Richard,

It's the location of the bird that matters. I'm located on the Benton
County side of the Columbia River just opposite the mouth of the Snake
River. On Feb. 18, 1997, while standing in my yard I observed and then
identified a high soaring Golden Eagle passing overhead in a generally
northeasterly direction. As it approached Burbank it made several large
circles in the sky and so I was able to add Golden Eagle to my Benton,
Franklin & Walla Walla County lists all in a matter of two minutes.
Likewise, on Oct. 29, 1996, I watched (God bless Swarovski Optiks) a Pacific
Loon drift down stream on the Columbia River past my location. This time it
required nearly two hours of observation, but once again I was able to
finally add this bird to all three county lists.
Dennis Rockwell Kennewick, WA dennis.rockwell at gte.net


----- Original Message -----
From: <Pterodroma at aol.com>
To: <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Cc: <mpforce at mac.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2003 10:39 AM
Subject: nude birdwatching


> HOLY COW!! Boy, that subject line sure captured everyone's attention!
> Sheesch, birders sure are a curious if not twisted lot, huh.
>
> Actually, I have a *hypothetical question* and am looking for an official
> answer regarding state listing. Imagine if you will (sounds like Rod
Serling
> introducing the "Twilight Zone") that you are on the beach at Sauvie
Island on
> the Oregon side of the Columbia River last Sunday just kind of hanging out
(bad
> pun, sorry) soaking up some rays and enjoying the peace & tranquility and
> magnificent views of Mt. Hood, St. Helens, and the mighty Columbia itself.
> Suddenly after several hours you remember that your bins are in the bottom
of your
> pack. You pull them out and start scanning the opposite side of the river
(for
> birds of course!). Low and behold, you serendipitously spot an adult
> RED-SHOULDERED HAWK soaring around over the tree tops over there which
happens to be
> Ridgefield NWR. About a minute later, it dawns on you that you don't have
> Red-shouldered Hawk on your Washington State list. Clearly, the
Red-shouldered
> Hawk is "over" Washington although the you happen to be a mile or more
away in
> Oregon. Bottom line (sorry, another bad pun), does one actually have to
have
> one's feet firmly planted *in* Washington at the time of such a sighting
for
> this bird to 'count'? Or is it Oregon? Or both? Or neither? I think I
know
> the answer (yes, Washington), but am curious what others think or what the
> official ABA bird gaming policy is. A scenario such as this may have in
fact
> happened to you, ...or will happen. Maybe not there, but somewhere. You
just
> need to be prepared for these sorts of things ya know, especially when a
> precious little state tickie mark is at stake.
>
> .........okay, I confess, it's not a hypothetical question :-))
>
> ****************************************************
> Richard Rowlett
> Seattle / Bellevue (Eastgate), WA, USA
>
> "Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what
> nobody has thought" --Albert Szent-Gyorgi (1893-1986).
> ****************************************************