I have to ask....was it singing? As a former resident of SoCal, my best
memories of Mockingbirds are the mimicked songs that seem to go on for
hours...and in fact they do!
Dianna Moore
Ocean Shores, Wa.
dlmoor2 at coastaccess.com

----- Original Message -----
From: <contopus at shaw.ca>
To: <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2002 9:09 AM
Subject: Census Count: Stilliguamish Delta, Snohomish County, Washington on
January 03, 2002


This report was mailed for Wayne Weber by http://birdnotes.net

Date: January 3, 2002
Location: Stilliguamish Delta, Snohomish County, Washington

Low temperature: 45 degrees fahrenheit High temperature: 50 degrees
fahrenheit
Wind direction: S
Prevailing wind speed: 6-11 km/h
Percentage of sky covered by clouds: 80%
Precipitation: none

The following birds were observed on the Stilliguamish River Delta
south of Stanwood, Snohomish Co., on January 3, 2002 from about 10:00
A.M. to 1:00 P.M. Areas covered were Thomle Road, Boe Road, and
Norman Road east of Marine Drive.

The most interesting bird was the NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD seen at the
Brown residence, 7910 Thomle Road. This was my first personal record
of this species in Washington, breaking a jinx of many years, and
#358 for my state list.

The NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD was seen as close as 3 metres away, for
about 10 minutes total observation. Field marks noted included long
tail and slim body; overall light gray color on underparts, darker
gray on back and crown; blackish wings and tail; large white wing
patch, obvious in flight; white sides on tail; and yellow eye. No
calls were heard. The bird spent some time feeding on fallen apples
in the Browns' yard. A large holly tree with abundant fruit was also
present in the yard.

A flock of about 40 COMMON REDPOLLS seen feeding in alder trees along
Thomle Road was also noteworthy.

Birds seen (in taxonomic order):

Double-crested Cormorant 5
Great Blue Heron 1
Snow Goose 10000 [1]
Trumpeter Swan 100 [2]
Mallard 10
Bald Eagle 1 [3]
Northern Harrier 1 [4]
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Peregrine Falcon 1 [5]
Dunlin 500 [6]
Ring-billed Gull 10
Glaucous-winged Gull 500
Rock Dove 3
Northern Flicker 3
Steller's Jay 2 [7]
American Crow 30
Black-capped Chickadee 6
Bewick's Wren 1
Winter Wren 1
Marsh Wren 1
American Robin 70
Northern Mockingbird 1 [8]
European Starling 500
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2 [9]
Spotted Towhee 4
Fox Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 15
Lincoln's Sparrow 1 [10]
White-crowned Sparrow 17
Golden-crowned Sparrow 10
Dark-eyed Junco 20
Red-winged Blackbird 10
House Finch 10
Common Redpoll 40 [11]
Pine Siskin 10 [12]
American Goldfinch 3
House Sparrow 24

Footnotes:

[1] feeding in field S of Boe Road
[2] in fields between Boe & Thomle Roads
[3] adult
[4] at end of Boe Road
[5] adult, perched on stump off end of Boe Road
[6] flying off end of Boe Road
[7] Thomle Road
[8] at 7910 Thomle Road; see notes above
[9] Thomle Road
[10] Thomle Road
[11] in alders along Thomle Road
[12] in alders along Thomle Road

Total number of species seen: 37