Subject: Brady Loop Road Area
Date: Dec 23 18:33:15 2002
From: Douglas Canning - dcanning at nisquallyestuary.org


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

Date: December 23, 2002
Location: Brady Loop Road Area, Grays Harbor County, Washington

Between 0918 and 1256 I made a reconnaissance of the area in
preparation for the Satsop Christmas Bird Count to be held on the
28th. Ponding on the farm fields is well advanced, but hardly the
stuff of wet winters past. Few waterfowl were seen, not a surprise
during such a mild winter, when they are slow to move south. The three
hunters I talked with confirmed the low numbers, and one reported that
a friend in British Columbia told him that waterfowl numbers up there
were high for the season. Area covered: Monte - Brady Road, Brady Loop
Road, plus a 1.5 hour walk south from the fishing access along the
field edges.

Birds seen (in taxonomic order):

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 50
Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) 77 [1]
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus) 15 [2]
American Wigeon (Anas americana) 30
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 10
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) 10
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) 1 [3]
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) 1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 1 [4]
Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) 3
American Coot (Fulica americana) 10
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) 1 [5]
Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) 2
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 265
Common Raven (Corvus corax) 1 [6]
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) ?
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 1
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 1200
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) 5
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 15
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) 15 [7]
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla) 5 [8]
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) 35
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) ? [9]

Footnotes:

[1] On fields.
[2] In flight, by voice.
[3] Female.
[4] Heard.
[5] Female.
[6] Heard along Chehalis River.
[7] Adults and juveniles.
[8] Adults and juveniles.
[9] Heard but never found.

Total number of species seen: 24

Low temperature: 6 degrees celsius High temperature: 8 degrees celsius
Wind direction: NE Prevailing wind speed: 1-5 km/h gusting to: 12-19
km/h Percentage of sky covered by clouds: 0% Precipitation: none


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Douglas Canning
Olympia, Washington
dcanning at nisquallyestuary.org
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