Columbia Estuary Report - 1/2/2000

It's been cold and showery the past few days on the estuary
over the past several days. Todd Thornton and I made a
morning sweep on New Year's Day. In between rain showers
we managed to find 2 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS, one at the
Astoria Sewage Ponds and one at Clover Ln.

MERLINS are popping up all over. I saw two on the Wahkiakum
Count (12/29/1999) one of which was nearly black the other a
very light phased individual. Todd and I saw an intermediate
phase at SJCR and a dark sub-adult at the KOA Camp ground
near Hammond. Couple this with the strange disappearance of
most of the local PEREGRINES (probably associated with the
lack of duck activity) and one has a a topsy-turvey winter
a'brewin'.

The unsettled weather has produced some good updrafts and
the BALD EAGLES are taking advantage of them. Three were
going for hang time records over the Dairy Queen in Astoria
while a 4th watched from the pilings in Youngs Bay. Two
were beginning courtship dances over the Waluski River (I saw
one carrying nest material near Ft Clatsop 12/19).

At least 2 ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDS are coming to Bucky Barnett's
feeder in down town Astoria.



--
Mike Patterson Alas, to wear the mantle of Galileo,
Astoria, OR it is not enough to be persecuted
celata at pacifier.com by an unkind establishment,
you must also be right.
---Robert Park
http://www.pacifier.com/~mpatters/bird/bird.html