The East Lake WA Audubon Society (ELWAS) was held on Jan. 4. The day began
cloudy then we had heavy rain for about two hours at lunchtime after which
the sun out for the rest of the afternoon. We had a record turnout of 35
birders to cover the seven routes. We had a record of 92 species. The
previous high was 87 in 1995. The total number of birds of 20,740 is the 3rd
highest total. There were 23 species with record high counts, including both
Sharp-shinned (9) and Cooper's Hawks (10), 15 Bald Eagles was the 2nd
highest total. Conversely, this was the first year we did not report any
Northern Harriers. We had low totals for Mallards, American Wigeon and
Red-winged Blackbirds. A Green Heron was recorded for only the third year. A
Merlin and two White-throated Sparrows were recorded for only the second
year. Two Three-toed Woodpeckers were reported at a backyard feeder at a
home in Issaquah at 500 ft. An unusual sighting report has been sent in for
the Audubon CBC records. It was a very good count in spite of some rain. The
complete results for the ELWAS CBC, and any other CBC in the U.S., is
available at the following website: "www.audubon.org/bird/cbc".



Hugh Jennings
Bellevue, WA
hughbirder at bigzoo.net