Subject: Great Backyard Bird Count (Anna's Hummingbirds in the Lower Mainland of B.C.))
Date: Feb 21 10:57:42 2001
From: Jo Ann MacKenzie - pipit_ca at yahoo.ca
Greetings,
Anna's Hummingbirds are present year round in the White Rock/South Surrey area of the Lower Mainland.
On The White Rock Christmas Bird Count for 2000, there were 4; in 1999, there were 9; 8 in 1998; 8 in 1997; 7 in 1996; 6 in 1995; 4 in 1994; 3 in 1993; 5 in 1992; 6 in 1991; 5 in 1990. Anna's Hummingbirds have been recorded on our CBC as far back as 1971.
Jo Ann MacKenzie
Surrey, B.C.
tweeters at u.washington.edu wrote:
TWEETERS Digest 2409
Topics covered in this issue include:
1) Gyrfalcon and Red-Tail encounter
by CapitanoB at aol.com
2) Fw: GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT: DUBIOUS RESULTS
by "WAYNE WEBER"
3) Great Backyard Bird Count Hummingbirds
by Mike Patterson
4) CROWS IN WESTERN WA (was: I'm confused)
by "WAYNE WEBER"
5) Re: Crow Roost
by "John C. Withey"
6) Re: Chocolate-Covered Espresso Beans
by "Susan L. Collicott"
7) Great Backyard Birdcount & Hutton's Vireo
by "Noyes"
8) RBA: Portland, OR 2-20-01
by Harry Nehls
9) Re: concerns about accuracy
by Mike Patterson
10) Re: Great Backyard Bird Count Hummingbirds
by "Brent Beach"
11) Re: Great Backyard Bird Count Hummingbirds
by Mike Patterson
12) Anna's
by "Birdsabundant"
13) Long-eared Owl at Astoria mitigation 2/20/2001
by Mike Patterson
14) .......This is 'February'???
by Gerald Hamilton
15) Also...........
by Gerald Hamilton
16) Ospreys in W. Washington
by WMeadowlark at att.net
17) RE: Ospreys in W. Washington
by "Diana Gard"
18) Common Teal still in Sequim area
by "Robert Norton"
19) Yellow-billed Cuckoos in Idaho
by ian paulsen
20) Re: Ospreys in W. Washington
by DIDIANSTET at aol.com
21) Common Redpoll
by "john rogers"
22) Bingen Tufted Duck images
by Bob Hansen
23) Re: Ospreys in W. Washington
by "WAYNE WEBER"
24) HURRAH FOR BEGINNING BIRDERS
by "WAYNE WEBER"
> ATTACHMENT part 2.1 message/rfc822 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 04:16:27 EST
From: CapitanoB at aol.com
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: Gyrfalcon and Red-Tail encounter
Mary and I spotted the Gyrfalcon in the north lower branch of the dead
tree in the field opposite Windward Farms at about 2pm Monday. This was
after the tree had been vacated by an immature Bald Eagle. We watched it
for over a half hour through the scope. Driving to three vantage points
we were able to watch it from the front and the back. Most of the time we
watched the bird was preening. Then falcon flew southward straight across
the field. Its flight crossed that of a Red-Tailed Hawk. The Red-Tail
flipped backwards and flashed its talons. The Gyrfalcon also flashed its
talons but its flight never slowed. The Red-Tail righted itself and flew
out of the area as the Gyrfalcon climbed in a tight spiral then
circumnavigated the field and returned to the same branch. Amazingly we
had just driven to the south end of the field again as the angle of the
light was better there so we were able to catch all the action.
Seattle, WA
mailto:capitanob at aol.com
> ATTACHMENT part 2.2 message/rfc822 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 01:07:18 -0800
From: "WAYNE WEBER"
To: "TWEETERS"
CC: "TOM SCHOOLEY"
Subject: Fw: GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT: DUBIOUS RESULTS
Tweeters,
Shortly after posting the attached message to OBOL, I read Tom
Schooley's message to TWEETERS about the GBBC. In addition to the
Wrentit and Black-chinned Hummingbird reports questioned by Tom, I am
skeptical of the 7 Ospreys and 7 Rufous Hummingbirds reported in
Washington.
If the results of the GBBC are to be taken seriously, I would
recommend that statewide or regional editors are needed, with the task
of either getting further documentation for unusual sightings, or
removing them from the list if no documentation is forthcoming.
