north of Chehalis
21 -- 1 at the Toppenish NWR; 3 soaring at the se end of Samish Island
22 -- 6 circling and playing (noodling, actually) east of Littlerock; 1
over Pitt Meadows, B.C.
23 - 1 west of Shelton; 5 flying just north of Belfair; 7 (with an imm.
bald eagle) at the Fraser River debris trap, B.C.
26 -- 1 molting adult at Glacial Heritage, near Littlerock
27 -- 1 over Marine Drive in West Vancouver, B.C.; 6 over central Nanaimo;
6 on the Fraser River debris trap; 1 soaring over the Hwy #7 bridge/Pitt
River in B.C.; 6 in alder trees near a deer kill on Hwy 504, paralleling
the Toutle River (near Mt. St. Helens)
29 -- 4 at the Fraser River debris trap; 45 (!) in five large cottonwoods
where Dry Creek crosses Hwy 97 south of Toppenish.

Late reports are always welcome. Thanks again for all of your help.

Diann MacRae
Olympic Vulture Study
Bothell
tvulture at halcyon.com