Subject: [Tweeters] CBC weekend
Date: Dec 27 21:00:40 2004
From: Ruth Sullivan - godwit at worldnet.att.net


Hello Tweets,

My mother and I enjoyed a nice 2 day period on both the Grays Harbor CBC on the 26th of December and the Satsop CBC today(the 27th of December)with great weather both days. We managed to set personal high species in both areas we conduct on both CBC's along with several highlights too. Our main highlight on the Grays Harbor CBC was the lingering immature Red-shouldered Hawk along Paulson Rd. near the Hoquiam STP(Bowerman Basin),which was present yesterday morning between 8:30am-11am perched immediately west of Paulson Rd. in two separate alder thickets. We managed to obtain a few photographs of the bird,despite the bird being somewhat elusive. Another Red-shouldered Hawk was noted and photographed on the Grays Harbor CBC by another observer at the Johns River WRA,which is remarkable for a WA CBC! It was a record year for this count with 149 species,which is the highest species count for any WA CBC to record that we are aware of.Other highlights within our area(of the 90 species we observed)on the Grays Harbor CBC included the following:

5 Red-throated Loons
1 Pacific Loon
1 Am.Bittern
3 Greater White-fronted Geese
1 lingering injured immature Snow Goose(Hoquiam STP)
8 "Black"Brant
38 Canvasback
1 Rough-legged Hawk
2 Merlins
6 adult Peregrine Falcons
3 Ring-necked Pheasants
10 Virginia Rails
1 Greater Yellowlegs
2 Spotted Sandpipers
1 Marbled Godwit
3 Western Sandpipers
68 Least Sandpipers
10 Long-billed Dowitchers
1 Western Scrub Jay
20 Western Meadowlarks

Today, on the Satsop CBC we tracked around the Hwy.12 corridor from Elma to Dunlap Rd.,then the general Elma area east to the edge of the count circle. We encountered a total 78 of the 101 species tallied on this count with our main highlight being an adult Golden Eagle. The bird was observed circling then soaring above Stamper Rd. over a densely wooded area in upper elevations above Elma,then continuing in a northeasterly direction. It was an unexpected species to be encountered,which was an exciting bird to see for us! Our second highlight was a first-winter plumaged Glaucous Gull observed with 3 Glaucous-winged Gulls near the Elma STP,which adds to the small list of western WA sightings this season. Other noteworthy species observed within our area on the Satsop CBC included the following:

28 Trumpeter Swans
2 Eurasian Wigeon
1 Peregrine Falcon
1 Ruffed Grouse
5 Red-breasted Sapsuckers
2 Pileated Woodpeckers
17 Western Scrub Jays
3 Hermit Thrushes
1 adult Northern Shrike
5 Hutton's Vireos
1 Yellow-rumped"Myrtle"Warbler
1 White-throated Sparrow(adult tan-striped)
1 "Slate-colored"Junco
4 Purple Finches
27 Red Crossbills
5 Evening Grosbeaks


Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
Fircrest,WA
godwit at worldnet.att.net