Wayne C. Weber
Kamloops, BC
contopus at home.com
----- Original Message -----
From: WAYNE WEBER
To: OBOL
Cc: MIKE PATTERSON ; WES STONE
Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2001 12:45 AM
Subject: GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT: DUBIOUS RESULTS
> OBOLinks,
>
> Thanks to Wesley Stone for pointing out that it is possible to find
> out the exact locations from which various bird species were
reported
> on the Great Backyard Bird Count. However, when I clicked on the
link
> which Wesley provided, which gave a list of all the locations from
> which Rufous Hummingbirds were reported, I noted some disconcerting
> reports:
>
> Bellevue, WA 5
> Seattle, WA 2
> West Vancouver, BC 1
> Vancouver, BC 1
>
> I suggest that all of these birds were in fact misidentified Anna's
> Hummingbirds. At Vancouver, Rufous Hummingbird has only been
reported
> once before March 1st, and the mean arrival date is March 20. I
doubt
> that they are much earlier in the Seattle area.
>
> Without knowing who the observers were, it seems quite likely that
> some of the Oregon reports of Rufous Hummingbird-- especially those
> from the Willamette Valley-- could refer to misidentified Anna's
> Hummingbirds as well.
>
> As further evidence of dubious results appearing in the GBBC, I
> skimmed the totals for all species for Washington State, They
included
> 7 Ospreys on 7 counts (very unlikely); 4 Wrentits on 3 counts (never
> recorded in the state); and 2 Black-chinned Hummingbirds on one
count
> (exceedingly unlikely).
>
> I have no doubt that the vast majority of birds on the GBBC were
> correctly identified. However, since many of the observers were
> inexperienced, and since (unlike the Christmas Bird Count) there
seems
> to be no process for editing and removing questionable sightings
from
> the database, I have very little confidence that the GBBC has any
> scientific value whatsoever.
>
> In particular, without knowing who the observers were that reported
> Rufous Hummingbirds, or having some method of independently
verifying
> that these identifications were correct, I would question the value
of
> the GBBC in documenting early arrivals of Rufous Hummingbird.
>
> Wayne C, Weber
> Kamloops, BC
> contopus at home.com
>
>
> ATTACHMENT part 2.3 message/rfc822 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 07:55:08 -0800
From: Mike Patterson
To: Multiple recipients of list OBOL ,
tweeters ,
hummnet
Subject: Great Backyard Bird Count Hummingbirds
There is a way to extract some of the bird locations, if they
fall into the top 100 category (thank you, Wesley Stone).
But there is no way to validate these sightings. Those
from southern Oregon (Medford, Bandon, Jacksonville and Gold
Hill) could be Rufous Hummingbirds, but this is also where
Anna's Hummingbirds occur in the highest densities.
Medford, OR 5
Bandon, OR 3
Lake Oswego, OR 2
Eugene, OR 2
Corvallis, OR 1
Waldport, OR 1
Philomath, OR 1
Jacksonville, OR 1
Gold Hill, OR 1
Bellevue, WA 5
Seattle, WA 2
West Vancouver, BC 1
Vancouver, BC 1
It seems unlikely that Rufous Hummingbirds would be selectively
choosing the feeders of bird surveyors outside the loop (not
connected to the traditional networks). We have been unable to
confirm any of these sightings.
When the Great Backyard Bird Count was originally established
the list of birds being counted was very short and (I think)
deliberately designed to exclude ID challenges, but they
received many complaints because some observers felt their
yard was not being adequately represented (it was very east
coast biased as I recall).
At any rate, until we can connect the observer experience to
the databased the hummingbird records will probably have to
be filed under hummingbird spp.
--
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
> ATTACHMENT part 2.4 message/rfc822 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 07:53:29 -0800
From: "WAYNE WEBER"
To: "TWEETERS" ,
"WHATCOM BIRDERS"
CC: "SUSAN MUTTART"
Subject: CROWS IN WESTERN WA (was: I'm confused)
Tweeters,
Most Tweeters are probably familiar with the status of crows in
western Washington. However, like Susan, there are probably quite a
few who aren't, so the following explanation may be helpful.
Ornithologists recognize 2 species of crows in the Northwest: the
smaller Northwestern Crow, generally found in coastal areas from
south-central Alaska to the Puget Sound area and the Olympic
Peninsula, and the American Crow, found in all other areas. However,
in the last 50 to 100 years, American Crows have spread westward in
Washington due to the creation of new habitat by the clearing of
forest. They have apparently interbred with Northwestern Crows to the
point where, in much of western Washington, it's hard to say what kind
of crow is present, and many of us just call them "crows". In fact,
the two species should almost certainly be "lumped", but the American
Ornithologists' Union, which rules on such matters, has not made this
decision yet.
In southeastern Alaska and in coastal British Columbia-- unlike
Washington-- there is little or no overlap and/or hybridization
between the two crows, and any crow seen west of the Cascade/Coast
Range crest can safely be called a Northwestern.
In my birding experience in WA, virtually all crows I see in San Juan
and Island Counties, and in western Whatcom and Skagit Counties, look
and sound like Northwestern Crows, and I record them as such. Most
crows in coastal parts of the Olympic Peninsula are probably
Northwesterns as well.
