This report was mailed for Doug Canning by http://birdnotes.net

Date: March 23, 2001
Location: McLane Creek Nature Trail, Thurston County, Washington

Temperature: 8 to 13 degrees celsius
Prevailing wind speed: < 1 km/h
Percentage of sky covered by clouds: 0%
Precipitation: none

Here between 0840 and 1030. The beaver ponds are full and
over-flowing a bit. The Dep't of Natural Resources has been doing some
maintenance: repairs to the elevated walkways, plus some new
observation platforms. Osoberry bushes have leaves and flowers out;
Skunk Cabbage leaves and unfurled flowers are up in great quantities.
Two Painted Turtles were sunning on a log in the main beaver pond.

Birds seen (in taxonomic order):

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 4 [1]
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) 1 [2]
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 8 [3]
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) 4 [4]
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) 1 [5]
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) 3 [6]
Red-breasted Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber) 2 [7]
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 2 [8]
Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) 3 [9]
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 7 [10]
Bewick's Wren (Thryomanes bewickii) 2
Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) 1
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) [11]
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 11 [12]
Varied Thrush (Ixoreus naevius) 1
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) 6 [13]
Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca) 2
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 4
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 4 [14]

Footnotes:

[1] In addition to the 2 pair on the beaver ponds, 129 flew from SW
to NE high overhead in 4 flights of 80, 2, 2, and 45.
[2] 1 female.
[3] 4 pair.
[4] 2 pair.
[5] 1 male.
[6] 1 pair + 1 female.
[7] One in Big-leaf Maple upper canopy; one drilling in a Red Alder
Snag.
[8] Heard.
[9] One imitating a Red-tailed Hawk; one carrying nest-building
material.
[10] Dispersed.
[11] 1 flock heard.
[12] Dispersed, singing from perches mostly in Big-leaf Maples.
[13] 1 pair; others single.
[14] 4 males singing from perches on last year's Cat-tail stalks.

Total number of species seen: 20


****************
Douglas Canning
Olympia, Washington
dcanning at igc.org
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