FYI:

To augment others reports on the Sequim-Dungeness CBC, held Monday, Dec. 17:

The uncanny good luck of the Sequim-Dungeness CBC was apparent again this
year, with the clouds parting for a beautiful day and good counting
conditions. The memory of dusk at the beach, mostly clear with thin clouds
over the snowy n.e. Olympics, persists for me.

The birds and their counters responded to favorable weather conditions. We
have a preliminary count in the high 130s, a bit below our low 140s of the
last 4 of 5 years, yet at least two parties have yet to report and details
are due on a couple rarities. At Graysmarsh, Anne and I did our usual
marathon of 7+ miles walking, although this year I was unable to reach much
of the inner marsh due to flooding, and I took a nice "dip" up to the thigh
in the afternoon in an effort to get my obligatory Virginia Rails. In
addition to the normal high bird numbers, we flushed a Coyote at close range
and saw several other mammals. In the really odd category, while on the
owling beat, I accidentally ran over a Chesnut-backed Chickadee at about 3
a.m. (!) that was hopping like a mouse, drenched, right on Hwy 101.

At Graysmarsh we had 87 species, down very slightly from '99 and Y2K.
Still, we had several "good" birds:

CLARK'S GREBE 1, off public beach access, 8:15:
20-min. scope study
BLUE-W./CINNAMON TEAL, sp. 1, Stuttgart Pond, flushed 9:30
SORA 1, inner marsh, answered tape at dawn
WHITE-THROATED SPARROW 1, first-winter, s. Graysmarsh hedgerow
3:30 pm
COM. REDPOLL 2, in w/siskins Honey Hole, 2:45

Otherwise, 10 Canada Geese (incl. two Cackling), 1 YR Warbler, 8 Va. Rails,
1 N. Pygmy Owl (in another area--upper Palo Alto Rd.) were of some interest.

Several other COM. REDPOLLS were reported in the count circle, and Bob
Boekelheide had another WHITE-THROATED SPARROW at his feeder. Other than
the good birds from D. Spit (M. GODWITS, HORNED LARKS, EMPEROR GEESE), and
the boat party (YB LOON), there was a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE report from near
the Dungeness River in a wooded area n. of 101 and several ANNA'S
HUMMINGBIRDS were found on the count.

Other notables and fuller details are forthcoming from the CBC's
indefatigable compiler, Bob Boekelheide, soon.

Scott Atkinson
Lake Stevens
email: scottratkinson at hotmail.com































































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