However, by the time you get south to Snohomish and King Counties, the
picture becomes much more confused, and it is safer to just call them
"crow species". Even in eastern parts of Whatcom and Skagit Counties
(e.g. around Diablo Lake), the crows there look and sound to me like
American Crows.
You are right, Susan-- the situation is confusing!
Others may have somewhat different impressions of the local
distribution of crows in WA-- and I'd be interested in hearing them--
but I believe the overall picture I've drawn is fairly accurate.
Wayne C. Weber
Kamloops and Delta, BC
contopus at home.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Susan in WA
To: Tweeters
Sent: Saturday, February 17, 2001 10:53 PM
Subject: I'm Confused -- Help, Please
> This year, I learned about the GBBC and decided to take part. In an
> effort to lure some of the Red-winged Blackbirds away from my
feeders,
> it was suggested (on some birding site) to put out dog food as an
> alternative. I did, and the crows love it (so do the Brewer's
> Blackbirds). However, I didn't count the crows for the GBBC. After
> submitting my count of the birds I did report, I went to check on
the
> results. They have naturally compiled all kinds of lists. But when
> checking the stats for Washington State, and perusing the top ten
> birds, I noticed that there were 1771 American Crows counted, but
only
> 154 Northwestern Crows. What's up with that? I thought we had
> predominately Northwestern Crows in this region? Is it simply
because
> the people that were counting didn't know the difference (and the
GBBC
> tally sheet lists the American Crow first instead of the
Northwestern
> Crow), or is it me that is all wet?
>
> --
> Susan in WA
> Sumner, Washington
> email: smuttart at qwest.net
>
>
> ATTACHMENT part 2.5 message/rfc822 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 09:10:11 -0800 (PST)
From: "John C. Withey"
CC: tweeters
Subject: Re: Crow Roost
I have been tracking some of our radio-tagged juveniles into this roost.
There are a few that we trapped in the Turner's Corner area (W of Maltby)
that spend the night in this roost, and one that we trapped down near Lake
Joy (it seems to spend its days south of Monroe now).
I've seen them coming in from the NW - does anyone know if they come all
the way down from Everett? I haven't tried to estimate the size of this
roost but if other people do, I'd be interested in their counts.
thanks,
john
John C. Withey
College of Forest Resources
Seattle, WA 98195-2100
crow at u.washington.edu
On Mon, 19 Feb 2001, Stan Kostka wrote:
> Late this afternoon I noticed large groups of crows moving overhead in
> Snohomish . I followed them out of town just over the Pilchuck River
> where they were congregating in a hybrid poplar (?) plantation . I
> parked
> (where I did not block any gates) crossed an open field (unfenced and
> not posted) walked the railroad tracks and paced off about 1000 feet of
> trees where the birds were congregating, apprarently preparing to
> roost. there were not as many birds at the outer edges so lets say 800
> feet. I could not see how far the birds went back into the trees away
> from me but as I walked beneath them through the plantation I never saw
> to the end of them and turned around and headed back to the tracks as it
> got dark. so lets say they were as far back into the plantation as
> they were spread out along the railroad tracks. 800 by 800 feet. the
> trees appeared to be planted about 8 feet on center so thats about 100
> by 100 trees or 10,000 trees, with between 2 and 3 birds per tree, so
> lets say 25,000 crows. I have no idea how accurate this estimate may
> be. maybe someone else would like to give it a try. It was pretty
> loud. they were definately aware of me as I walked under them but
> they seemed oblivious to a passing train. too dark by then to look for
> leg bands.
>
> Stan Kostka
> Arlington Wa
> lynnandstan at earthlink.net
>
>
> ATTACHMENT part 2.6 message/rfc822 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 09:57:49 -0800 (PST)
From: "Susan L. Collicott"
To: MaryK
CC: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: Chocolate-Covered Espresso Beans
Mary -
You could also check out "Penguin" mints (if they're still around). Three
of these have the caffeine equal to a cup of coffee. I don't drink
coffee, myself, so I'm not sure if they really do the job for you java
fiends. But *I* can sure tell when I've eaten too many!
Susan
On Mon, 19 Feb 2001, MaryK wrote:
> This is sort of birdwatching-related, plz bear with me!
>
> Does anyone have any idea how many of those bean you'd have to eat to
> ingest the equivalent of a shot of espresso? I was thinking of doing that
> instead of having a pre-trip latte or cup of coffee, 'coz so many cool
> birding spots are away from restrooms/port-a-potties, and, well, you know...
