Hi Tweets:
Connie Sidles wrote a good post on Dec 28, "Kites & Other Sights", saying
that there haven't been many msgs on Tweets lately. She only had about 7
msgs after being offline for several days. I have some theories about that,
although I did receive about 5 or 6 msgs per day from Tweets. Still that's
a big drop in messages, compared to the usual. There was also another msg
from Glenn Hansen, "Red-brested Sapsucker". I'll try to answer those
messages now.
First of all, here are my theories about the lack of Tweeters
correspondence:
1. People out of town (on vacation). Or people stuck out of town (Buffalo,
NY).
2. People scouting out areas so they can go out on Christmas Bird Counts
for Audubon. If they are doing that, congratulations. The birds may not be
spectacular, but you never know. You might see a rarity when you are
scouting.
3. People sick! Holy, cow. What is this cold, flu thing going around?
It's horrendous! My family and friends have been very sick w/ what appears
to be a bad cold, only worse. It's affected all ages: kids, young adults,
middle aged, etc. Very sore throat, cough, almost pneumonia. Lingers on,
and on. I haven't had it (yet), and got the flu shot on Nov 15th. Could
this be the flu? It's BAD.
4. Listers: We're hearing about Marv Breece who is a WA year lister. And
Bob Flores who is an Adams? county lister. Two very nice guys by the way.
I bet there are a lot more listers out there, hustling in a friendly
competition to get the most birds for a particular area. They will be out
there right now, birding like mad before the end of the year. I have a
friend who does all sorts of lists. He even does a winter list. These
competitions make birding exciting.
5. Chasers. There are a number of rarities right now that are really worth
chasing. Of course, they are in Canada, or Twisp & Bridgeport in the
Okanogan, and there are cool birds in other places far away from Seattle.
If you are chasing birds, you're probably too tired to write for Tweets.
6. Last but not least, people are busy. Aren't holidays a drag if you
can't be out there birding?
Now for some observations about Red-breasted Sapsuckers. We are seeing a
number of R-b Sapsuckers in DesMoines right now. They are being seen on
fruit trees down here in the lowlands, as opposed to the usual Sapsuckers in
the foothills near big conifers. Don't know if this is a relevant
observation about this bird and if they are here now because of the colder
weather.
Hope to see you out there birding, listing, chasing, counting species and
numbers for a CBC, or just plain enjoying the outdoors.
Yours, Carol Schulz
206-824-7618