>
> Good birding,
>
> MaryK
> SeattleWA
> bassclef at aa.net
>
>
> ATTACHMENT part 2.7 message/rfc822 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 10:01:16 -0800
From: "Noyes"
To: "tweeters"
CC: "Bob Boekelheide" ,
"Robert Norton"
Subject: Great Backyard Birdcount & Hutton's Vireo
Hey Tweets,
I was looking at the results of the GBBC and saw that nobody reported the
Great-tailed Grackle or Northern Hawk Owl. There was also no Snowy Owls
reported. If anyone saw them Friday the 16th through Monday the 19th please
be sure to report them at:
http://132.236.201.29/gbbc/toc_page.html
Sunday the 18th we had our first Hutton's Vireo at our house, much earlier
than we normally get them.
Monday we saw 2 Cinnamon Teal at the Kitchen-Dick Ponds.
Elizabeth Noyes
Port Angeles, WA
noyes at olypen.com
> ATTACHMENT part 2.8 message/rfc822 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 01 11:56:51 -0800
From: Harry Nehls
To: , ,
, ,
, , ,
Subject: RBA: Portland, OR 2-20-01
- RBA
* Oregon
* Portland
* February 20, 2001
* ORPO0102.20
- birds mentioned
Snow Goose
Ross's Goose
Canada Goose
Brant
WHOOPER SWAN
Sandhill Crane
Black-legged Kittiwake
Rhinoceros Auklet
Anna's Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Say's Phoebe
BLUE JAY
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
CAPE MAY WARBLER
SUMMER TANAGER
MCCOWN'S LONGSPUR
Lapland Longspur
RUSTY BLACKBIRD
- transcript
hotline: Portland Oregon Audubon RBA (weekly)
number: 503-292-0661
to report: Harry Nehls 503-233-3976
compiler: Harry Nehls
coverage: entire state
Hello, this is the Audubon Society of Portland Rare Bird Report. This
report was made Tuesday February 20. If you have anything to add call
Harry Nehls at 503-233-3976.
On February 19 two MCCOWN'S LONGSPURS were with 8 LAPLAND LONGSPURS in a
large flock of HORNED LARKS on a farm field north of Stateline Road on
the Oregon side of the Lower Klamath NWR. The WHOOPER SWAN family
wintering on the California side of the refuge was in Oregon that day in
the White Lake Unit. Swans and geese are now peaking in the Klamath area.
The RUSTY BLACKBIRD and CAPE MAY WARBLER near Gold Beach continue to be
seen. Contact Colin Dillingham at 541-247-4752 for more information. The
SUMMER TANAGER at the Mill Ridge Estates in Cedar Mill and the Redmond
BLUE JAY are still being seen.
On February 18 over 80 KITTIWAKES and 130 RHINOCEROS AUKLETS were
observed flying south past the Boiler Bay Viewpoint near Depoe Bay. The
ROSS'S GOOSE at Sunset Lake south of Warrenton is still being seen.
RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS were reported during the week at Florence, Eugene,
and Corvallis. TREE SWALLOWS were as far north as Ridgefield NWR and with
BARN SWALLOWS at the Tualatin NWR near Sherwood. The SNOW GOOSE flock
continues to be seen at Ridgefield NWR but not on Sauvie Island. A SAY'S
PHOEBE was on Sauvie Island February 19.
On February 18 a SANDHILL CRANE was flying over the Fernhill Wetlands in
Forest Grove. The same day a migrant flock was seen over Eugene.
On February 16 two BRANT were with the CANADA GEESE near Canby. An
immature ROSS'S GOOSE was with CANADA GEESE at the Kirkland Road Sewage
Ponds near White City February 17. It, or another was with the goose
flocks at Finley NWR the next day.
An adult ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD was at a Bend feeder February 18.
Thats it for this week.
- end transcript
Harry Nehls
Portland, Oregon
503-233-3976
hnehls at teleport.com
> ATTACHMENT part 2.9 message/rfc822 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 12:20:39 -0800
From: Mike Patterson
To: Multiple recipients of list OBOL ,
tweeters
Subject: Re: concerns about accuracy
I just received the following note from Matthew McKown,
who is the "feedback" guy for the backyard count. I asked
how they edit the results.
"McKOWN, Matthew" wrote:
>
> Hi Mike,
>
> Once the data has been submitted we will be editing out some of the more
> egregious mistakes. Someone else reported those Wrentits to us earlier.
> We'll go in and delete them once the count is over. We would love to hear
> from people about obvious errors. Last year, we had a number of people
> volunteer to help us look at the data, and we cleaned it up considerably.
> GBBC data will never be as "clean" as CBC data, but we are very interested
> in making it as accurate as possible. Please pass the word on. If you know
> anyone who might want to volunteer to help us mop-up, let us know.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Matthew
> Audubon
--
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
> ATTACHMENT part 2.10 message/rfc822 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 12:59:44 -0800
From: "Brent Beach"
To: "Tweeters"
Subject: Re: Great Backyard Bird Count Hummingbirds
The sightings in Vancouver raise a small question. I thought that Anna's were
restricted to the area around Victoria. Are there in fact Anna's living year
round in Vancouver?
Brent
--
Brent Beach
Victoria, BC, CA
mailto:ub359 at victoria.tc.ca
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Patterson"
> There is a way to extract some of the bird locations, if they
> fall into the top 100 category (thank you, Wesley Stone).
> But there is no way to validate these sightings. Those
> from southern Oregon (Medford, Bandon, Jacksonville and Gold
> Hill) could be Rufous Hummingbirds, but this is also where
> Anna's Hummingbirds occur in the highest densities.
>
> West Vancouver, BC 1
> Vancouver, BC 1
> ATTACHMENT part 2.11 message/rfc822 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 14:30:22 -0800
From: Mike Patterson
To: ub359 at victoria.tc.ca, tweeters
Subject: Re: Great Backyard Bird Count Hummingbirds
According to the CBC database going back 11 years Vancouver, BC had
90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
Anna's Hummingbird 10 5 7 3 7 10 1 2 6 4 5
You can check the database for other BC sites at:
http://birdsource.tc.cornell.edu/cbcdata/
Brent Beach wrote:
>
> The sightings in Vancouver raise a small question. I thought that Anna's were
> restricted to the area around Victoria. Are there in fact Anna's living year
> round in Vancouver?
>
> Brent
> --
> Brent Beach
> Victoria, BC, CA
> mailto:ub359 at victoria.tc.ca
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mike Patterson"
> > There is a way to extract some of the bird locations, if they
> > fall into the top 100 category (thank you, Wesley Stone).
> > But there is no way to validate these sightings. Those
> > from southern Oregon (Medford, Bandon, Jacksonville and Gold
> > Hill) could be Rufous Hummingbirds, but this is also where
> > Anna's Hummingbirds occur in the highest densities.
> >
> > West Vancouver, BC 1
> > Vancouver, BC 1
--
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
> ATTACHMENT part 2.12 message/rfc822 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 14:42:57 -0800
From: "Birdsabundant"
To: "Tweeters"
Subject: Anna's
Well in answer to the question re the Anna's..We have had at least four all
winter here in Gibsons. Just north of Vancouver. I know you Victorians like
to think you are the only ones in the banana belt! You're not.
Gerrie Patterson
Gibsons, B.C.
birdsabundant at sunshine.net
> ATTACHMENT part 2.13 message/rfc822 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 18:10:18 -0800
From: Mike Patterson
To: Multiple recipients of list OBOL ,
tweeters
Subject: Long-eared Owl at Astoria mitigation 2/20/2001
Astoria Airport Mitigation Bank, Clatsop County, Oregon
February 20, 2001
A LONG-EARED OWL was calling regularly from a spruce tree
surrounded willows between the main road and the sparrow
transect road. A SWAMP SPARROW was calling from the open
Reed Canary Grass patch on the north side of the transect
road.
Temperature: 13C
Wind direction: SW
Prevailing wind speed: 12-19 km/h
Percentage of sky covered by clouds: 50%
Barometric pressure: 1014 millibars
Precipitation: none
Sparrow transect 1530-1640hr
Birds seen (in taxonomic order):
Great Blue Heron 2
Gadwall 2
American Wigeon 58
Mallard 40
Northern Pintail 192
Green-Winged Teal 11
Greater Scaup 26
Bufflehead 75
Hooded Merganser 1
Common Merganser 2
Northern Harrier 2
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Mew Gull 4
Western Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Long-eared Owl 1 [1]
Northern Flicker 4
American Crow 9
Black-capped Chickadee 6
Bewick's Wren 1
Marsh Wren 7
Golden-crowned Kinglet 4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5
American Robin 3
European Starling 3
Song Sparrow 4
Swamp Sparrow 1 [2]
Golden-crowned Sparrow 3
Red-winged Blackbird 8
Footnotes:
[1] calling regularly over the observation period
[2] in the reed canary grass
Total number of species seen: 30
archived at: http://birdnotes.net
--
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
> ATTACHMENT part 2.14 message/rfc822 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 18:35:06 -0800
From: Gerald Hamilton
To: "Wash. Tweeters"
Subject: .......This is 'February'???
.................Sat. Feb. 17th:
---50 Tundra Swans observed on the pond just east of I-5
just north of Kalama, Wash.
---JB Whitetail Deer Refuge near Skamakawa, Wash.(on Hwy 4
half way between Longview and Long Beach, Wash.): A Greater Yellowlegs,
Gadwalls, Common Mergansers, Lesser Scaup, and 1 Greater Scaup, Hooded
Mergansers, Ring-necks, along with Pintails and plenty of other more
"mundane"ducks. Rufous-sided Towhees were seen along the road.
------But...........most awesome was a sight not normally
seen this far inland on the Columbia River. The smelt are running. From
the west side road in this refuge I saw *many* very noisy barking Calif.
Sea Lions and Harbor Seals(roughly about 40), along with hundreds of sea
gulls feasting on the smelt. On my way back I drove by the same spot to
see the same seals, and sea lions, this time under the light of a
flaming red sunset over the river(....what a sight!!!!)
--Along Why 101 I observed, on Willapa Bay, a number of
Red-breasted Mergansers and a "battalion" of 50 Canvasbacks.
..........Sun. Feb 18th: Ledbetter Point--north end of Long
Beach Peninsula.
--1 Bald Eagle, and* zillions *of shorebirds on the
receding tide. Blackbellied Plovers, Dunlin(the predominant species,
Western and Least Sandpipers, Long-billed Dowitchers, and...........a
large flotilla of about 100 Brant on the open water further out. 2
Hooded Mergansers cavorting further out,also.(...seems to be alot of
"Hoodies" this year!!!).
..........Mon. Feb.19th-----Walked the ocean beach. Saw
only Sanderlings and Gulls, and some black birds off shore(Sooty
Shearwaters??). Since the tide on Willapa Bay was so low, I gather that
most of the shorebirds were there.
----Ft. Canby State Park and the north jetty area--south
of Illwaco, Wash.: Saw 6 Red Crossbills in a spruce next to the parking
lot of the boat ramp area on the inlet near the Coast Guard station.
Some were the red males, and some were the yellowish females. Also....a
pair of Red-throated Loons were swimming further out on the water. Afew
Surf Scoters under the Lighthouse on the bluffs.
......Oregon Juncos and White-crowned Sparrows gave me a
"wake-up" show outside my motel bedroom window. Rain Sat. night, but
otherwise light offshore winds under balmy sunny skies make this
beautiful beach walking weather for Feb. Many birds were seen, but I
just mentioned the "more interesting" species for the sake of brevity.
............Cheers
Gerald Hamilton
Brush Prairie, Wash.
gerald at e-z.net
> ATTACHMENT part 2.15 message/rfc822 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 18:37:06 -0800
From: Gerald Hamilton
To: "Wash. Tweeters"
Subject: Also...........
........... Also......12 Trumpeter Swans were on Black Lake, Illwaco,
Wash.
gerald at e-z.net
> ATTACHMENT part 2.16 message/rfc822 Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 02:45:12 +0000
From: WMeadowlark at att.net
To: TWEETERS at u.washington.edu
Subject: Ospreys in W. Washington
Wayne...
I hope you're not suggesting that we don't see Ospreys
in Western Washington. I see them often, here in South
Thurston County, Washington. In fact, with all the coast
line and bodies of water we have here, I'd be amazed if
I DIDN'T see Ospreys........
--
Michelle Blanchard
WMeadowlark at att.net
Olympia, WA
> ATTACHMENT part 2.17 message/rfc822 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 18:53:34 -0800
From: "Diana Gard"
To: ,
Subject: RE: Ospreys in W. Washington
I second that. We've got nests right here in the Seattle suburbs.
Diana
Diana Gard . Computer Programmer, Video Producer,
Musician. Diana & Sylvia Salget are the musical group WATER. Visit our
Website at http://members.home.net/dianagard/
Subject: Ospreys in W. Washington
Wayne...
I hope you're not suggesting that we don't see Ospreys
in Western Washington. I see them often, here in South
Thurston County, Washington. In fact, with all the coast
line and bodies of water we have here, I'd be amazed if
I DIDN'T see Ospreys........
--
Michelle Blanchard
WMeadowlark at att.net
Olympia, WA
> ATTACHMENT part 2.18 message/rfc822 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 20:03:33 -0800
From: "Robert Norton"
To: "send TWEETERS"
CC: "Doug Pip Watkins"
Subject: Common Teal still in Sequim area
My wife and I saw the drake COMMON TEAL at the Kirner Road Pond today.
It was originally reported on BIRDBOX by Tom Aversa and seen with Steve
Driscoll. A strongly marked bird. Now I am ready for them to split the
GREEN-WINGED TEAL.
For those who might want to see this bird. Get off 101 at Sequim Avenue
going north through Sequim and a number of miles north of Sequim take
Woodcock west. In perhaps two miles at the intersection with Kirner Road
there is a large pond mostly hidden by trees at the northeast corner. The
pond is best viewed from Kirner through a couple of gaps in the vegetation.
A scope is helpful as all the teal were at the far end (east). I usually
park on little traveled Kirner with the hazard lights on, as neighbors get
vocal about encroaching on their turf.
Bob Norton
Joyce (near Port Angeles), WA
norton36 at olypen.com
> ATTACHMENT part 2.19 message/rfc822 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 20:03:54 -0800 (PST)
From: ian paulsen
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: Yellow-billed Cuckoos in Idaho
HI:
For those following the demise of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo in western
North America might be interested in this article in the most recent issue
of WESTERN BIRDS (Vol. 31, no. 4):Status of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo in
Idaho by Daniel M. Taylor. To sum up the article:"The Yellow-billed Cuckoo
appears to be hanging on precariously in Idaho, primarily along the Snake
River in the southeastern part of the state. There are probably not more
than a few dozen pairs breeding annually in the state, and quite possibly
fewer than ten pairs."
At least Idaho still has a few!!
Sincerely
Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen
Bainbridge Is., WA, USA
ipaulsen at linknet.kitsap.lib.wa.us
"Rallidae all the way"
> ATTACHMENT part 2.20 message/rfc822 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 23:52:54 EST
From: DIDIANSTET at aol.com
To: dgard at musician.org, tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: Ospreys in W. Washington
Hey, we've got an osprey nest right in Seattle, on the Duwamish River....!
It was great fun to watch the whole cycle last year....from mating through
fledging....right in the middle of an industrial area.
Didi Anstett
> ATTACHMENT part 2.21 message/rfc822 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 21:07:10 -0800
From: "john rogers"
To: "Tweeters"
CC: "Inland NW birders" ,
"OBOL"
Subject: Common Redpoll
The COMMOM REDPOLL is back at my feeder again after being here for 3 days
and then gone for 3 days. Not sure where he has been but it is nice to see
him again. He was here for about 1 1/2- 2 hrs. this afternoon.
There seems to be a lot fewer birds in the area the past two days. Maybe
they are just out in the fields because the weather is nicer for a change.
Sue Rogers
College Place, WA
mailto: johrog at bmi.net
> ATTACHMENT part 2.22 message/rfc822 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 21:30:20 -0800
From: Bob Hansen
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu, obol at mail.orst.edu
Subject: Bingen Tufted Duck images
I have placed two images of the Bingen male Tufted Duck taken between 8 am
and 9 am, Sunday, February 18th on the Klickitat County Accidental Records
web site. You can see the images by clicking on
http://www.teleport.com/~bhansen/tudu.jpg (side view with tuft) or
http://www.teleport.com/~bhansen/tudu2.jpg (front view show back and side
comparison with Lesser Scaup). About 9 am, a large barge came up river, and
the group of 9 birds ( 8 scaup and 1 Tufted Duck) took off headed east or
upstream and I believe they landed about 1/2 to 3/4 mile. This is the area
which is the easterly terminus for the row crops and dike. This is the
area where it was observed on the Hood River Christmas Bird Count.
Most recently the bird has been seen regularly hanging out at The Point of
the Marina, where the River and the inland bay meet. There is a basalt
column on the lawn which can be used as a blind of sorts while observing.
That is where these images were taken.
Bob Hansen
bhansen at teleport.com
Lyle, WA and Salem, OR
> ATTACHMENT part 2.23 message/rfc822 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 21:18:59 -0800
From: "WAYNE WEBER"
To: "TWEETERS"
CC: "MICHELLE BLANCHARD" ,
"RUSSELL ROGERS"
Subject: Re: Ospreys in W. Washington
Michelle and Tweeters,
OSPREYS are a fairly common and widespread breeding bird in western
Washington, as documented by Smith, Mattocks & Cassidy (Breeding Birds
of Washington State, 1997), and as I can attest from personal
experience. However, they are highly migratory, and sightings in
December, January, and February are extremely unusual, and worthy of
documentation. This statement is true for B.C., and I believe also for
Washington; it is not quite as true for Oregon, where a very few
Ospreys (probably fewer than 10 per year) winter at places like Coos
Bay, Port Orford, and Eugene.
In 5 years of editing all the Christmas Bird Counts for western
Canada, I found that Ospreys were reported on a few counts every year.
Almost invariably, the reports were poorly-documented or undocumented,
and by inexperienced observers, and the birds could not be relocated
after the count. I have spoken to quite a few (inexperienced)
observers who have tried to turn an immature Bald Eagle with a dark
eye-stripe into an Osprey-- never mind that the bird had dark
underparts. For those of you that belong to ABA, a Bald Eagle in this
plumage is pictured on Figure 18, page 27 of the Feb. 2001 issue of
BIRDING.
In southwestern B.C., Ospreys normally arrive in early April or (less
often) late March, and are gone by late October. I know of one
credible February record for Vancouver-- presumably an early arrival.
I suspect that migration dates are similar in Washington.
Mistaking a Bald Eagle for an Osprey is not something an experienced
birder is likely to do. However, there are more inexperienced
observers afield during Christmas Bird Counts, and the Great Backyard
Bird Count, than at any other time of year. (This is NOT a dig at
neophyte birders-- encouraging beginners to come out in the field is a
large part of what these two projects are about, and is something I
have always strongly supported!!) However, these counts need to be
edited with the fact firmly in mind that there are many inexperienced
birders, who are likely to make some identification errors.
Perhaps Russell Rogers, the Field Notes Editor for WOSNEWS, can give
us some idea of the frequency of winter Osprey sightings in Washington
if he has time? If so, many thanks, Russell!
Wayne C. Weber
Kamloops, BC
contopus at home.com
----- Original Message -----
From:
To:
Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2001 6:45 PM
Subject: Ospreys in W. Washington
> Wayne...
> I hope you're not suggesting that we don't see Ospreys
> in Western Washington. I see them often, here in South
> Thurston County, Washington. In fact, with all the coast
> line and bodies of water we have here, I'd be amazed if
> I DIDN'T see Ospreys........
>
> --
> Michelle Blanchard
> WMeadowlark at att.net
> Olympia, WA
>
> ATTACHMENT part 2.24 message/rfc822 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 23:25:19 -0800
From: "WAYNE WEBER"
To: "TWEETERS" , "OBOL"
Subject: HURRAH FOR BEGINNING BIRDERS
Tweeters and OBOLinks,
A couple of readers, in private messages, have suggested that perhaps
I was being a bit hard on organizers of the Great Backyard Bird Count
(GBBC), or even on the observers themselves. Allow me to restate my
position.
For both the Christmas Bird Count (CBC) and the GBBC, one of the main
objectives is to get new or relatively new birders involved in a
cooperative project. This is an extremely laudable objective, and one
that I fully support. Today's beginning birder may, in a few years,
become a scientific researcher, state bird club president, or ardent
and knowledgeable conservationist-- or just a good average citizen who
cares about wildlife and supports measures to protect or restore
wildlife.
I had been birding about 18 months when, in 1960, I was invited to
take part in my first Christmas Bird Count. Although I was already
keen, this experience elevated me to a higher plane of enjoyment and
appreciation of birds. I'm sure many other novice birders have been
similarly affected by their first CBC.
In 18 years as compiler of the Vancouver, BC Christmas Bird Count, I
did my best (with much help from others) to encourage as many
non-birders and beginning birders as possible to take part in the
count-- even though it probably added little to our species tally.
During many of those years, Vancouver was one of the top 4 or 5 counts
in North America in the number of observers. I have also led, on my
own time, more than 100 organized birding field trips over the last 30
years or so, although I've not been able to do this as often in recent
years. I've done this because I enjoy sharing my enthusiasm with
mostly less experienced birders.
The CBC and the GBBC differ somewhat in the relative emphasis they
place on encouraging participation vs. generating scientifically
useful data. In the CBC, I would say these 2 objectives are of roughly
equal importance. The labours of compilers and regional editors help
to ensure that both identifications and counts are as accurate as
possible, and that counts are done in a similar way each year. Even
though Cornell touts the scientific value of the GBBC, I would say
this value is far less than for the CBC, because of the method itself
and the smaller effort put into editing results.
It may seem paradoxical, but I find that the scientific value of the
CBC (not to overstate it-- it does have its limits) is one of the main
things that attracts beginners to the CBC. It is a revelation to many
that simply spending a day outdoors counting birds can help to
document changes in bird populations, perhaps even providing evidence
for adding a species to, or removing it from, Threatened or Endangered
status.
The GBBC not only produces less useful results than the CBC, but it
lacks one vital ingredient of the latter-- the interaction between
experienced and beginning birders, which can be at least educational,
and at best inspirational. However, the GBBC is a popular event, as
evidenced by the 45,000 counts sent in this year. Perhaps a way can be
found to make the results more useful-- probably by recording more
data on the exact location, length of observations, or even the
habitat(s) covered in the counts.
I should back off somewhat on my remarks about the lack of editing of
GBBC results. As Mike Patterson has noted, an effort is made to
prevent input of erroneous data, and the organizers of the GBBC are
interested in hearing from people who note probable misidentifications
in the results. I will be sending my comments on the B.C. and
Washington totals, at least, to the GBBC gurus.
But the main value of the GBBC is clearly to encourage birders to take
part in a cooperative project. For many, it may be their first
experience at doing so. If it helps to increase their level of
interest in birds and in the environment, then more power to the GBBC.
Wayne C. Weber
114-525 Dalgleish Drive
Kamloops, BC V2C 6E4
contopus at home.com
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